Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is a Palestinian-born American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote. He has been involved in numerous television projects as director, writer, producer and animator. Beginning his career at the Terrytoons television cartoon studio as a cel polisher, Bakshi was eventually promoted to director. He moved to the animation division of Paramount Pictures in 1967 and started his own studio, Bakshi Productions, in 1968. Through producer Steve Krantz, Bakshi made his debut feature film, Fritz the Cat, released in 1972. It was the first animated film to receive an X rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, and the most successful independent animated feature of all time. Over the next eleven years, Bakshi directed seven additional animated features. He is well known for his fantasy films, which include Wizards (1977), The Lord of the Rings (1978) and Fire and Ice (1983). In 1987, Bakshi returned to television work, producing the series Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, which ran for two years before it was canceled due to complaints from a conservative political group over perceived drug references. After a nine-year hiatus from feature films, he directed Cool World (1992), which was largely rewritten during production and received poor reviews. Bakshi returned to television with the live-action film Cool and the Crazy (1994) and the anthology series Spicy City (1997). He founded the Bakshi School of Animation and Cartooning in 2003. During the 2000s, he has focused largely on painting. He has received several awards for his work, including the 1980 Golden Gryphon for The Lord of the Rings at the Giffoni Film Festival, the 1988 Annie Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Art of Animation, and the 2003 Maverick Tribute Award at the Cinequest Film Festival.

Filmography

• 2023Midwest — Director, Writer
• 2015Last Days of Coney Island — Director, Writer, Producer
• 2012Trickle Dickle Down — Director, Writer, Producer
• 2010Forging Through the Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision for 'The Lord of the Rings' — Himself, Thanks
• Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon — Ralph Bakshi (voice)
• 1997Babe, He Calls Me — Super Hero, Animation, Director, Writer
• 1997Malcom and Melvin — Super Hero, Director, Writer
• Spicy City — Connelly / Goldblum (voice), Stevie (voice), Director, Producer, Production Assistant, Character Designer, Creator
• What a Cartoon! — Writer, Director, Animation
• 1994Cool and the Crazy — Writer, Director
• Rebel Highway — Director, Writer
• 1992Cool World — Director
• 1991The Ren & Stimpy Show — Storyboard Artist
• 1989Get Your Kicks on Route 66 — Writer
• 1989Hound Town — Director
• 1989Imagining America — Director
• 1989Reflections of A Native Son — Writer
• 1989The Butter Battle Book — Director, Producer
• 1989This Ain't Bebop — Director, Writer
• 1989Tribe — Writer
• 1988Christmas in Tattertown — Director, Characters
• Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures — Creator
• 1984Cannonball Run II — Animation
• 1983Fire and Ice — Producer, Director, Characters
• American Playhouse — Writer, Director
• 1982Hey Good Lookin' — Producer, Director, Writer
• 1981American Pop — Piano Player (voice), Director, Producer
• 1981The Cigarette and the Weed — Cigarette / Weed (voice), Writer, Director, Animation
• 1978The Lord of the Rings — Director
• 1977Wizards — Storm Trooper (voice, uncredited), Fritz (voice, uncredited), Director, Writer, Producer
• 1975Coonskin — Cop With Megaphone (voice) (uncredited), Director, Writer, Additional Photography, Lyricist
• 1975The Junker — Director
• 1975The Monsterizer — Director
• 1975The Plastic Blaster — Director
• 1974The Bigger Digger — Director
• 1973Heavy Traffic — Various Characters (voice) (uncredited), Director, Screenplay
• 1973The Paper Monster — Director
• 1973The Return of the Monsterizer — Director
• 1972Fritz the Cat — Narrator / Pig Cop #1 (voice), Screenplay, Director
• 1972The Scarecrow — Director
• 1972The Time Eraser — Director
• 1972The Timekeeper — Director
• 1970Lost and Foundation — Director
• 1970The Drifter — Director
• 1970The Ghost Monster — Director, Story
• 1969The Frog — Director
• 1969The Stretcher — Director
• 1969The Toy Man — Director
• 1967A Voodoo Spell — Supervising Animation Director
• 1967Baron Von Go-Go — Director
• 1967Bugged By A Bug — Supervising Animation Director
• 1967Dr. Rhinestone's Theory — Supervising Animation Director
• 1967Fancy Plants — Director
• 1967Frozen Sparklers — Director
• 1967Give Me Liberty — Director
• 1967It's for the Birds — Director
• 1967Marvin Digs — Production Design, Director, Executive Producer
• 1967Mini-Squirts — Executive Producer, Character Designer, Creator, Director
• 1967Mouse Trek — Director, Executive Producer
• 1967Mr. Winlucky — Director
• Spider-Man — Director, Producer, Executive Producer
• 1967The Fuz — Director, Executive Producer
• 1967The Heat's Off — Director
• 1967The Opera Caper — Director
• 1967Traffic Trouble — Director, Supervising Animation Director
• 1967Which Is Witch? — Supervising Animation Director
• 1966Dr. Ha-Ha — Director
• 1966Scuba Duba Do — Director, Animation
• The Mighty Heroes — Creator
• 1966The Monster Master — Director
• 1965Don't Spill the Beans — Director
• 1965Dress Reversal — Director
• 1965Gadmouse: The Apprentice Good Fairy — Animation, Director
• Possible Possum — Creator
• 1965The Third Musketeer — Director
• 1962Where There's Smoke — Animation
• 1961Crossing The Delaware — Animation
• 1961The Unsung Hero — Visual Effects
• 1960House of Hashimoto — Animation
• 1960The Mysterious Package — Animation

Appearances as themselves (3)

• 2011Adventures in Plymptoons! — Self
• 2010Breaking the Mold: The Re-Making of Mighty Mouse — Self
• 2003Frazetta: Painting with Fire — Self