Cool World (1992)

Directed By: Ralph Bakshi


Starring: Gabriel Bryne, Kim Basinger, Brad Pitt


The Main Review: Cool World was a 1992 movie that was one of those half-live action half-cartoon films. The story follows Jack Deebs (Gabriel Bryne), the creator of a popular comic series, as he enters the Cool World - a land full of cartoon people or Doodles, which is incorrectly thinks he created. In the Cool World is Holli Would (Kim Basinger), the sexy, dancing Doodle who wants to be a real, human woman. And, it seems, that the way to accomplish this is to have sex with Jack.

Be sure to watch this one with your kids.

The story beings in 1945, Las Vegas, as Frank Harris (Brad Pitt) returns home from the war to his mother. He gets sent a motorcycle he won in Italy gambling and takes his mom for a ride. Unfortunately, they get hit by a drunk driver and his mother is killed. At the same time, Dr. Whiskers, a Doodle, is trying to make a gate between the Real World and the Cool World. He opens up to the vehicle collision and Frank gets pulled into the Cool World.

Moving forward to Vegas in the 1990s, we see that Jack Deebs is in prison. He's drawing a sketch of Holli Would and talking to her, saying that this will be his last day in prison. She quite suddenly, talks back to him, and tells him its time for him to join her. He gets flashed into the Cool World and, after see Holli dance for a while, gets teleported out again. Frank Harris has become a detective and is trying to keep Holli Would, and her obsession with being a "noid" or human, under wraps. He tells her to stay away from Jack. Holli mentions a legend in which a Doodle name Vegas Vinny crossed over to the Real World and, touching the Spike of Power on top of a casino, turned into a real human. 


Meanwhile, in the Real World, Jack is readjusting to the life of a free man. He goes to a comic book store, where he gets recognized as the author of the series Cool World, and gets some free comics. We learn that Jack went to jail for murdering a guy. 


Jack gets transported back to the Cool World and meets some more Doodles. Holli catches up with them and they go to a club. Frank was on a date with his Doodle girlfriend, Lonette, but his partner, Nails, tells him that Jack has crossed over again. Frank finds Holli and Jack and takes Jack's fountain pen, which is a dangerous weapon in the Cool World. He also tells Jack that he can, under no circumstances, have sex with Holli. From here, Lonette and Frank have a scene in which they both really wanna get it on with each other.


To make a long, crazy story much shorter, Jack Deebs totally has sex with Holli Would. There's an explosion and she turns into a human woman. They cross over in the Real World where they go to a party. She's entertaining everyone at the party with her hotness when she starts turning into a Doodle again. The weird thing is that Jack starts to turn into a Doodle as well. Holli Would steals Jack's car and goes to find Vegas Vinny and the Spike of Power.

Frank teleports into the Real World to find Jack and Holli. Frank, Jack, and Jack's neighbor, Jennifer, all go find Holli who discovers that Vegas Vinny is actualy Doc Whiskers, who is still a Doodle. She kills him with Jack's fountain pen (which she stole a while back) and starts to make her way up to the top of the casino and the Spike of Power. In her exit, though, she drops the fountain pen. Frank goes after her and Jennifer and Jack put Whiskers back together (because, you know, he's a cartoon and cartoons never die).


Holli keeps flickering in and out of Doodlehood and, at some point, pushes Frank off of a a ledge. He falls and dies. She makes it up to the Spike of Power and touches it.


Here's Where It Gets Spoilerfic: The Spike turns her, Jack, and everyone else in Las Vegas into Doodles. Jack turns into a super hero and reverses her action, fixing everyone else and causes Holli and himself to enter into a comic book world. Doc Whiskers and Nails bring the dead Frank to Lonette. She cries of a while but, due to the fact that Holli was phasing in and out of being a Doodle when she pushed him, he doesn't die because when a Doodle kills a noid, the noid becomes a Doodle. Frank becomes a Doodle and he and Lonette have a great happily ever after.


Scenes To Watch Out For: Honestly, that first scene where Frank's mom is killed is really heart breaking. 


Whenever Holli is dancing, you should be watching. What a babe.

Anything Else: A lot of people really don't like Cool World and, while I get that's it's kind of a hokey movie, I think it's really enjoyable. I'm a little unsure why some people are so averse to it. Anyone have any insight into this?