Cool World is a 1992 American live-action/animated black comedy fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi, and starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne and Brad Pitt. It tells the story of a cartoonist who finds himself in the animated world he thinks he created, but actually exists with or without him. In this world, he is seduced by one of the characters, a comic strip vamp who wants to be real.[2] Cool World marked Bakshi's return to feature films after nine years. The film was originally pitched as a live-action/animated horror film by Michael Grais.[3] The screenplay was written by Michael Grais, Mark Victor from adult horror to more of an adolescent comedy-fantasy as per orders from the studio, Paramount Pictures. Upon its release, Cool World received negative reviews due to its story, acting, animation, and the effects combining that animation with the live-action. The soundtrack, however, received praise. It was also a commercial failure, grossing $14 million against a budget of $28 million. Since then, it has found an avid audience of fans and the screenplay was praised for its originality. Grais alleged that Bakshi had continued to tell untruths about his contribution to the screenplay. Grais had also won multiple arbitration against Bakshi regarding the credit of the writing of the film.[4]