American Pop
1981 · Movie · R · 96 min · ★ 6.9 · 59% critics
Across four generations of an immigrant family, each new era brings a different kind of musical talent and a new slice of American popular music. As the decades roll on, dreams of making it collide with changing times, hard choices, and the pull of the music business.
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Details
- Years
- 1981
- Release date
- 1981-02-13
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Critic score
- 59/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.9/10 (121 votes)
- Box office
- $6,000,000
- Budget
- $5,000,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want an ambitious, emotional tour through decades of American pop music with a distinctive animated style, similar in spirit to Cadillac Records; Not for you if you need tight pacing, upbeat vibes, or deeply developed characters.
Pros: sweeping music history; memorable song selection; striking animated look | Cons: uneven pacing; hard to connect; often bleak tone
Themes
- jazz
- pop
- czar / tsar / tzar
- mafia boss
- folk music
- music business
- songwriter
- stock footage
- adult animation
- music hall
- jazz band
- generational
- +2 more
Cast & crew
Ron Thompson
as Tony Belinksy / Pete Belinksy (voice)
Lisa Jane Persky
as Bella (voice)
- JL
Jeffrey Lippa
as Zalmie Belinksy (voice)
Frank De Kova
as Crisco (voice)
Roz Kelly
as Eva Tanguay (voice)
Mews Small
as Frankie (as Marya Small)
Elsa Raven
as Hannele (voice)
Vincent Schiavelli
as Theatre Owner (voice)
Richard Moll
as Beat Poet (voice)
Lynda Wiesmeier
as The Blonde (voice)
Directed by Ralph Bakshi