Cool World

Last updated

Cool World
Cool World.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ralph Bakshi
Written by
Produced by Frank Mancuso Jr.
Starring
Cinematography John A. Alonzo
Edited by
  • Steve Mirkovich
  • Annamaria Szanto
Music by Mark Isham
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • July 10, 1992 (1992-07-10)
Running time
101 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$28 million [2]
Box office$14.1 million [3]

Cool World is a 1992 American live-action/animated hybrid fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi and written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor. Starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne and Brad Pitt, it tells the story of a cartoonist who finds himself in a cartoon-like universe, where he is seduced by one of the characters, a femme fatale who wants to become human. [4]

Contents

Following the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and his own professional resurgence in television in the late 1980s, Bakshi conceived it as a horror film. He brought the idea to Paramount Pictures, and became attached to direct; it was his first feature film in nearly a decade, and intended as his comeback. However, interference from producer Frank Mancuso Jr. led to an extensive rewrite from Michael Grais, Mark Victor, and an uncredited Larry Gross. As a result, relations between Bakshi, Mancuso, and the studio deteriorated, and the film had a highly tumultuous production.

Cool World was released by Paramount on July 10, 1992. Upon its release, the film was a critical and commercial failure. It was criticized for its story, acting, and the effects combining animation and live-action; however, the soundtrack and visuals received praise. The film was a box-office bomb, grossing $14 million against a budget of $28 million. Despite its poor reception, Cool World developed a cult following. [5]

Plot

In 1945 Las Vegas, World War II veteran Frank Harris returns to his mother and invites her to a ride on his motorcycle. The two are involved in a traffic collision where Frank's mother dies. Afterwards, Frank is inadvertently transported to a cartoon-like alternate universe called "Cool World", where he restarts his life as a detective for Cool World's local police department.

Forty-seven years later, underground cartoonist Jack Deebs is released from a ten-year prison sentence for murdering a man he found in bed with his wife. During his imprisonment, he created a series of comics called Cool World based on recurring visions of his, prominently featuring femme fatale Holli Would. Holli's wish is to escape Cool World and become a real person, which is possible when "doodles" (slang for Cool World's inhabitants) have sexual intercourse with "noids" (slang for humans). However, Frank and his doodle partner Nails keep a vigilant eye on Holli to ensure that the two dimensions do not intertwine.

Shortly after his release, Jack is transported to Cool World and smuggled into a local nightclub by Holli and her henchmen. Frank aggressively confronts Jack, explaining that Cool World has existed long before he created his series. He also warns him that writing implements, such as his fountain pen, are lethal to the doodles; and to abstain from having sex with Holli, as her transforming into a noid can be dangerous for both dimensions. Despite these warnings, Frank himself is in love with another doodle, Lonette, but limits himself to platonic advances. Jack succumbs to Holli's advances and she proceeds to seduce and has sex with him, transforming her into a noid. Holli steals Jack's pen to entrap Nails, and leaves with Jack for the real world.

In the real world, Holli is excited and overwhelmed experiencing real sensations. Due to her presence there, she and Jack spontaneously flicker in between noid and doodle forms. While contemplating their situation, Holli tells Jack about the "Spike of Power", an artifact which was the cause of Frank being transported into Cool World and placed on top of the Union Plaza Hotel by a doodle who crossed into the real world, and admits she wants to use it to remain in her noid form permanently. When Jack displays skepticism about the idea, Holli abandons him to search for the spike on her own.

Frank learns what has happened and returns to the real world, where he reluctantly teams up with Jack to stop Holli. They arrive at the hotel as Holli begins to climb to the top of the tower. In his pursuit, Frank is pushed off the building to his death by Holli. As she seizes the spike, she releases a multitude of monstrous doodles into the real world, affecting her surroundings. The Spike also transforms Jack into a superhero-like doodle, and, in the ensuing chaos, frees Nails from the pen.

Although enticed to begin a new life in the real world with Holli, Jack returns the Spike to its rightful place, sending him, Holli and the invading doodles back from whence the creatures came and restoring the balance between their dimensions. Nails brings Frank's body back to Cool World, where he and Lonette mourn his loss. However, as she finds out from Nails that Holli was briefly in her doodle form when she killed Frank, she explains that a noid killed by a doodle in the real world can be reborn as a doodle in Cool World. Frank is transformed into a doodle, allowing him to continue his relationship with Lonette. Meanwhile, Jack begins planning his new life together with Holli, to her dismay.

