Hey Good Lookin' (partially found original version of Ralph Bakshi animated film; 1975)

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Hey good lookin poster.jpg

Poster for the 1982 film version.

Status: Partially Found

Hey Good Lookin' is a 1982 comedy-drama film directed by Ralph Bakshi and produced by Warner Bros., with production dating back to 1974, but not released until 1982.

The film was to feature animated characters (Vinny, Crazy, Rozzie and Eva) interacting with live-action characters, Soundtrack by The New York Dolls and Dan Hicks (soundtrack released in 1976 as It Happened One Bite), as well as a few 50's hits like Earth Angel and Oh, Happy Day.

History

The film was originally a live-action/animated hybrid, with human actors interacting with cartoons. A trailer was shown off in 1973 (which is held in in the UCLA archives[1]) with critics and fans praising Ralph's new style. The film was going smoothly and finished in 1975, but thenCoonskin was released (another Ralph Bakshi movie), causing controversy with C.O.R.E due to it having blackface. Fearing controversy, combined with considering a hybrid of live-action and animation "un-releasable", Warner Bros. canceled the film's distribution, and ordered Bakshi to re-do the entire film in full animation.[1]

Warner Bros. delayed the film indefinitely until finally canning it in 1976. To avoid getting sued for using more live-action than he said he would, Bakshi re-wrote and redid the entire film in animation, and he would have to self-finance completion.

Profits from Wizards (1977) and Lord of the Rings (1978) were used by Bakshi to finally finish the film, but somewhat under protest, as this newer version didn't have the same amount of effort put into it, to a point where the film mocks itself.

Scenes of the 1975 Cut Present on the 1982 Cut

Due to re-doing the whole film in animation, live-action backgrounds were scrapped and replaced with painted backgrounds, as well as replacing and re-writing several side-characters with animated ones, but it is possible that most of Vinny/Crazy/Roz/Eva's animation was re-used in the new version, so even if they're not the original scene, they're the most present element of the 1975 cut in the entire film.

Reused animation

  • Vinny combing his hair (Possibly being played along with Dan Hick's Vinny's Looking Good).
  • Vinny and Crazy hanging out in Manhattan.
  • Crazy and Vinny playing pool, discussing Roz.
  • Vinny and Roz taking a walk in Coney Island.
  • Vinny in the club's bathroom, arguing with Crazy.
  • Though rotoscoped to look animated, several of the car driving scenes.
  • Roz smoking in the car while Vinny is making a speech for the Stompers.
  • Vinny packing/changing clothes. For some reason, this scene cuts off before it can even end properly.
  • The Rumble with the Black Chaplins. In the 1975 cut, this scene featured several dance movements by the Chaplins, and it is known for being the earliest appearance of Break Dancing, something that became popular later on the '80s. Since these scenes were left in, the characters were rotoscoped, but only a handful of the many dance movements were cut. Other scenes would be the Stompers marching towards the Chaplins, all the way to the shoot-out, where strangely, in a wide-shot, the Stompers are seen running for cover, but many of them go through the walls that originally were the alleys/dumpster cans.
  • Crazy's own climax on the roof. It is possible this scene was also severely cut down.
  • Vinny walking alone in Manhattan after the rumble.

Availability

Only a few scenes of the 1975 version survived, but it's very unclear where the dialog was re-written, as this was also part of the deal. According to Bakshi, Warner Bros. might still have a finished copy of the 1975 version sitting in their vaults.[1]

In December 2021, a showreel of the 1975 version was discovered as part of a 1974 Warner Bros. product reel; narrated by Bakshi himself, the reel features some of the previously unseen live-action footage, as well as concept art.[2]

Gallery

Stills

Videos

Product reel where some footage from the original version is shown (5:32-8:24).

An excerpt from YouTuber ElectricDragon505's video about Ralph Bakshi's career where he shows stills from the film. (8:46 - 9:05).

See Also

Extended Link

Reference