FREEZE FRAMES

A weekly update of film releases

COOL WORLD -

A cartoonist is zapped into the make-believe world he drew on paper during a jail term, and finds himself constantly yo-yoing between the real and the fantastic. Blending animation and live action, this ferocious fantasy is hopelessly vulgar in ways never dreamed of by "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." It has a walloping visual style, though, returning filmmaker Ralph Bakshi to top form. (Rated PG-13) PRELUDE TO A KISS -

Rita's quirkiness is part of her charm, but her personality changes alarmingly after her marriage, and her new husband suspects unearthly forces may be at work. Much of this comedy-fantasy is as likably eccentric as its heroine. The solution to the mystery is arbitrary and nonsensical, though, and the movie's message turns out to be a simplistic statement that all's for the best in this best of all possible worlds. Norman Rene directed from Craig Lucas's screenplay. (Rated PG-13) A TALE OF SPRINGTIME -

The unlikely friendship of two young women, a shy intellectual and a buoyant music student, is the focus of this comedy about romantic intrigue across the generation gap. Inaugurating a new series by French filmmaker Eric Rohmer called "Tales of the Four Seasons," the movie is intelligently droll in the usual Rohmer fashion. Still, it seems like a mere warm-up compared with "A Tale of Winter," the subsequent film by this gifted director. (Rated PG)