Cast

Voices

Production

Storyboard by Louise Zingarelli based on Bakshi's original screenplay Cool World storyboard.jpg
Storyboard by Louise Zingarelli based on Bakshi's original screenplay

Development

Following a career resurgence with Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures in the late 1980s, in 1990, Ralph Bakshi concepted a new film project involving a cartoonist who created a comic book while in prison that makes him an underground "star". The cartoonist would go on to have sexual intercourse with a femme fatale "doodle" named "Debbie Dallas (a play on the title of the pornographic film, Debbie Does Dallas )" and father a hybrid child with her; half-cartoon, and half-human. The child, growing up resenting its father for abandoning it, would grow up and go on to make a pilgrimage to the real world to try to hunt down its father and kill him. Ralph pitched the idea as a live-action animated horror film to Paramount Pictures, where he had served as the final head of the studio's animation division some years earlier. [2] [6] Bakshi stated that Paramount Pictures "bought the idea in ten seconds." [7] In addition to Bakshi himself writing his own screenplay going off of his concept, Michael Grais and Mark Victor, along with an uncredited Larry Gross wrote several drafts of the screenplay based on Bakshi's original concept. Grais has accused Bakshi of lying about his contribution, noting he and Victor won repeated arbitrations regarding their credits. [8] Producer Frank Mancuso Jr. — son of Paramount president Frank Mancuso Sr. — became attached as producer, leading Paramount to greenlight the film in November 1990. [1] A long-running rumor attached to the film is that when Bakshi discovered that his original concept had been re-written behind his back without his knowledge or permission, he got into a physical altercation with Frank Mancuso Jr. that involved him punching the producer in the mouth. However, in a 2022 phone interview with Kevin E. G. Perry of The Independent , Bakshi put that rumor to rest, saying, "I never punched Frank Mancuso Jr. [...] That was just a rumour. I yelled at him a couple of times, but that wasn't his fault. I like Frank. I never punched him. Can you set that straight?" [9]

Casting and production

Bakshi had originally intended to cast Pitt and Drew Barrymore in the film's leading roles. Instead, the studio insisted on casting bigger box office draws, leading to Basinger and Byrne being cast in late January 1991. [1] [10] The role of Frank was created for Pitt. Principal photography lasted from March 15 to April 19, 1991, with scenes being filmed both in Las Vegas and at soundstages at Paramount in Los Angeles. [1]

The relationship between Bakshi and Paramount quickly deteriorated during production. [11] Mancuso convinced Paramount that the film's potential R rating from the MPAA in the United States, which would restrict attendance from anyone under 17 without a parent or guardian, would be too risky. [6] Hence why Mancuso hired Larry Gross to revise the screenplay to target a more general PG-13 MPAA rating, and presented it on the first day of production. [6] [10] Bakshi stated he felt "backstabbed" by Mancuso. [10] Bakshi also claimed Basinger had approached him and Mancuso during production to rewrite the film herself because she "thought it would be great [...] if she would be able to show this picture in hospitals to sick children [...] I said, 'Kim, I think that's wonderful, but you've got the wrong guy to do that with.'" [7]

Animation style

Bakshi's animation was done on the Paramount lot. The film's animators were never given a screenplay, instead told by Bakshi to "do a scene that's funny, whatever you want to do!" [6]

The visual design of the live-action footage was intended to look like "a living, walk-through painting," a visual concept Bakshi had long wanted to achieve. The film's sets were based upon enlargements of designer Barry Jackson's paintings. The animation was strongly influenced by Fleischer Studios (whose cartoons were released by Paramount in the 1930s and 1940s) and Terrytoons (where Bakshi once worked, and whose Mighty Mouse character was also adapted into a series by Bakshi). [6] The artwork by the character Jack Deebs was drawn by underground comix artist Spain Rodriguez. [12]

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album, Songs from the Cool World , featuring recordings by My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Moby, Ministry, The Future Sound of London, and others, was released in 1992 by Warner Bros. Records. [13] It included the track "Real Cool World" by David Bowie, his first original solo material in roughly three years; the song was written exclusively for the film. The soundtrack received stronger reviews from critics than the film itself, including a four-star rating from AllMusic. [14] Mark Isham's original score for Cool World, featuring a mixture of jazz, orchestral pieces, and electronic remixes, and performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra, was released on compact disc by Varèse Sarabande, and in complete form in 2015 by Quartet. It also received positive reviews. [15] [16]

Promotion

Paramount focused the film's promotion both on being as Bakshi's comeback, and the hypersexual imagery of Holli Would. It was considered by some pundits as misaimed. Paramount's marketing president Barry London noted the film "unfortunately did not seem to satisfy the younger audience it was aimed at." [17] Designer Milton Knight recalled that premiere audiences "actually wanted a wilder, raunchier Cool World." [6]

