the audience applauded

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A curiosity more than anything, "American Pop" has its singular animation going for it. That, and a pleasing soundtrack that lives up to the movie's name. It's the paper-thin characters and lack of flow that really kill the buzz. The jumps from one era of music to the next are pretty rough and you don't end up feeling attached to these people. At least, I didn't.I can kinda see this on a double-bill with "Heavy Metal", at least in an animation sense. But story-wise, there's no comparison.5/10

Music lives on because it made by dreams from all kinds of people throughout generations. This is one of my favorite animated films that is underrated and forgotten. Ralph Bashi is one of my favorite animated directors of all time, because each of his films are always something different. He really shows you can do more with animation, push it to places never ventured but most importantly shows you can tell other kinds of stories with it.The animation I personally think is amazing and some of it I feel still holds up today. I love the use of rotoscoping which is an art that has became lost and I personally miss. It really gives most of the segments of the film a surreal quality but makes them more lively and go well with the music playing and characters in it. It's at times almost like watching a music video and this film was way before MTV (when it was actually cool) in the 80's came out so that's cool. I really love the movements of the characters, because they look natural they look like actually movement, when in most animation some movements look flighty or at super speed which I always found strange.And of course the great thing about the film is the music soundtrack which is one of the best darn soundtracks I've ever heard. It's almost like a greatest hits album because this just has so many songs I love.However this film I also feel is a great story. It's a story that is a tragedy but turns into a triumph.It all revolves around a Russian American family that came into the country looking for an opportuinty, a chance to be more than what they are but the tragedy was they never had a proper chance. Either by fate taking a bad turn or just bad choices which I felt the second but most of all third made.It's some pretty sad stuff, to me the saddest story was probably the third generation with Tony. It's true his character is a bit unlikeable but he's not unworthy of sympathy because he had a bad stepfather and I don't feel he's ever really gotten over the death of his own father which makes him an unhappy person. And that's part of what lead to the guy's downfall, he just never had much love in his life he could never really bring himself to find happiness even when it was staring straight at him. Like his success with this Doors or Janis Joplin like music group and even when he travels to Kansas he finds just this girl whom he falls in love with and this girl is just beautiful and persona to boot. But of course he blows it all because those wonderful things love and music just couldn't fill that hole he's had since childhood.As the generations come and go it's the music that truly lives on. I really love how in a way the music is sort of a character because it reflects their undying dreams not so much success in the music biz but really to do something more with it, have their music out their so they can live on though the music because even though human generations die, music lives forever. That's something I feel all of us can emphasize with because we all want to make our mark in life in some fashion as a form of immortality, to show that we existed, we mattered, we were here for a reason.The fourth and last generation whom is Pete is my favorite generation. Just the fact that it takes place in the 80's which of course was the decade I was born. Even though this segment isn't too long, doesn't really need to be. I just really like the Pete character from his persona, how he talks, but most of all just like the rest of his family his ambition. And what happens at the end is just a sweet sense of relief for me, you really after so much crap throughout the decades this guy it the one that truly deserves it.This film is a true celebration of music throughout the decades and the people that have helped create it. Without one style or even certain people throughout the decades, music never would of gotten to where we are now. For the human story if it has some message I feel it's don't let your dreams die, pursue them, attempt to succeed and treasure it.American Pop is an American Dream.Rating: 4 stars

I must admit that I never was a big fan of the works of Ralph Bakshi. While I do admire the efforts he made in order to show that the animated medium wasn't something exclusively for kids, the truth is that I found most of his movies to be pretty weak and dated (Specially, his movie version of "The Lord of the Rings", which I consider to be terrible)However, I found "American Pop" to be a pretty solid animated film, being at the same time the most ambitious and the most mature work from Ralph Bakshi.Not only the animation ís incredibly well done (With superb designs, beautiful sceneries, and an exquisite use of colors) but also the plot is way more complex than in the other movies directed by Ralph Bakshi, with a high level of realism and vivid moments of nostalgia and melancholy.The music and the voice acting from this film were excellent, giving it the perfect atmosphere for each era where the different parts of the story of this film took place.The result is something impressive, fascinating and unique. This is possibly one of the most ambitious and daring animated films ever made, and even when this film isn't entirely perfect, the overall result is still impressive, even by the moderns standards of animation."American Pop" is the strongest film directed by Ralph Bakshi, being the one that stand the test of time.I highly recommend this movie to anyone.

Covering The Generations of The Reincarnations of an Ellis Island Family which has The Heart & The Desire to perform American Pop shows that where The System fails The Talent takes over with The Family producing a Family Line Man who finally must perform or become genetically extinct...The Final Family Line Member finances his STARDOM by "Coin Boxing" The Church which abused his FAITH...Watch as the orphan Poppy Sandals emerges...Hell Is For Children...Listen to a Sound Track which to some is too eclectic and for others is a note-book full of memories of what life really can be and what life should really be on an individual basis with one's own soul and creator...