Hey Good Lookin' (partially found original version of Ralph Bakshi animated film; 1975)
This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its lack of clarity and organization.
Poster for the 1982 film version.
Status: Lost
Hey Good Lookin' is a 1982 comedy-drama film directed by Ralph Bakshi, with production dating back to 1974, but released in New York only and in 1982 produced by Warner Brothers.
The film was originally a live-action, cartoon 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. Warner Bros got worried from this and also felt like live-action and animation was "un-releasable",< they canceled the film's distribution, and ordered Bakshi to re-do the entire film in full animation.[1]
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.
Retooling
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 to it, to a point where the film mocks itself.
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 Ralph, Waner Bros. might still have a finished copy of the 1975 version, sitting in their vaults.[1]
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 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 about Roz
- Vinny and Roz taking a walk in Coney Island
- Vinny on 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, due to not losing those scenes, 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, originally being the alleys/dumpster cans.
- Crazy's own climax on the roof, it is possible this scene was also severely cut-down, as well as losing its meaning over the production process.
- Vinny is walking by himself in Manhattan, after the Rumble.
Reference
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 A Q&A with Ralph Bakshi over the creation of the film. Retrieved 07 May '19