'While waiting out his escape from prison, a man listens to an older prisoner tell the animated story of a rabbit, a bear, and a fox who rise to the top of the crime ranks in Harlem by getting rid of a black con man, a racist white cop, and the Godfather of the Mafia.' - From Amazon.com
'Coonskin' is at the same time a parody of 'Song of the South', and a satire of blaxpoitation films. Its director's most controversial film, it was quickly banned.
Released: 1975
Language: English
Alternate Title: Street Fight
Style: 2D animation
Viewer Warning: Though not rated in the USA, overseas clasifications tend to be R, or equivalent.
Featuring the voices of:
| Philip Michael Thomas | ... Brother Rabbit |
| Barry White | ... Brother Bear |
| Charles Gordone | ... Preacher Fox |
| Al Lewis | ... The Godfather |
| Ralph Bakshi | ... Cop with megaphone |
Produced by: Albert S. Ruddy
Based on: Uncle Remus stories, Song of the South
Upon its release, 'Coonskin' was seized upon by The Congress of Racial Equality as an exploitative movie, which led to its banning depsite the fact that the black group The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People actually supported its release. Ironically, 30 years on it has become a street, cult classic amongst the community it was supposed to offend. In fact according to Bakshi, Spike Lee is a big fan of the movie. Additionally more than a few Bakshi fans consider it is his best film. Equally ironically, both it and 'Song of the South' which it partially lampoons, are unavailable in their original form in the US. In the history of animation it is hard to think of a film which was more completely misconstrued on its release. The available version (retitled 'Street Fight') may be severely edited. Watch for the 100 min running time for the genuine article. The edited version is 83 mins.
Links:
|
|
)
Coonskin
