Cinemation's advertising style and the film's rating led many to believe that "Fritz the Cat" was a pornographic film. When it was introduced as such at a showing at the University of Southern California, Bakshi stated firmly, ""Fritz the Cat" is not pornographic." In May 1972, "Variety" reported that Krantz had appealed the X rating, saying "Animals having sex isn't pornography." The MPAA refused to hear the appeal. The misconceptions about the film's content were eventually cleared up when it received praise from "Rolling Stone" and "The New York Times", and the film was accepted into the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Bakshi later stated, "Now they do as much on "The Simpsons" as I got an X rating for "Fritz the Cat"."