Agent Palmer

There was a time, not that long ago, where aiming an animated movie at an older audience was quite the gamble. This time also overlaps with the period where Disney was still the king of animation for feature length cartoons and everyone else was lucky to even be mentioned…

Not everything is destined to be a hit or even lucky enough to get “cult classic” status. Ralph Bakshi, who I’ve written a lot about, has made a career of smaller independent cartoons targeted at older audiences that all have gained cult status.

Every year for as long as I can remember, I have listened to Arlo Guthrie’s classic “Alice’s Restaurant,” either on the day before or day of Thanksgiving. It’s something that my parents had started at some point and, more to the point, it’s a tradition I have continued since moving out of the house (to my father’s joy), even when I’m not spending Thanksgiving with them.

Now before I get into the song, and there’s a lot to get into, let’s talk about this tradition. As traditions go, it’s hardly odd, and there’s a part of me that wonders why I don’t encounter more people who share this tradition.