Ralph Bakshi's epic animated story of a disjointed family of musicians spanning the twentieth century and the breadth of modern American music. Zalmie (Lippa) is the newly arrived Jewish refugee from Russia who survives the harsh realities of life on the streets of New York City by being a criminal and a thief before singing on a vaudeville-type circuit to make a living. He loses his ability to perform due to injuries sustained while fighting as a soldier in WWI. His son Benny (Singer) is a talented pianist but squanders his gift before he is killed on the battlefields of Europe in WWII. His son Tony (Thompson) grows up without his father but carries the family's musical gifts in his genes.
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Tony experiences much of the turbulence that rocked the United States socially, politically, and culturally from the 50's through the 60's. There are periods when he is sometimes lost in a wave of drug use and alcohol, alienated from the world around him. At times he leads a nomadic existence that leads him to the San Francisco pop scene of the 60's. Tony follows the advice of the day as he turns on, tunes in, and drops out before he manages to become a songwriter for several pivotal artists of the era. He has fathered a son whom he will never know out of wedlock with a young mid-western waitress. His son Pete (Thompson) utilizes his full range of talents to reach superstardom in the modern rock/punk music era of the late 70's and early 80's. Despite his drug issues he becomes a singer and songwriter performing in front of tens of thousands at the peak of his popularity.
The review of this Movie prepared by David Fletcher