Coonskin (1975)
August 20, 1975Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Coonskin is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Fandor, Midnight Pulp, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Xumo Play, Kanopy, Plex Player
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Philip Michael Thomas
Randy / Brother Rabbit (voice)
Barry White
Sampson / Brother Bear (voice)
Charles Gordone
Preacherman / Preacher Fox (voice)
Scatman Crothers
Pappy / Old Man Bone (voice) / Songs
Danny Rees
Clown (voice)
Buddy Douglas
Referee (voice)
Jim Moore
Mime (voice)
Al Lewis
The Godfather (voice)
Richard Paul
Sonny (voice)
Frank De Kova
Managan (voice) / Ruby (voice)
Ralph Bakshi
Cop With Megaphone (voice) / Director / Writer / Additional Photography / Lyricist
Jesse Welles
Marrigold (voice) / Miss America (voice)
Albert S. Ruddy
Producer
Chico Hamilton
Original Music Composer
William A. Fraker
Director of Photography
Donald W. Ernst
Editor
Milton Gray
Animation
Art Vitello
Animation
James Nelson
Supervising Sound Editor
David Jonas
Character Designer
Sam F. Shaw
Sound Effects
Johnnie vita
Additional Photography
James roden
Assistant Director
Albert S. Ruddy
Producer
Media.
Details.
Release DateAugust 20, 1975
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 23m
Content RatingR
Budget$1,600,000
Filming LocationsNew York City, United States of America
Genres
Wiki.
Coonskin is a 1975 American live-action/animated satirical crime film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film references the Uncle Remus folk tales, and satirizes the blaxploitation film genre as well as Disney's racially controversial film Song of the South, also adapted from the Uncle Remus folk tales. The film's narrative concerns three anthropomorphic Uncle Remus characters, Br'er Rabbit (referred to as Brother Rabbit), Br'er Fox (referred to as Preacher Fox), and Br'er Bear (referred to as Brother Bear). They rise to the top of the organized crime racket in Harlem, encountering corrupt law enforcement, con artists, and the Mafia, in a satire of both racism within the Hollywood film system, and America itself. The film stars Philip Thomas, Charles Gordone, Barry White, and Scatman Crothers, all of whom appear in both live-action and animated sequences.
Originally produced under the titles Harlem Nights and Coonskin No More... at Paramount Pictures, Coonskin encountered controversy before its original theatrical release when the Congress of Racial Equality accused the film of being racist. When the film was released, Bryanston gave it limited distribution and it initially received mixed reviews. Later re-released under the titles Bustin' Out and Street Fight, Coonskin has since been re-appraised, recontextualizing the film as the condemnation of racism that the director intended, rather than a product of a racist imagination, as its detractors had claimed. A New York Times review said, "Coonskin could be Ralph Bakshi's masterpiece." Bakshi has stated that he considers Coonskin to be his best film.