Editing Ralph Bakshi (section)

===''Coonskin'' (1973–1975)===
{{main|Coonskin (film)}}
In 1973, Bakshi and Ruddy began the production of ''Harlem Nights'', which Paramount was originally contracted to distribute.<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-108"/><ref name="Cohen-84">{{cite book |title=Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America |chapter=''Coonskin'' |pages=84–88 }}</ref> While ''Fritz the Cat'' and ''Heavy Traffic'' proved that adult-oriented animation could be financially successful, animated films were still not respected, and Bakshi's pictures were considered to be "dirty Disney flicks" that were "mature" only for depicting sex, drugs, and profanity.<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-108"/> ''Harlem Nights'', based on Bakshi's firsthand experiences with racism, was an attack on racist prejudices and stereotypes.<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-108"/><ref name="James">{{cite book |last=James |first=Darius |title=That's Blaxploitation!: Roots of the Baadasssss 'Tude (Rated X by an All-Whyte Jury) |year=1995 |isbn=0-312-13192-5 |chapter=Rappin' with the rib-ticklin' Ralph Bakshi |pages=117–123 |publisher=St. Martin's Press }}</ref> Bakshi cast [[Scatman Crothers]], [[Philip Michael Thomas]], [[Barry White]], and [[Charles Gordone]] in live-action and voice roles, cutting in and out of animation abruptly rather than seamlessly because he wanted to prove that the two media could "coexist with neither excuse nor apology".<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-108"/> He wrote a song for Crothers to sing during the opening title sequence: "Ah'm a Niggerman". Its structure was rooted in the history of the slave plantation - slaves would "shout" lines from poems and stories great distances across fields in unison, creating a natural beat. Bakshi has described its vocal style, backed by fast guitar licks, as an "early version of [[rapping|rap]]".<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-108"/>

Bakshi intended to attack stereotypes by portraying them directly, culling imagery from [[blackface]] iconography.<ref name="James"/> Early designs in which the main characters (Brother Rabbit, Brother Bear, and Preacher Fox) resembled figures from ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]'' were rejected.<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-108"/> Bakshi juxtaposed stereotypical designs of blacks with even more negative depictions of white racists, but the film's strongest criticism is directed at the [[American Mafia|Mafia]].<ref name="James"/> Bakshi said, "I was sick of all the hero worship these guys got because of ''The Godfather''."<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-114">{{cite book |title=Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi |page=114 |chapter=''Coonskin'' |isbn=978-0-7893-1684-4 |last1=Gibson |first1=Jon M. |last2=McDonnell |first2=Chris |year=2008 |publisher=Universe }}</ref> Production concluded in 1973.<ref name="Best">{{cite journal |url=http://www.waxpoetics.com/2010/04/inner-city-hues/ |title=Inner City Hues |author=Best, Tony |journal=[[Wax Poetics]] |access-date=April 7, 2010 |archive-date=January 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119003528/http://www.waxpoetics.com/2010/04/inner-city-hues/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> During editing, the title was changed to ''Coonskin No More...'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Puchalski |first=Steven |title=Slimetime: A Guide to Sleazy, Mindless Movies |year=2002 |publisher=Critical Vision |isbn=1-900486-21-0 |chapter=''Coonskin'' |page=73}}</ref> and finally to ''[[Coonskin (film)|Coonskin]]''.  Bakshi hired several African-American animators to work on ''Coonskin'',<ref name="Cohen-84"/> including Brenda Banks, the first African-American female animator.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sito |first1=Tom |title=Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson |year=2006 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=0-8131-2407-7 |pages=230–231 |chapter=Lost Generations }}</ref> Bakshi also hired graffiti artists and trained them to work as animators.<ref name="Best"/> The film's release was delayed by protests from the [[Congress of Racial Equality]], which called Bakshi and his film racist.<ref name="Cohen-84"/><ref name="James"/> After its distribution was contracted to the [[Bryanston Distributing Company]], Paramount cancelled a project that Bakshi and Ruddy were developing, ''The American Chronicles''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Animated Movie Guide |chapter=''Coonskin'' |page=59 }}</ref>

''Coonskin'', advertised as an exploitation film, was given limited distribution and soon disappeared from theaters. Initial reviews were negative; ''[[Playboy]]'' commented that "Bakshi seems to throw in a little of everything and he can't quite pull it together."<ref name="Cohen-84"/> Eventually, positive reviews appeared in ''The Hollywood Reporter'', ''[[New York Amsterdam News]]'' (an African-American newspaper), and elsewhere. ''The New York Times''{{'}} Richard Eder said the film "could be [Bakshi's] masterpiece [...] a shattering successful effort to use an uncommon form—cartoons and live action combined-to convey the hallucinatory violence and frustration of American city life, specifically black city life [...] lyrically violent, yet in no way [does it] exploit violence".<ref name="Cohen-84"/> ''Variety'' called it a "brutal satire from the streets".<ref name="Cohen-84"/> A reviewer for the ''[[Los Angeles Herald-Examiner]]'' wrote, "Certainly, it will outrage some and, indeed, it's not Disney. [...] The dialog it has obviously generated—if not the box-office obstacles—seems joltingly healthy."<ref name="Cohen-84"/> Bakshi called ''Coonskin'' his best film.<ref name="Gibson-McDonnell-114"/>