The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Ralph Bakshi’s version of LotR is mostly rotoscoped from live action but also has some traditional cel animation. The saturated colour scheme, use of silhouette and posterization gives scenes a real dramatic power befitting of Tolkien’s words. The Orcs are kind of silly looking but the Nazgûl are wonderfully creepy and darkly menacing.
It condenses approx one and half books into just over two hours, so some story had to be dropped but it somehow remains largely faithful.
It’s a great shame he didn't get to do the planned sequel. I'd love to see his version of both Shelob and Sauron.

3½ battles that don't go on forever out of 5

COOL WORLD [1992]

The live action/animated hybrid Cool World is like Fritz The Cat director Ralph Bakshi's raunchier answer to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
With it's seedy world inhabited by cute Fleischer-esque cartoon characters who look like they took a turn down the wrong road I was reminded of Peter Jackson's Meet The Feebles.  It's got some interesting back-drop designs but the animated characters themselves look like juvenile versions of the cartoons they're attempting to imitate.  It's apparently supposed to be funny but I don't think I cracked a smile even once as I tried to figure out why I was subjecting myself to this crap.  It's hilarious to see Brad Pitt before his balls dropped but that wears off within 10 minutes into the film.

1 doodle out of 5

Wizards (1977)

After some necessary exposition, the story gets underway. Two wizards, siblings, one representing the power of industry and the other representing the power of magic, prepare themselves for an inevitable confrontation. Wiki said it best so I'm just going to quote from there: 'The film is an allegorical comment on the moral neutrality of technology and the potentially destructive powers of propaganda.' It’s that wrapped in a Bakshi bun that’s tantalising but oddly shaped, which is to say it’s a hugely enjoyable piece of work but is very rough around the edges. There’s a lot borrowed from Tolkien in the build-up, but it’s used in the correct manner.

3½ quick swords out of 5

Fire and Ice (1983)

Fire and Ice is a collaboration between director Ralph Bakshi and fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta, using the same rotoscoping technique that Bakshi used in previous films. It’s a technique that gives the character movement a vibrancy and authenticity that traditional hand drawn animation had at that time struggled to emulate effectively.
Sadly, the plot is thinner than muslin cloth. A girl with a fat ass runs a lot, and two kingdoms go to war because of her. That's really all there is to it.

3 but only if you're a fan of Frazetta or animation out of 5