Several different licensed video games based on the film were created by Ocean Software. The first game was developed by Twilight and released in 1992 for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and DOS. Two different games were released in 1993 for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES, alongside a Game Boy version of the former. [18] A four-issue comic book prequel to the film was published as a miniseries by DC Comics. [19] It featured a script by Michael Eury and art work by Stephen DeStefano, Chuck Fiala, and Bill Wray. [20]

Controversy

In July 1992, Paramount's marketing campaign of the film created controversy by altering the Hollywood Sign to include a 75-foot (23 m) tall cutout of Holli Would. [21] The studio's request was initially denied by the City of Los Angeles, but reversed once Paramount gave $27,000 to the city, and an additional $27,000 for cleanup after the 1992 Los Angeles riots. [1] Local residents were angered by the sign's alteration, largely due to the sexualized image of Holli, and launched a failed lawsuit against the city to stop the alteration. [22] [23] [24] In a letter to the city's Recreation and Park Board, commission officials wrote that they were "appalled" by the board's approval of the alterations: "...the action your board has taken is offensive to Los Angeles women and is not within your role as custodian and guardian of the Hollywood sign. The fact that Paramount Pictures donated a mere $27,000 to Rebuild L.A. should not be a passport to exploit women in Los Angeles." Protestors picketed the unveiling of the altered sign. [24]

Reception

Box office

Cool World opened sixth at the North American box office, with $5.5 million. Although set to expand to more theaters in its second weekend, Paramount stunned exhibitors by immediately ceasing advertising for the film. [1] Its lifetime gross was US$14.1 million, barely more than half its reported US$28 million budget. [2] [25]

Critical response

Jack and Holli. Reviews were critical of the compositing of animation and live-action. Cool World characters Jack and Holly.jpg
Jack and Holli. Reviews were critical of the compositing of animation and live-action.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 4% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 3.4/10. The consensus reads: "Cool World throws a small handful of visual sparks, but they aren't enough to distract from the screenplay's thin characters and scattered plot." [26] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 28 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [27] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C" on scale of A+ to F. [28]

Variety reviewer Brian Lowry compared the film to an extended music video, praising the soundtrack and visuals, but panning the story. [29] The plot was heavily derided by other reviewers, with a review for the Los Angeles Times saying "[T]he plot makes almost no sense." [30]

Roger Ebert of the wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times that the film "misses one opportunity after another ... [it is] a surprisingly incompetent film." [31] Leonard Maltin panned the film as "too serious to be fun, too goofy to take seriously; lead characters unlikable and unappealing. Looks like a Roger Corman version of Roger Rabbit ." [32] Chris Hicks for Deseret News described it as "a one-joke movie – and it's a dirty joke. [...] And much of what's going on here seems more angry and nasty than inspired or funny." [33] The film's acting and effects were singled out by The Washington Post reviewer Hal Hinson, who wrote her performance made him wonder "whether Kim Basinger is more obnoxious as a cartoon or as a real person", and felt that the combination of animation and live action was unconvincing. [34]

In 1997, John Grant wrote in The Encyclopedia of Fantasy that Cool World "stands as one of the fantastic cinema's most significant achievements, an 'Instauration fantasy' that reveals greater depths with each viewing." [35] In 2005, animation historian Jerry Beck described the film as being "for adults and Bakshi completists only". He wrote the film "has a great premise, a great cast, and the best animation he's ever been involved with", but critiquing it as a "pointless rehash of many of Ralph's favorite themes, and the story literally goes nowhere". [36]

In some interviews after the release of the film, Bakshi denounced the film, saying "I thought if I did the animation well, it would be worth it, but you know what? It wasn't worth it." [37] Bakshi also stated that he "had a lot of animators there that I'd brought in and I thought that maybe I could just have fun animating this stuff, which I did." [10] In 2022, he stated "I used to disparage it, but not anymore" and that "Cool World has some of the best animation I've ever done." [9]

The film garnered a Razzie Award nomination for Kim Basinger as Worst Actress. [38]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Bakshi</span> American animator and filmmaker (born 1938)

Ralph Bakshi is a Palestinian-American animator, filmmaker and painter. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1994, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, predominantly urban dramas and fantasy films, five of which he wrote. He has also been involved in numerous television projects as director, writer, producer and animator.

Animation in the United States in the television era was a period in the history of American animation that gradually started in the late 1950s with the decline of theatrical animated shorts and popularization of television animation, reached its peak during the 1970s, and ended around the late 1980s. This era is characterized by low budgets, limited animation, an emphasis on television over the theater, and the general perception of cartoons being primarily for children.

