Known For
Directing
Born
Oct 29, 1938
Place of Birth
Haifa, Mandatory Palestine [now Israel]
Credits
84 titles
Ralph Bakshi
Biography
Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is a Palestinian-born American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote. He has been involved in numerous television projects as director, writer, producer and animator. Beginning his career at the Terrytoons television cartoon studio as a cel polisher, Bakshi was eventually promoted to director. He moved to the animation division of Paramount Pictures in 1967 and started his own studio, Bakshi Productions, in 1968. Through producer Steve Krantz, Bakshi made his debut feature film, Fritz the Cat, released in 1972. It was the first animated film to receive an X rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, and the most successful independent animated feature of all time. Over the next eleven years, Bakshi directed seven additional animated features. He is well known for his fantasy films, which include Wizards (1977), The Lord of the Rings (1978) and Fire and Ice (1983). In 1987, Bakshi returned to television work, producing the series Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, which ran for two years before it was canceled due to complaints from a conservative political group over perceived drug references. After a nine-year hiatus from feature films, he directed Cool World (1992), which was largely rewritten during production and received poor reviews. Bakshi returned to television with the live-action film Cool and the Crazy (1994) and the anthology series Spicy City (1997). He founded the Bakshi School of Animation and Cartooning in 2003. During the 2000s, he has focused largely on painting. He has received several awards for his work, including the 1980 Golden Gryphon for The Lord of the Rings at the Giffoni Film Festival, the 1988 Annie Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Art of Animation, and the 2003 Maverick Tribute Award at the Cinequest Film Festival.
Known For
Filmography
Midwest
Last Days of Coney Island
Director
Trickle Dickle Down
Director
Adventures in Plymptoons!
Self
Forging Through the Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision for 'The Lord of the Rings'
Himself
Breaking the Mold: The Re-Making of Mighty Mouse
Self
Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes
Ralph Bakshi (voice)
Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon
Ralph Bakshi (voice)
Frazetta: Painting with Fire
Self
Malcom and Melvin
Super Hero
Babe, He Calls Me
Super Hero
Spicy City
Connelly / Goldblum (voice)
What a Cartoon!
Writer
Cool and the Crazy
Writer
Rebel Highway
Director
Cool World
Director
The Ren & Stimpy Show
Storyboard Artist
Reflections of A Native Son
Writer
Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Writer
Imagining America
Director
Tribe
Writer
The Butter Battle Book
Director
Hound Town
Director
This Ain't Bebop
Director
Christmas in Tattertown
Director
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
Creator
Cannonball Run II
Animation
Fire and Ice
Producer
Hey Good Lookin'
Producer
American Playhouse
Writer
The Cigarette and the Weed
Cigarette / Weed (voice)
American Pop
Piano Player (voice)
The Lord of the Rings
Director
Wizards
Storm Trooper (voice, uncredited)
The Monsterizer
Director
Coonskin
Cop With Megaphone (voice) (uncredited)
The Junker
Director
The Plastic Blaster
Director
The Bigger Digger
Director
Heavy Traffic
Various Characters (voice) (uncredited)
The Paper Monster
Director
The Return of the Monsterizer
Director
The Time Eraser
Director
The Scarecrow
Director
Fritz the Cat
Narrator / Pig Cop #1 (voice)
The Timekeeper
Director
The Drifter
Director
Lost and Foundation
Director
The Ghost Monster
Director
The Toy Man
Director