Raw Outrage

Phil Mulloy is the punk bluesman of animation. His films are raw, minimalist, and ferociously satirical—short bursts of crude brilliance that confront the hypocrisies of religion, nationalism, masculinity, and class with uncompromising rage. If Disney represents the heart of animation, then Mulloy is its bowels—unafraid to reveal the grotesque underbelly of human nature.

With thick black lines, stick figures, and penis‑nosed characters, Mulloy’s deceptively primitive style delivers scathing critiques of modern society. He broke onto the scene in the 1990s with the blistering Cowboys series, followed by subversive classics like The Sound of Music and The Ten Commandments. In the 2000s, he pushed further with the sci‑fi‑influenced trilogy Intolerance and the deeply polarizing, yet groundbreaking, feature and short series The Christies.

This book traces Mulloy’s singular career—his shocking early shorts, experimental features, and recent return with potent works like Endgame and Once Upon a Time on Earth. Part biography, part critical reflection, and part personal journey, Raw Outrage explores how Mulloy’s work remains urgent in an age where animation often plays it safe.

Award‑winning writer Chris Robinson guides readers through Mulloy’s world with his usual passion, insight, and irreverent humor. What emerges is a portrait of an artist who refuses to be polite—whose films challenge, provoke, and endure.

Chris Robinson is a writer and the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF). A prominent voice in the animation world, Robinson has been recognized with several prestigious honors, including the Animafest Zagreb Award for Outstanding Contribution to Animation Studies (2020) and the Prix René Jodoin (2022) for his contributions to Canadian animation. Described as “one of the most stylistically original and provocative experts in the history of animation,” Robinson's influence spans writing, curation, and film.

He first gained attention through his eclectic and influential magazine column, Animation Pimp, which was later adapted into a book of the same name. His other animation books reflect a deep engagement with global animation, including Unsung Heroes of Animation, Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy, Looking for A Place to Happen, Ballad of a Thin Man: In Search of Ryan Larkin, Animators Unearthed, Time Out of Mind, Earmarked for Collision, Cheer and Loathing in Animation, and Dreaming a Way (of) Life

In addition to his work as a critic and historian, Robinson co-wrote the award-winning animated short Lipsett Diaries (2010), directed by Theodore Ushev. More recently, he collaborated with German artist Andreas Hykade on the illustrated novel My Balls Are Killing Me. He wrote the script for Ushev’s upcoming live-action feature film, Idling.