"Last Days of Coney Island" Review

Don't Call it a Comeback

by Andy V.

Ralph Bakshi is a polarizing name to many who consider themselves savvy about animation. As far as I can tell you either love him or hate him and his works. He's worked on numerous television products such as "Mighty Mouse" but what people usually talk about when he comes up is his many animated features which range from adaptations such as the animated version of Robert Crumb's "Fritz the Cat" (which Crumb himself hated so much he chose to kill the character off for good in the comics to prevent a sequel, which didn't work) to the more iconic "The Lord of the Rings" which many consider one of the best adaptations of Tolkien's magnum opus to his original works such as the anti-war fantasy epic "Wizards" and his cooperative effort with the legendary Frank Frazetta "Fire and Ice". Needless to say I'm glossing over some of the highlights, the guy has done a lot that is worth checking out due to how he would just constantly push boundaries in how to use animation. He is one of the first names thought of when you think of "adult" animation, his works featuring copious amounts of sex, blood, violence and biting social commentary. If you couldn't tell I'm a fan myself, "Fire and Ice" is a treat to watch to this day due to it's high use of rotoscoping and Frazetta designs, "Fritz the Cat" for it's flat out bizarre story line and characters.

Which is why it pains me to say that his newest work "Last Days of Coney Island", his first work since 1992's "Cool World" can be summarized as an incoherent mess that lacks any of the spark and ambition that Bakshi's animation used to have.

Make no mistake about it, it's great to see Bakshi back at the helm considering how long it's been. It's also great to see a Kickstarter project actually come to fruition but "LDCI" just fails to deliver in my eyes. I've seen some people declare it a major return to form and I wonder if they are just hardcore Bakshi fans who feel the guy can do no wrong or if they just see something I don't. The story is actually really interesting for the most part. It follows the intertwining lives of several ne'er-do-wells who inhabit the amusement park section of Coney Island in the 60's. It's trying to make an attempt at commentary of how social norms and society changed, the film makes ample use of the JFK assassination complete with footage of the tragic occurence and even Oswald's demise at the hands of Jack Ruby, but it just falls flat and I feel a major part of that is due to the poor animation.

The whole thing looks like an undone animatic. Something that was meant to be the framework for the movie until the actual animation team came in and did their work. Lots of animation looks re-used which would be fine if it wasn't so glaringly obvious. The character designs are classic Bakshi, grotesque caricatures but with a unique charm to them that fits the grim and gritty world they inhabit, but the way they move is just awful. The way background characters are hastily sketched and coloring in with maybe one feature on them, such as their eyes or mouth, looks terrible. It just looks like a hastily slapped together mess...which when you consider the amount of time it took for this movie to come out is rather sad.

Animation has changed a lot in the last decade, people are making full blown cartoons on their own in their free time with just a single computer and a tablet. Harry Partridge, the Chapman Brothers, Chris O'Neill are just a few of the names that come to mind. Their using the same tools Bakshi had for "LDCI" if not less, which makes it sad to see just how unfinished and sloppy the final product looks. I know Bakshi can do better, if he decides to do another film he should tap the new generation of "underground" animators who work outside of the industry, he could possibly make something special.

"Last Day's of Coney Island" is available to rent on Vimeo currently for 3.99

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