Rating: 
Summary: More Like "American Slop"!
Review: Let me get this straight right off the bat: I am a HUGE fan of Ralph Bakshi's work. Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, and his Lord of the Rings adaptation (to a lesser degree) are all classics of alternative or "adult" animation. They are vibrant, fun, and mordantly witty in a way that Disney will NEVER be -- sort of like Bob Clampett after the world's biggest lost weekend. So, yes, I love Bakshi's work -- and I hate, hate, HATE this movie, a prototypical product of the School of Rotoscoping that should be in every animation textbook as an example of what NOT to do.I realize this is probably not a popular view, but hear me out. The story is improbable at best -- the pretentious idea that one family was responsible for every great shift in American popular song, from ragtime to punk (actually a British invention more than it is an American one, and that's just one example of this movie's wrongheadedness), is an insult to the memories of everyone from George Gershwin to Buddy Holly, from Irving Berlin to Bob Seger. Aside from that, the few moments of power and pathos this movie contains (and yes, there are a few), are undermined by the sloppy writing and the herkimer-jerkimer animation. The dialogue is as stilted as the motion in American Pop. Okay, I know I'm spitting on an icon many people hold dear, but I'm really serious here, especially where the animation is concerned. It's one thing to use a little bit of the rotoscope process; Disney had no compunctions against it, and neither did the Fleischer Brothers or the denizens of Warner Brothers' Termite Terrace. However, all of the abovementioned used rotoscoping in small measures; even Snow White didn't overuse the technique, and that's one of the most-rotoscoped of the Disney features. American Pop, on the other hand, not only overdoes it on the rotoscoping, it actually makes the rotoscoping look like something traced rather than original artwork, a crime of which Disney, the Fleischers, et al, were never guilty. The effect of this "over-'scoping" is to rob the viewer's imagination, rather than to stimulate it. I was never captured by this film; rather, I found myself wondering how much it cost to hire mediocre actors, then "animate" their every move. (And the acting really is mediocre in this thing, too. I'd rather watch an episode of Alias Smith and Jones than this dreck.) Then there's the godawful way all the great music in this film is represented. One example: The "freakout" sequence, which does for the late, lamented Jefferson Airplane what trichonosis does for pork chops. What's the deal, Ralph? Did Paul Kantner and Grace Slick threaten a lawsuit if you drew in the actual band that performed "Somebody To Love"? And as if that isn't enough, then the absolute butchering of "Night Moves" (which starts with a guitar riff, NOT a piano riff!) and "Blue Suede Shoes" will break any true rock fan's heart. Bakshi's entire crew should be prosecuted for crimes against music. In closing, gentle web friends, let me just say that there is nothing wrong with this movie that a blowtorch couldn't fix. American Pop is a huge waste of celluloid, and would've been rotten with the live actors they rotoscoped over. Animated, it stinks on ice. Avoid this one at all costs, and watch Fritz the Cat instead. You'll be glad you did.
Rating: 
Summary: Either love it or hate it
Review: Okay everyone here seems to either love this or hate it. I love it and love the effect of rotoscope. For me it makes animation more personal because all of the movements and expressions seem more familiar. The story line shows a lot of research and knowledge, and it has a very anti-drug message when you see the fates of all who got involved. The success of the guy at the end is for me a hint that his success will eventually fall. The music is awesome and since I saw it the first time I was hooked and every once in a while still like renting it.
Rating:
Summary: Either love it or hate it
Review: Okay everyone here seems to either love this or hate it. I love it and love the effect of rotoscope. For me it makes animation more personal because all of the movements and expressions seem more familiar. The story line shows a lot of research and knowledge, and it has a very anti-drug message when you see the fates of all who got involved. The success of the guy at the end is for me a hint that his success will eventually fall. The music is awesome and since I saw it the first time I was hooked and every once in a while still like renting it.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!!!! One of my favorite animated movies.
Review: Ralph Bakshi created this 1981 Cult animated classic about the story of four generations gathered around the sound of American Pop music. Entertaining, provoking and all around awesome, one of the best animated movies i've seen with The Last Unicorn, Heavy Metal, Rock and Rule, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll, Professional: Golgo 13, Spawn, Mulan, Transformers: The Movie, ETC.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: Sure the animation is interesting for a few minutes (if you are interested in rotoscoping see Waking Life) but the story and writing are horrible and bordem sets in within ten minutes. You will hang in for a bit waiting for somthing to happen but it won't so don't bother with this movie, it's painful to sit through (and I love rotoscoping).
