Hollywood star Brad Pitt worked in a hybrid animation live-action film in the starting days of his career. He starred alongside former Bond girl Kim Basinger in the film, Cool World. The film was released in 1992 and was a black comedy fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. The hybrid animated film became the base of Alec Baldwin’s superhit film, The Boss Baby.
Never Say Never Bond film actress Kim Basinger and Brad Pitt’s film was a box office failure. However, the poorly received film helped in the success of the Oscar-nominated animated film.
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Why Brad Pitt’s Cool World was doomed from the start?
Ralph Bakshi had never worked with a major production house before Cool World. Hence, when he signed the film with Paramount, there were numerous clashes. Bakshi told Cartoon Brew,
“I wasn’t used to people telling [him] what to do, which is what everyone else gets used to!”
The studio collaboration led to numerous rewrites, differences in vision, and cast alterations. The director shared in an interview with The Guardian that he eventually wanted to exit the project, but was told he’d be sued if he left. So, the filmmaker stayed on the project, which turned out to be one of the strangest films in animation history.
Cool World was an odd, dark, and noir comedy fantasy film. In the film, Brad Pitt played the role of Frank Harris, a World War II veteran who gets transported to Cool World after a traffic accident. Gabriel Byrne, who played the role of ex-con comic artist Jack Deebs in the film, also enters the Cool World. He gets seduced by a beautiful animated woman named Holli Would (Kim Basinger). The story was not depicted properly, which led to confusion and bizarre events in the film.
Brad Pitt’s Cool World led to Oscar-winning film The Boss Baby
The live-action animated film was not received well at the box office, however, it led to another super successful animated film. The filmmaker Bakshi shared in the interview with Cartoon Brew that the animation team of the film was remarkable. He said,
“It was very slick stuff, a brilliant job by young animators, many of whom went on to do great work at Pixar, Dreamworks, and others — including Tom McGrath, who directed The Boss Baby, which co-stars my grandson, Miles Bakshi. I’m very proud of that.”
Tom McGrath was the animator for Cool World and later worked in the Oscar-nominated film The Boss Baby, which grossed $528 million worldwide. The star cast includes Alec Baldwin as the title character, along with Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Miles Bakshi, and Tobey Maguire.
Tom McGrath’s other animated projects include fan favorite Madagascar, Megamind, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Penguins of Madagascar, and more.
The Boss Baby is available for streaming on Netflix.
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Source- Cartoon Brew
