While incarcerated for murder, cartoonist Jack Deebs found escape by creating Cool World, a series featuring a voluptuous femme fatale named Holli Would. But the artist becomes a prisoner of his own fantasies when Holli transports Jack into Cool World with a scheme to seduce him and bring herself to life. Hard-boiled detective Frank Harris – the only other human in Cool World – cautions Jack with the law: Noids (humans) don't have sex with doodles (cartoons). However, flesh proves weaker than ink as Holli takes human form in Las Vegas, staring in a trans-universal chase that threatens the destruction of both worlds.
I'm not 100% positive but I think my parents took me to see this, when I was only 11 years old, and I'm pretty sure they were at the very least unconformable though this was only a month after they took me to see Batman Returns so... Anyway, seeing this again after 30 years, this feels like a movie made for people to watch while high because I was perplexed at what this was. It also had the stench of studio interference with a confusing plot at least early on and not helped by one-dimensional characters and hammy acting, with Brad Pitt seeming to regret taking the role even if it was early in his career. Kim Basinger as Holli Would was fun, to say the least. And Gabriel Byrne just look confused.
The scenes with animation and live action felt unpolished compared to something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, however some of the real sets definitely had some interesting aesthetics to them. I don't know, this is one that some might appreciate but for myself I doubt I'd ever revisit. **2.5/5**
Decent, though a disappointment after enjoying Bakshi's great run of Spider-Man cartoons from the 60's. The animation style and great soundtrack--dated in a fine way--make up for such a lousy and uninspired script. I'd much rather come across Shirley Clarke's similarly titled film from the 60's instead.
Hoopla
YouTube Free
JustWatch TV
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
Fandango At Home
