American Pop

[It's the 1980s - Pete has grown up dealing cocaine. He arrives at a recording studio]

Pete: [Slamming down briefcase full of cocaine on table]  Pizza man! We deliver!
Musician: You got the coke, daddy-o?
Pete: What do I look like, man? A soda fountain?
Musician: Hey, what else you got there?
Pete: Songs.
Musician: You scorin' songs now, too?
Pete: Givin' 'em away, a song an ounce.
Musician: By who?
Pete: Me!
Musician: You can keep the songs, man.
Pete: I will keep the coke too!

"American Pop" is the story of four generations of a Russian Jewish immigrant family of musicians whose careers parallel the history of American popular music in the 20th century.

Released on February 13, 1981, "American Pop" was released and became a financial success in its own right.  It was different.  It was animated.  And it touched on a subject matter that many people simply didn't care about nor were interested in... except for a select few.  Those "few" were the ones that helped make it what we know as a cult favorite today.  After it's release date, the New York Times' write Vincent Canby stated, "I'm amazed at the success that (director) Mr. Bakshi has in turning animated characters into figures of real feelings."

Director Ralph Bakshi pitched the idea of "American Pop" to Columbia Pictures.  He wanted to produce a film in which songs would be given a new context in juxtaposition to the visuals.  While the film is not based on his own personal experiences, its themes were strongly influenced by people he had come across in his own life.  For under $1 million, Bakshi was able to acquire the rights to an extensive soundtrack including songs by Janis Joplin, The Doors, George Gershwin, The Mamas & the Papas, Herbie Hancock, Lou Reed, and Louis Prima.  Due to music clearance issues, the film was not released on home video until 1998.

"American Pop" was filmed in the retroscope style which is likened to portable peepshow style viewers where you look through a eyepiece, crank a handle, and watch animated pages flip one right after the other right before your eyes.

This film featured the voice talents of Ron Thompson as "Tony" and "Pete", Mews Small as "Frankie", Jerry Holland as "Louie", Lisa Jane Persky as "Bella", Jeffrey Lippa as "Zalma" (this was his first film), Roz Kelly as "Eva", Frank DeKova as "Crisco", Rick Singer as "Benny", and many others.  Most of those I've listed had previous credits to their names which included both film and television and continued on with their careers.  Frank DeKova's credits were vast totalling 147, but "American Pop" would be his second-to-last production as he died in 1981 at the age of 71.

Here are a few other pieces of information regarding the making of the film...

1.  Although not specifically stated, the incident in which Zalmie's mother dies appears to be the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, a one of the worst industrial disasters in New York City's history. 146 garment workers, mostly immigrant women, died either in the fire, or by jumping from the windows of the 8th-10th floors because the doors were locked shut. The fire prompted legislative and union action to improve safety and working conditions in garment sweatshops.

2.  Except for a few bits of live-action stock footage and the still drawings in the opening credits, the movie is entirely rotoscoped.

3.  Some of the gangland scenes are rotoscoped footage from The Public Enemy (1931).

4.  Director Ralph Bakshi's voice is cameo'd as the voice of the piano player who tells a pregnant Bella that her song "is going to be a big hit. I think you should try it out."

5.  The two dancers in the "Sing Sing Sing With a Swing" montage are the rotoscoped Nicholas brothers in Stormy Weather (1943).

6.  According to Ralph Bakshi, he originally wanted to end the movie with Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird".

And now you know.

Although all of the characters are fictional, many were partially inspired by real people. The character of Frankie, for instance, was based on Grace Slick (of Jefferson Airplane) and Janis Joplin (of Big Brother and the Holding Company).

The following are some picture stills chronologically arranged to follow the story line of the film...

[Louie and Zalmie are performing as the two halves of a dancing horse - Zalmie being the lower half]
Zalmie: Louie?
Louie: Yeah?
Zalmie: I'm 17 years-old. When's my voice gonna change already?
Louie: It's changin'. It's changin'.
Zalmie: I know it's changin'. When's it gonna change for good?
Louie: What's your rush?
Zalmie: I don't wanna be a horse's ass forever.