A to Z of Animation Studios: R Is for Ralph Bakshi (and Rankin/Bass)

Apr 27

Two very different studios: one fought to prove cartoons could be for adults, and one made the holiday specials your family watches every year.

R is for Ralph Bakshi

Who he is: Ralph Bakshi started as a cel painter at Terrytoons in the 1950s and worked his way up to running the studio. Then he left to prove something most of Hollywood didn't believe: that animation could tell any kind of story, not just stories for children.

What he made: Most of Bakshi's best-known films were made for adults, and they're not ones to watch with kids. But two of his projects are part of every animation fan's education:

The Lord of the Rings (1978). REAL: the first big-screen attempt to adapt Tolkien. Bakshi filmed live actors and traced over them, a technique called rotoscoping, to get realistic movement for huge battle scenes. REAL: it ends halfway through the story, because the planned second film was never made.
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures (1987). Bakshi went back to his Terrytoons roots and made a wild, inventive Saturday-morning show for kids. It's remembered as one of the most creative cartoons of the 1980s.

The Bakshi effect: Bakshi pushed studios and audiences to see animation as an art form, not a genre. Every time you hear "animation is a medium, not a genre," that's his fight.

Honorable mention, and maybe the real star: Rankin/Bass

The studio behind the holiday specials that air every year:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). REAL: one of the longest-running TV specials in history, made in stop-motion they called "Animagic."
Frosty the Snowman (1969). A hand-drawn special, and yes, Frosty melts. And yes, he comes back.
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970). An origin story for Santa, featuring the toy-hating Burgermeister Meisterburger.
The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974). Home of the Heat Miser and Snow Miser.
Mad Monster Party? (1967). A stop-motion monster comedy that many fans see as an ancestor of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Why they work: Simple stories, catchy songs and characters who don't fit in until they save the day.

The lesson

Bakshi and Rankin/Bass sit at opposite ends of animation, and both prove the same thing: animation can be anything you need it to be. A grand fantasy epic. A gentle holiday special. The tools are the same. The intent is what changes.