the review aggregator website rotten tomatoes carries a score of 6% based on 48 reviews, with an average rating of 3.17/10. the consensus reads, ""cool world" throws a small handful of visual sparks, but they aren't enough to distract from the screenplay's thin characters and scattered plot." roger ebert of the "chicago sun-times" wrote that "cool world" "misses one opportunity after another", describing it as "a surprisingly incompetent film". "deseret news" reviewer chris hicks described it as "a one-joke movie – and it's a dirty joke. [...] and much of what's going on here seems more angry and nasty than inspired or funny." "variety" reviewer brian lowry compared the film to an extended music video, praising the soundtrack and visuals, but panning the story. leonard maltin described the film as "too serious to be fun [and] too goofy to take seriously", and the lead characters as "unlikable and unappealing". "the washington post" reviewer hal hinson wondered "whether kim basinger is more obnoxious as a cartoon or as a real person," and felt that the combination of animation and live action was unconvincing. contributing to the low box office was the fact the studio withdrew all advertising support after the opening weekend.