Modern animation in the United States from the late 1980s to 2004 is frequently referred to as the renaissance age of American animation. During this period, many large American entertainment companies reformed and reinvigorated their animation departments, following the dark age, and the United States had an influence on global and worldwide animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrytoons</span> American animation studio

Terrytoons was an American animation studio headquartered in New Rochelle, New York that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973. It was founded by Paul Terry, Frank Moser, and Joseph Coffman, and operated out of the "K" Building in downtown New Rochelle. The studio created many cartoon characters including Fanny Zilch, Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Little Roquefort, the Terry Bears, Dimwit, and Luno; Terry's pre-existing character Farmer Al Falfa was also featured often in the series.

The term independent animation refers to animated shorts, web series, and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kricfalusi</span> Canadian blogger and animator (born 1955)

Michael John Kricfalusi, known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show, which was highly influential on televised animation during the 1990s. From 1989 to 1992, he was heavily involved with the first two seasons of the show in virtually every aspect of its production, including providing the voice of Ren Höek and other characters. In 2009, he won the Inkpot Award.

<i>Wizards</i> (film) 1977 film by Ralph Bakshi

Wizards is a 1977 American animated post-apocalyptic science fantasy film written, directed and produced by Ralph Bakshi and distributed by 20th Century-Fox. The film follows a battle between two wizards of opposing powers, one representing the forces of magic and the other representing the forces of technology.

<i>Heavy Traffic</i> 1973 film by Ralph Bakshi

Heavy Traffic is a 1973 American live-action/adult animated drama film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film, which begins, ends, and occasionally combines with live-action, explores the often surreal fantasies of a young New York City cartoonist named Michael Corleone, using pinball imagery as a metaphor for inner-city life. Heavy Traffic was Bakshi and producer Steve Krantz's follow-up to the film Fritz the Cat. Though producer Krantz made varied attempts to produce an R-rated film, Heavy Traffic was given an X rating by the MPAA. The film received largely positive reviews and is widely considered to be Bakshi's biggest critical success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicktoons</span> Animated series brand used by Nickelodeon

Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company in their copyright bylines.

James H. "Shamus" Culhane was an American animator, film director, and film producer. He is best known for his work in the Golden age of American animation.

<i>Coonskin</i> (film) 1975 live action/animated satirical crime film for adults by Ralph Bakshi

Coonskin is a 1975 American live-action/animated satirical crime film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film references the Uncle Remus folk tales, and satirizes the blaxploitation film genre as well as Disney's film Song of the South, adapted from the Uncle Remus folk tales. The film's narrative concerns three anthropomorphic Uncle Remus characters, Br'er Rabbit, referred to as Brother Rabbit, Br'er Fox, referred to as Preacher Fox, and Br'er Bear, referred to as Brother Bear. They rise to the top of the organized crime racket in Harlem, encountering corrupt law enforcement, con artists, and the Mafia, in a satire of both racism within the Hollywood film system, and America itself. The film stars Philip Thomas, Charles Gordone, Barry White, and Scatman Crothers, all of whom appear in both live-action and animated sequences.

Michael Grais is an American screenwriter, best known as the co-writer of Poltergeist (1982).

<i>Fritz the Cat</i> (film) 1972 film by Ralph Bakshi

Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American adult animated black comedy film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi in his directorial debut. Based on the comic strip of the same name by Robert Crumb, the film focuses on its Skip Hinnant-portrayed titular character, a glib, womanizing and fraudulent cat in an anthropomorphic animal version of New York City during the mid-to-late 1960s. Fritz decides on a whim to drop out of college, interacts with inner city African American crows, unintentionally starts a race riot and becomes a leftist revolutionary. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations, and the free love movement, as well as serving as a criticism of the countercultural political revolution and dishonest political activists.

Stephen Worth is an American producer of animation.

Irven LeRoy Spence was an American animator. He is best known for his work on MGM's Tom and Jerry animated shorts. Spence has been credited variously as Irven Spence, Irvin Spence, and Irv Spence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven E. Gordon</span> American animator (born 1960)

Steven Eric Gordon is an American film director, character designer and animator, who is perhaps most well known for his work with animation film director Ralph Bakshi and on X-Men: Evolution.

Harry Love was an American animator, effects animator, director, producer, production coordinator, and writer.

