American Pop (1981)

American Pop is an ambitious and groundbreaking work of storytelling that also just happens to be animated. For years, love-him-or-hate-him director Ralph Bakshi pushed the envelope of animation as far as he could, which more often than not, resulted in some rather racy material (Streetfight, Fritz the Cat). Then came American Pop, which in 1981 ushered in not only a new style of animation for the masses (rotoscoping -- something Bakshi had played around with years before), but a soundtrack that covers almost 80 years of popular music, from Scott Joplin to Hendrix. It's a lofty goal, and even more so because of how utterly serious the sprawling story line is. This isn't loud and flashy like Heavy Metal, nor was the music as hip as Rock & Rule two years later. American Pop is a heavy drama that deliberately takes its time while trying to do justice to each character and their time period's music. That said, it tends to drag in some parts, focusing in on this or that person for too long -- but when the rock & roll revolution starts to take over, it knows when to turn it up and let the crazy visuals flow. The end, for instance, shouldn't work. Bakshi's been putting his audience through the emotional ringer for almost 90 minutes, but by the time Bob Seger starts blastin', you're there, fist in air, ready to preach the gospel. It's a great close to a daring animated film whose ambitions have to be respected, whether you enjoy it or not. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide