NOTE: THIS REVIEW APPLIES ONLY TO THE Novel RICHARD WILLIAMS WORKPRINT Slice, NOT THE VERSION ON DVD OR RELEASED INTO THEATERS
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In possibly the worst seizures of a film in history, possibly the greatest gripping film was reduced to a grotesque mess only with only hints of the recent brilliance. Almost half of the film was deleted or never finished, fabulous vocal performances were re-dubbed, and extensive re-editing destroyed the lyrical memoir manufacture.
Before The Thief and the Cobbler was ripped to shreds, it was a pet project of animator/director Richard Williams (who you should know as the animation director… or really co-director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit) . From 1964 to the slack 1980s, every penny spent on the film was out of his enjoy pocket or from cramped investments from benefactors. He produced hundreds of television commercials to pay for the movie. Alas, even after years of work, he had only about 10 minutes of footage at the cost of $2 million dollars.
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The Thief and the Cobbler started as an adaptation of stories about Mulla Nasrudin (by Idres Shah) . When rights over the published work fell apart, he turned his project into an unique, but familiar sage. The haunting opening narration (spoken by Shakespearian actor Sir Felix Almyer) began the film:
“It is written among the limitless constellations of the celestial heavens and in the depths of the emerald seas and upon every grain of sand in the big deserts that the world which we glance is an outward and visible dream of an inward and invisible reality.
Once upon a time there was a golden city. In the centre of the golden city atop the tallest minaret were three golden balls. The ancients had prophesied that if the three golden balls were ever taken away harmony would yield to discord and the city would topple to destruction and death.
But… the mystics had also foretold that the city might be saved by the simplest soul with the smallest and simplest of things.
In the city there dwelt a lowly shoemaker… who was known as Tack the Cobbler. Also in the city… existed a Thief… who shall be nameless.”
Through a series of circumstances, the flea-bitten thief causes Tack to be incorrect as an attacker on the Broad Vizier Zig-Zag. After being brought to the palace to be executed, he falls in care for with Princess Yum-Yum (daughter of the benevolent, but sleepy King Nod) . Zig-Zag bribes and brownnoses King Nod, hoping to control the Golden City and seize Yum-Yum as his hold.
Tack is a white-faced and calm - his demeanor and movement reminiscent of Chaplin’s Tramp, Harry Langdon, and Jacques Tati’s Hulot. The Thief is a scrawny, flea-bitten kleptomaniac calm. Zig-Zag, voiced by Vincent Imprint in a valedictorian performance, is blue-skinned and vulture-like in appearance.
Princess Yum-Yum is voiced by Hilary Pritchard (bit player in many 1970’s British TV shows), King Nod by Sir Anthony Quayle, Zig-Zag’s vulture has squawks and hisses provided by Donald Pleasence. In a surprise, but appropriate cameo, Sir Sean Connery provides his disclose.
For animation, he recruited master animators from the golden age: Art Babbitt (Disney), Ken Harris (Warner Bros.), Myron “Grim” Natwick (Fleischers) . He would also give shots to his commercial animators to work on as training (many of which went on to be acclaimed animators in their possess apt such as Eric Goldberg, Tom Sito, and his son Alex) . Richard Williams, himself, consuming worthy of the film himself - often keeping Zig-Zag’s scenes to himself. The style of most of the characters is a blend of the rounded UPA gawk, but with the detail of Disney. Rare for most inviting films, nearly all of the animation was drawn in “ones” which refers to one drawing = one frame.
The film’s status is intricately subtle, requiring the utmost attention to detail to understand the characters. Being that the two main characters have no dialogue, emotions are conveyed masterfully through facial expressions and gestures. Sometimes, unprejudiced one brief shot defines an entire character. The animation itself (in the novel 70 minutes directed by Richard Williams) out-performs 3-D digital animation. Characters are drawn with such fluidity, often giving the illusion of being live-action (design no mistake, not one frame utilized rotoscoping) . However, the film often replicates the discover of a live-action film. Surprisingly, the fluid “camera movement” is similar to the styles old in the French Novel Wave - length dolly shots, long takes, 360 degree turns, and even hastily zooms. In one bravura shot, the camera dollys from a close-up of Zig-Zag’s eyes with bulky 3-D perspective and then revealed to be a reflection in another character’s stare - continuing to pull out.
It’s famous to mark that everything in the film was as intricate as possible. As mentioned before, the most subtle emotions conveyed by characters say more than dialogue. Tack’s facial emotion is hidden by his pale face, but the one or two tacks held in his lips become his smile or frown. Zig-Zag is drawn with extra shoulder joints like a marionette. His face is virtually a characture of Vincent Label (appropriately) . If that’s not enough, Zig-Zag has six digits on each hand, each with an extra joint, and 20 rings per hand. The Thief conveys his want (whether it be the golden balls or jewels) through a reflection in his eyes. Desert brigands are literally keen sketches (in disagreement to the highly refined main characters) . The settings are drawn with squashed perspective as a homage to Persian miniatures paintings.
