American Pop (Widescreen/Full Screen)

I realize this is probably not a popular view, but hear me out. The story is improbable at best -- the pretentious idea that one family was responsible for every great shift in American popular song, from ragtime to punk (actually a British invention more than it is an American one, and that's just one example of this movie's wrongheadedness), is an insult to the memories of everyone from George Gershwin to Buddy Holly, from Irving Berlin to Bob Seger. Aside from that, the few moments of power and pathos this movie contains (and yes, there are a few), are undermined by the sloppy writing and the herkimer-jerkimer animation. The dialogue is as stilted as the motion in American Pop.

Okay, I know I'm spitting on an icon many people hold dear, but I'm really serious here, especially where the animation is concerned. It's one thing to use a little bit of the rotoscope process; Disney had no compunctions against it, and neither did the Fleischer Brothers or the denizens of Warner Brothers' Termite Terrace. However, all of the abovementioned used rotoscoping in small measures; even Snow White didn't overuse the technique, and that's one of the most-rotoscoped of the Disney features. American Pop, on the other hand, not only overdoes it on the rotoscoping, it actually makes the rotoscoping look like something traced rather than original artwork, a crime of which Disney, the Fleischers, et al, were never guilty. The effect of this "over-'scoping" is to rob the viewer's imagination, rather than to stimulate it. I was never captured by this film; rather, I found myself wondering how much it cost to hire mediocre actors, then "animate" their every move. (And the acting really is mediocre in this thing, too. I'd rather watch an episode of Alias Smith and Jones than this dreck.)

Then there's the godawful way all the great music in this film is represented. One example: The "freakout" sequence, which does for the late, lamented Jefferson Airplane what trichonosis does for pork chops. What's the deal, Ralph? Did Paul Kantner and Grace Slick threaten a lawsuit if you drew in the actual band that performed "Somebody To Love"? And as if that isn't enough, then the absolute butchering of "Night Moves" (which starts with a guitar riff, NOT a piano riff!) and "Blue Suede Shoes" will break any true rock fan's heart. Bakshi's entire crew should be prosecuted for crimes against music.

In closing, gentle web friends, let me just say that there is nothing wrong with this movie that a blowtorch couldn't fix. American Pop is a huge waste of celluloid, and would've been rotten with the live actors they rotoscoped over. Animated, it stinks on ice. Avoid this one at all costs, and watch Fritz the Cat instead. You'll be glad you did.