While many of you will no doubt be venturing out to the multiplex this weekend to enjoy Brad Bird’s Ratatouille, I don’t get that privilege until the end of next month when the movie opens in Korea. To fill my animation craving in the meantime, I’m kicking back and rewatching Ralph Bakshi’s brilliant 1975 classic, Coonskin.

Unless you’re a Bakshi fan like me, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Coonskin. In that case, take a look at the film’s comprehensive Wikipedia entry, which provides a good rundown of its development, the controversy that surrounded it, and the following it’s gathered in the years since its release — Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, and the Wu-Tang Clan are some of the film’s most vocal proponents.

Long story short, it’s the story of Brother Rabbit, a young newcomer to the big city who quickly rises from obscurity to rule over all of Harlem. An abstract juxtaposition of stylized animation and live action footage, the film is a graphic and condemnatory satire of sterotypes prevalent in the 70s — racial, ethnic, and otherwise. Bakshi himself states that he was a very angry young person when he made the film, and it shows.

If you’re a fan of offbeat animation or thought-provoking cinema in general, I highly suggest that you check Coonskin out. Sadly, having never seen a DVD release, the film is nearly impossible to track down; the only real hope you have of seeing it is via torrent (or YouTube), but even those are few and far between. Take my word for it, though, and give it a try — I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it.