Cool World (1992)

Directed by Ralph Bakshi. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Brad Pitt, Kim Basinger, Janni Brenn, Deirdre O’Connell, Carrie Hamilton, (voices) Charlie Adler, Candi Milo, Joey Camen, Maurice LaMarche, Michael Lally, Jenine Jennings. [PG-13]

Underground cartoonist Byrne, freshly released from prison for killing his wife’s lover, gets sucked into his own creation: an outrageous alternate universe called “Cool World” that he drew based on recurring visions. See, Cool World is made up of “doodles” (cartoon characters) while he remains a “noid” (flesh-and-blood human), but blonde “doodle” babe Holli Would (voiced by Basinger) wants to become a “noid” and knows of only way how: intercourse with the real deal. Now, how exactly a human being can snog a three-dimensional drawing might be worth examining, but this sex-obsessed live-action/animation hybrid curiously doesn’t bother with those details, or most other puerile details because of its restrictive PG-13 rating—it’s unsuitable for little kids (who’d be bored anyway) and too tame for fans of adult animation. When it’s not being dirty, the movie is simply baffling; the visuals are frequently hyperactive, but boredom sets in early and never vanishes, and at no point would anyone believe that the live-action characters are sharing the same space as the animated ones (the only other “noid” stuck in Cool World upon Byrne’s arrival is Pitt’s war-vet-turned-detective, and his line readings when surrounded by “doodles” are as zoned-out as his expressions). Bakshi’s final feature film.

22/100