Why do so many people have problems figuring out things?

This is not a hard movie to understand if you are paying attention.

1. Why does Vargo put out a contract on Ghost Dog? Wasn't Ghost Dog just following orders?

Vargo puts out the hit on Ghost Dog to cover his ass. Vargo had Handsome Frank whacked because Frank was seeing Vargo's daughter on the side. Frank thought he could do whatever he wanted because he was a made man and guessed that Vargo would not risk angering the more powerful mob families by getting in the way, but Frank figured wrong.

Vargo had Louie contract Ghost Dog to perform the job because Ghost Dog was an outsider with no ties to Vargo's crew. As expected, the more powerful mob families wanted retribution for Frank's death and Vargo saw that as an opportunity to gain status with them and "avenging" Frank by hunting down and killing Ghost Dog.

2. Why all the cartoons?

The cartoons are seagueways to the events that come before or after.

Examples:

Felix the Cat's magic bag -> Ghost Dog's briefcase
Machine gun bullets in the drain pipe -> Sonny Valerio's assassination
Ghost Dog & Louie's showdown -> Itchy & Scratchy's showdown

3. What sources / elements influenced this movie?

- Le Samourai: Features an assassin with a code of ethics much like Ghost Dog. Assassin has a keyring that gives him acces to a number of vehicles just as Ghost Dog's frequency box does.

- Branded to Kill: The Sonny Valerio hit is drawn from one of the scenes from this movie as are quite a few others (ie. the bird landing on Ghost Dog's rifle scope parallels another scene from Branded To Kill).

- Rashomon: Many events in Ghost Dog are shown from the perspectives of multiple characters much like what happens the short story, Yabu no Naka (In A Grove). The movie also shares a theme with the short story, Rashomon, in that it focuses on characters that have some noble personality traits yet survive through amoral means.

- Chushingura - Ghost Dog borrows another central theme from the tale of 47 Ronin as the honor of some characters is placed in jeopardy by another man's dishonor.

All of the events in the movie happen are a direct result of Vargo's unsanctioned murder of Handsome Frank, yet Vargo is moved to do this because of Handsome Frank's disrepectful indiscretions with Vargo's daughter, Louise.

Ghost Dog and Louie's relationship is destroyed and their honor is placed in jeopardy in the wake of Vargo's treachery as both Ghost Dog and Louie do what they have to in the name of self-preservation.

Ghost Dog knows that he has brought dishonor to Louie by murdering Vargo and his men and Ghost Dog has dishonored himself by going against the will of his master, so Ghost Dog commits seppuku in a sense and restores his honor and Louie's honor by allowing Louie to shoot him dead in the final showdown.