Please don't spend money on this.

A Disappointing Continuation

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

I picked this film up on a whim, as part of a double-feature DVD set with "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" in the bargain bin at my local Best Buy. I figured, hey, I like "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" (it's one of my favorite anime films), and I enjoy the works of Ralph Bakshi (who directed great films like "Fritz the Cat", "Heavy Traffic" and "Coonskin"), so it seemed like a win-win. And hey, if I didn't like "American Pop", then it wouldn't be wasted money, $5 and all.As it turns out, "American Pop" has quickly become one of my favorite films, and one of Ralph Bakshi's strongest works. This surprisingly down-to-earth urban drama, set over a timespan of roughly 70 years, is a beautiful-looking, wonderful-sounding, exquisitely-written masterpiece. The characters are distinct (especially Pete), the music works wonderfully (I still can't get that cover of "Somebody to Love" outta my head), and the rotoscoped animation represents a world that is gritty and real, but at the same time fictionalized. Ralph Bakshi, if you're reading this, congratulations on a job well done. I'm not going to be parting with my "American Pop" DVD anytime soon.

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 am not a fan of Ralph Bakshi, but he has done some films that I do like, with American Pop being my favourite. The film could've been shorter perhaps, but the characters are interesting and the voice work solid with on Thompson standing out. The story is charming with an emotional impact(especially the scene in the cornfield) and not too heavy-handed, and the subtitles are not too confused and never condescending. The main interest points though are the rotoscoped animation, some may find it is not to their tastes but I found it unique and overall well done with a lot of Bakshi's trademarks seen with the wild nature of the hallucination scene, and the soundtrack, which is fantastic and often very atmospheric, adding so much to the mood. In conclusion, a great film and Bakshi's best in my opinion. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The narrative of this Bakshi animated film follows the showbiz aspirations of a Jewish émigré family through four generations (from turn-of-the-century to the present, i.e. early 1980s), taking in the various turbulent world events and reflecting the often radical changes in culture which occurred during all this time.An ambitious if heavy-handed undertaking (Bakshi's trademark realism, displayed through rotoscoped animation, occasionally interspersed with stock footage) which is patchy overall but frequently impressive - and undeniably evocative. The necessarily eclectic soundtrack, too, is a major asset even if the last half does lean too heavily on the the hippie/rock scene; it's also amusing how the script presents the band which the protagonist eventually forms part of as the talent behind many of the best-known rock songs from the era by the likes of Big Brother And The Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Sex Pistols and even my own favorite, The Velvet Underground!!