Rating: 
Summary: OK animation, iffy movie
Review: The animation is good, especially considering when it was made, but "American Pop" is never quite successful. Once again Bakshi probes the sordid underbelly of his subject, in this case pop music, but nothing here ever comes off quite convincing enough. And his dismissal of punk and rush to embrace the bland beardo post-hippie commercial rock of Bob Seger and Heart betrays Bakshi's age, and maybe a lack of good taste as well. It comes off a bit old-fogeyish. Like a lot of Bakshi's work, this has to be taken as it is, and the viewer has to bear in mind when and how it was made. Computer animation was in its infancy, and animation was at a low point in the United States, so the fact that this was made and distributed in mainstream theaters at all was a minor miracle at the time. In short, the musical spots provide the bright moments, but the plot is labored and the characters, particularly the ridiculous "rock star" he invents at the end of the film, are unconvincing. As a historical document of where animation was in the United States at the time, it's viewable; as entertainment, well, it's better than "Heavy Traffic" but certainly not any kind of a classic animated film. See it if you want, but it's not indispensable.
Rating:
Summary: OK animation, iffy movie
Review: The animation is good, especially considering when it was made, but "American Pop" is never quite successful. Once again Bakshi probes the sordid underbelly of his subject, in this case pop music, but nothing here ever comes off quite convincing enough. And his dismissal of punk and rush to embrace the bland beardo post-hippie commercial rock of Bob Seger and Heart betrays Bakshi's age, and maybe a lack of good taste as well. It comes off a bit old-fogeyish. Like a lot of Bakshi's work, this has to be taken as it is, and the viewer has to bear in mind when and how it was made. Computer animation was in its infancy, and animation was at a low point in the United States, so the fact that this was made and distributed in mainstream theaters at all was a minor miracle at the time. In short, the musical spots provide the bright moments, but the plot is labored and the characters, particularly the ridiculous "rock star" he invents at the end of the film, are unconvincing. As a historical document of where animation was in the United States at the time, it's viewable; as entertainment, well, it's better than "Heavy Traffic" but certainly not any kind of a classic animated film. See it if you want, but it's not indispensable.
Rating:
Summary: OK animation, iffy movie
Review: The animation is good, especially considering when it was made, but "American Pop" is never quite successful. Once again Bakshi probes the sordid underbelly of his subject, in this case pop music, but nothing here ever comes off quite convincing enough. And his dismissal of punk and rush to embrace the bland beardo post-hippie commercial rock of Bob Seger and Heart betrays Bakshi's age, and maybe a lack of good taste as well. It comes off a bit old-fogeyish. Like a lot of Bakshi's work, this has to be taken as it is, and the viewer has to bear in mind when and how it was made. Computer animation was in its infancy, and animation was at a low point in the United States, so the fact that this was made and distributed in mainstream theaters at all was a minor miracle at the time. In short, the musical spots provide the bright moments, but the plot is labored and the characters, particularly the ridiculous "rock star" he invents at the end of the film, are unconvincing. As a historical document of where animation was in the United States at the time, it's viewable; as entertainment, well, it's better than "Heavy Traffic" but certainly not any kind of a classic animated film. See it if you want, but it's not indispensable.
Rating:
Summary: Adult Cartooning as its best
Review: The work of Ralph Baskshi was at its peek when he created "American Pop". This story line of an American family and who music mixed with their turbulant lives made this film enjoyable to watch. No water down fact here. Although a cartoon, American Pops hold no bars in telling it straight of how war, crime, drugs and basically modern society all was involved with the popular music at that time.
Rating:
Summary: Adult Cartooning as its best
Review: The work of Ralph Baskshi was at its peek when he created "American Pop". This story line of an American family and who music mixed with their turbulant lives made this film enjoyable to watch. No water down fact here. Although a cartoon, American Pops hold no bars in telling it straight of how war, crime, drugs and basically modern society all was involved with the popular music at that time.
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