The chronicle itself combines comedy, romance, fantasy, with a diminutive bit of scares. The One-Eye Army is reminiscent of the Teutonic soldiers in Alexander Nevsky - led by the massive Considerable One-Eye. The Thief constantly gets into injury or mishaps as if he were a human Wile E. Coyote (not a coincidence since Ken Harris, the main animator for the thief, often inviting the classic Roadrunner cartoons) . Tack is constantly at work - sometimes repairing shoes in his sleep.
The centerpiece of the film, though, is the substantial One-Eye Army War Machine. Filled with Rube Goldberg mousetrap devices. The destruction sets off a chain reaction, resulting in self-destruction.
Featuring heavenly and handsome animation, fabulous vocal performances, and plenty of laughs - The Thief and the Cobbler almost had a chance at being the greatest arresting film ever made.
After decades of work, with only 15 minutes of animation to complete in 4 months, the investors pulled out of a negative pickup deal, resulting in the incomplete film to be bought-out by the Completion Bond Company. Richard Williams was taken off his hold project. Incomplete animation was farmed out to Korea where it was finished poorly (even compared to the current work) . Many voices were re-dubbed, including Sir Anthony Quayle’s improbable King Nod. Insipid musical sequences were added. Over 20 minutes of completed animation were reduce out of the film. Tack was given a recent explain regardless of his lips inspiring or not. Originally with an eclectic soundtrack consisting of classical (powerful from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade), surreal Wendy Carlos-eque electronic pieces, and even some fierce jazzy sections - it was replaced with a mediocre orchestral get that borrowed heavily from Henry Mancini’s themes for The Pink Panther.
While the fresh chronicle remained intact to an extent, many inexplicable changes were made. Tack, shown to be quite a successful cobbler, was changed via a novel opening narration to be an orphan and shoemaker’s apprentice. Yum-Yum was changed into a feminist. Originally with a modulated, demonic whisper, Grand One-Eye was redubbed with a laughably tame insist.
The misery did not slay there. Miramax picked up distribution for the United States and altered the film even further. The first release was retitled The Princess and the Cobbler. This modern version, Arabian Knight made even worse changes. The Thief, thankfully left as a calm in the prior version, was given a whisper provided by Jonathan Winters - who seemed to ad-lib the entire performance. Phido, Zig-Zag’s vulture, was given a notify even with absolutely no lip-sync. Tack and Yum-Yum were redubbed again, often with the ADR out of sync. Even more footage was deleted such as an entire subplot with the Aroused Holy Mature Witch (voiced by Carry On ____ regular Joan Sims) and great of the extraordinary War Machine sequence. Even worse, this further altered version was marketed as an Aladdin clone - to the point of having overdubs referencing the film.
Even in its truncated and emasculated compose, the genius of the fresh animation is lovely. Negotiations have been off and on since the release of the altered cuts to restore it. The Walt Disney Company currently owns the film and has the power to bring benefit Richard Williams to allow him to restore and carry out the film the intention it was intended to be seen.
Until this happens, the only method to examine the modern film is via VHS tape bootlegs - often from 3rd generation sources. Considering how powerful a fanbase exists thanks to the bootleg, it would be benificial to Disney and fans for the uncut version to finally be made available not only on DVD, but to be allowed a wide theatrical release. Thanks to the rules of the Academy Award, a theatrical release of a restoration would allow it to acquire the Best Spirited Feature Oscar - among others.
Until then, avoid the unique DVD like the plague. The Thief and the Cobbler is one of the rare cel-animated films shot in CinemaScope - at the time of the film’s production starting, only two American films shot in wide-format had been made (Disney’s The Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty) . The commercial DVD is in pan & scan, which does unforgivable hurt to the virtuoso 2.35:1 framing the film had - even the laserdisc preserved this.
I am not here to rant about how what this movie became after Miramax/Disney got a own of it aid in the mid 90’s. However, I am here to expound my obscene irritation with this shoddy release.
A diminutive history first: A fullscreen, 2 channel version of this movie on DVD was offered as a free promotional item on cereal boxes in Canada about 5 years ago. I picked one up at that time for a few bucks on an auction dwelling. I quiet have the cereal box version in my collection, holding out for a Widescreen release, similar to the one that I first saw on Laserdisc. So at long last Disney releases it on DVD and it is the same proper thing that was offered on the cereal box, but now it is the ticket you behold here - ouch! Actually, I found it a local ***-Mart store for half as grand, so shame on this set for their stamp gouging.
This is a positive case of Disney not luminous their audience. It appears family movies are more marketable in fullscreen, even though most buyers of this video are going to be animation fans, modern command changes notwithstanding. Disney should have taken the same angle with this one that they took with the valid Studio Ghibli releases. But the man leisurely that gleaming maneuver, John Lasseter at Pixar, probably has shaky relations with Disney at this point. So this half-baked release will sit on the shelf next to another crappy Disney release, Mulan II, and win dust. I’m tranquil waiting for the Widescreen, 5.1 surround version.
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