Editing Ralph Bakshi (section)

===Unproduced projects and temporary retirement (1983–1986)===
After production of ''Fire and Ice'' wrapped, Bakshi attempted several projects that fell through, including adaptations of [[Hunter S. Thompson]]'s ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]'', [[William Kotzwinkle]]'s ''[[The Fan Man]]'', [[E. R. Eddison]]'s ''[[The Worm Ouroboros]]'', [[Stephen Crane]]'s ''[[Maggie: A Girl of the Streets]]'', [[Mickey Spillane]]'s [[Mike Hammer (character)|Mike Hammer]] novels and an anthropomorphic depiction of [[Sherlock Holmes]]. He turned down offers to direct [[Ray Bradbury]]'s ''[[Something Wicked This Way Comes (novel)|Something Wicked This Way Comes]]'' and [[Philip K. Dick]]'s ''[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]''. He passed the latter  to [[Ridley Scott]], who adapted it into the 1982 film ''[[Blade Runner]]'' (although he was planning a TV version of said film).<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-202">{{cite book |title=Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi |pages=202–204 |chapter=Ups & Downs |isbn=978-0-7893-1684-4 |last1=Gibson |first1=Jon M. |last2=McDonnell |first2=Chris |year=2008 |publisher=Universe }}</ref><ref>[https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animation-anecdotes-113/ Animation Anecdotes #113|Cartoon Research]</ref>

During this period, Bakshi reread [[J. D. Salinger]]'s ''[[The Catcher in the Rye]]'', which he had first read in high school, and saw parallels between his situation and that of the book's protagonist, [[Holden Caulfield]]. Inspired to seek the film rights, he intended to shoot the story's bracketing sequences in live action and to animate the core flashback scenes. Salinger had rejected previous offers to adapt the novel, and had not made a public appearance since 1965 or granted an interview since 1980. Bakshi sent Salinger a letter explaining why he should be allowed to adapt the novel; the writer responded by thanking Bakshi and asserting that the novel was unfit for any medium other than its original form.<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-202"/>

Prompted in part by Salinger's letter, Bakshi briefly retired to focus on painting. During this time he completed the screenplay for ''If I Catch Her, I'll Kill Her'', a live-action feature he had been developing since the late 1960s. United Artists and Paramount Pictures each paid Bakshi to develop the film in the 1970s, but were unwilling to produce it, as were the studios he pitched the film to in the 1980s. According to Bakshi, "They thought that no one was going to admit that women can—and do—cheat on their husbands. They thought it was too hot, which made no sense."<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-202"/> In 1985, he received a phone call from [[The Rolling Stones]]' manager, Tony King, who told Bakshi that the band had recorded a cover of [[Bob & Earl]]'s "[[Harlem Shuffle]]", and wanted Bakshi to direct the music video. He was told that the live-action shoot needed to be completed within one day (January 28, 1986) for it to be shown at the [[Grammy Award]]s. Production designer [[Wolf Kroeger]] was forced to drastically compact his sets, and animation director and designer [[John Kricfalusi]] had to push his team, including Lynne Naylor, [[Jim Smith (animator)|Jim Smith]] and Bob Jaques, to complete the animation within a few weeks. The band's arrival at the set was delayed by a snowstorm and several takes were ruined when the cameras crossed paths. Bakshi was forced to pay the union wages out of his own fees, and the continuity between Kricfalusi's animation and the live-action footage did not match; however, the video was completed on time.<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-209">{{cite book |title=Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi |page=209 |chapter=Ups & Downs |isbn=978-0-7893-1684-4 |last1=Gibson |first1=Jon M. |last2=McDonnell |first2=Chris |year=2008 |publisher=Universe }}</ref>

Bakshi recognized Kricfalusi's talent, and wanted to put him in charge of a project that would showcase the young animator's skills. Bakshi and Kricfalusi co-wrote the screenplay ''Bobby's Girl'' as a take on the [[teen film]]s of the era.<ref>{{cite news |title=''Animator Bakshi enjoys film satire'' |first=Lewis |last=Beale |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vNATAAAAIBAJ&pg=496,5029168 |newspaper=[[Star-Banner]] |location=Ocala, Florida |date=December 31, 1987 |page=17 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Jeff Sagansky, president of production at [[TriStar Pictures]], put up $150,000 to develop the project, prompting Bakshi to move back to Los Angeles. When Sagansky left TriStar, Bakshi was forced to pitch the film again, but the studio's new executives did not understand its appeal and cut off financing. Bakshi and Zingarelli began to develop a feature about [[Cinema of the United States#Classical Hollywood cinema and the Golden Age of Hollywood|Hollywood's Golden Age]], and Bakshi Productions crewmembers worked on proposed cartoons influenced by pulp fiction. ''Bobby's Girl'' was reworked as a potential prime time series called ''Suzy's in Love'', but attracted no serious interest.<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-210">{{cite book |title=Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi |pages=210–211 |chapter=Ups & Downs |isbn=978-0-7893-1684-4 |last1=Gibson |first1=Jon M. |last2=McDonnell |first2=Chris |year=2008 |publisher=Universe }}</ref> They would try again in 2003 over at [[Spümcø]], but nothing came from this either.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2003/film/columns/fritz-father-is-getting-back-to-basics-1117880865/|title='Fritz' father is getting back to basics|date=February 20, 2003|access-date=November 14, 2018|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>