Milton Knight Jr. is an American cartoonist, animator, comic book artist, writer, painter, and storyboard/layout artist. He directed animation for a variety of cartoon series, including Cool World, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. He is known for his Golden Age (1930s) cartooning style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gina Shay</span> American film producer

Gina Shay is an American producer at DreamWorks Animation specializing in animated feature films. She was nominated for the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature award due to her contributions for the 2010 film Shrek Forever After.

Events in 1913 in animation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "COOL WORLD (1992)". American Film Institute . Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Diamond, Jamie (July 5, 1991). "Animation's Bad Boy Returns, Unrepentant". The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Cool World". Box Office Mojo.
  4. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 174. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  5. ↑ Taylor, Trey (October 7, 2016). "What makes cult film Cool World so universally hated?". Dazed. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gibson, Jon M.; McDonnell, Chris (2008). "Ups & Downs". Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi. Universe Publishing. pp. 219, 227. ISBN   978-0-7893-1684-4.
  7. 1 2 "Interview with Ralph Bakshi". IGN . Archived from the original on February 18, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
  8. ↑ "How Did This Get Made: A Conversation With Michael Grais, Writer Of 'Cool World'". Slashfilm. May 15, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  9. 1 2 Kevin E G Perry (July 7, 2022). "Cool World: How Brad Pitt's 'Roger Rabbit on acid' became a box office bomb". The Independent . Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Naugle, Patrick (August 2, 2004). "Rotoscoped Memories: An Interview with Ralph Bakshi". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
  11. ↑ Labrecque, Jeff (February 28, 2013). "Still Bakshi after all these years: Iconoclastic 'Fritz the Cat' director has another tale to tell". Entertainment Weekly .
  12. ↑ "About Spain". Dies Irae. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Cool World soundtrack details". SoundtrackCollector. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
  14. ↑ Mills, Ted. "Review of Songs from the Cool World". AllMusic . Retrieved March 27, 2007.
  15. ↑ Carlsson, Mikael. "Cool World". Music from the Movies. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
  16. ↑ Schelle, Michael (1999). The Score: Interviews with Film Composers . Los Angeles, CA: Silman-James Press. ISBN   978-1879505407.
  17. ↑ Welkos, Robert W. (September 1, 1992). "Why Three Didn't Live Up to High Hopes". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  18. ↑ "Cool World". MobyGames. Archived from the original on April 27, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
  19. ↑ "Bakshi gallery". RalphBakshi.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2004. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
  20. ↑ "Ralph Bakshi". lambiek.net.
  21. ↑ "When Paramount's 75-Foot Hollywood Sign Stunt Pushed Locals Too Far". The Hollywood Reporter . July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  22. ↑ Schoch, Deborah (July 6, 1992). "Hollywood Residents Can't Shroud Anger Promotion: Paramount Pictures defends attaching a movie cartoon character to the famous sign. Citizens fear a tourist invasion and say that the landmark is being commercialized". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  23. ↑ "Cartoon Character Opens Landmark Rift". San Jose Mercury News . July 7, 1992. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  24. 1 2 Chazanov, Mathis (July 7, 1992). "'D' as in Disagreement Cartoon Character Atop Landmark Sign Sets Off Protests". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  25. ↑ "Cool World (1992)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Cool World (1992)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango. July 10, 1992. Retrieved October 10, 2021. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  27. ↑ "Cool World". Metacritic . Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  28. ↑ "CinemaScore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  29. ↑ Lowry, Brian (July 13, 1992). "Review of Cool World". Variety . Archived from the original on April 12, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  30. ↑ Rainer, David (July 11, 1992). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Cool World' Flirts With the Erotic". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  31. ↑ Ebert, Roger (July 13, 1992). "Review of Cool World". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved January 11, 2007.
  32. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (2008). "Cool World (1992)". Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide. Penguin Group. p. 280. ISBN   9780452289789.
  33. ↑ Hicks, Chris (July 16, 1992). "Review of Cool World". Deseret News . Archived from the original on January 22, 2012.
  34. ↑ Hinson, Hal (July 10, 1992). "Review of Cool World". The Washington Post .
  35. ↑ Grant, John (2001). "Ralph Bakshi". Masters of Animation. Watson-Guptill. p. 28. ISBN   0-8230-3041-5.
  36. ↑ Beck, Jerry (2005). "Cool World". The Animated Movie Guide . Chicago Review Press. p.  58. ISBN   978-1-55652-591-9.
  37. ↑ Rose, Steve (August 11, 2006). "Who flamed Roger Rabbit?". The Guardian . London. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
  38. ↑ Wilson, John (August 23, 2000). "Ceremonies Presented at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Oscar Room, March 28, 1993". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2016.