Summary
Overview
The How Did This Get Made podcast team tackles Cool World, the 1992 film mixing live-action and animation. Hosts Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and June Diane Raphael struggle to make sense of the confusing plot involving a detective (Brad Pitt) trapped in an animated world, a cartoonist (Gabriel Byrne) who falls for his own creation, and the rule that humans (noids) cannot have sex with cartoons (doodles). The hosts appreciate some visual elements and Kim Basinger's performance but find the film's rules, stakes, and character motivations completely unclear.
Opening and Initial Reactions
The hosts introduce Cool World and immediately express confusion about the film's basic premise and rules. They note the bizarre setup where cartoons are called doodles, humans are noids, and sex between them creates real people. June reveals she watched the film completely blind, not even knowing it contained animation, which led to her screaming when cartoons first appeared. The group struggles to understand the world-building and timeline inconsistencies.
- The basic rule: if a human has sex with a cartoon, the cartoon becomes real
- June didn't know the movie contained animation and screamed when cartoons appeared
- Gabriel Byrne created Cool World as a comic, but Cool World existed before he created it
- Brad Pitt's character was pulled into Cool World in 1945 after a motorcycle accident
" Just because you create something doesn't mean you have to fuck it. "
" I don't know if it is the quarantine or the fact that I haven't seen another person or touched a human being in two months. But I got, I'll not lie, I got pretty horny for these cartoons. "
Timeline and World-Building Confusion
The hosts attempt to untangle the film's confusing timeline and rules. Brad Pitt is pulled into Cool World in 1945 after a motorcycle accident that kills his mother, but Gabriel Byrne doesn't create the Cool World comic until the 1990s—creating a paradox. They debate whether Brad Pitt is responsible for his mother's death and why he's stayed in Cool World for 50 years as a detective enforcing the one rule: no sex between noids and doodles.
- The film jumps from 1945 to 1992 without explanation of the intervening years
- Gabriel Byrne is a murderer released from prison who returns to drawing Cool World
- Brad Pitt has been Cool World's detective for 50 years, badge number 001
- The neighbor girl and her mother appear to be the same age
" He murdered a man who was sleeping with his wife. That is so gentle. It's just mentioned. "
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