One of those long time films I've always wanted to see and now I can say I have. Thank you!
The Thief and The Cobbler is an absolutely stunning piece of cinema and animation that is all the more fascinating for its notorious and doomed production history. Richard Williams certainly had a vision. One so grand that it transcends pastiche of his forefathers and friends of the industry. And even though it will forever be unfinished, The Recobbled Cut, represents the amazing fandom and dedication of other fellow artists and animators; a collection of folks who care and appreciate everything Williams tried to do. His efforts have not gone in vain.
The Thief is perhaps the pinnacle role for all those Wile E. Coyote types; the giant goofball who just wants that one thing and can never quite taste the glory... a true homage, and yet there is another found in The Cobbler, a great silent hero, apparently modeled after Harold Lloyd (and others). The two together (but not really) are a tandem for the ages. The Thief in particular comes across as annoying at first but becomes really like-able. His journey for something simple simultaneously triggers and resolves issues left and right; an unaware creature of happenstance that fits beautifully in and out of the story. I cannot recall a more "useless" yet important character ever. And it works so so well (easily an influencer of the nutty squirrel from the Ice Age films).
An important note to make, there are apparently other versions to this film as well-one or two others at least (Miramax one specifically and I believe it is the original) that were taken over after Williams went over budget and couldn't complete any deadlines. In these versions choices were made to give every character a voice actor (not necessary) and the story and characters revamped and trimmed to great lengths. I have not seen them so I cannot compare, but The Recobbled Cut is the version you should probabky see considering the differences and how it is potentially the closest to Williams' grand vision. In The Recobbled Cut the Thief and Cobbler are voiceless (which works to great affect), rough animated sketches are places in for the scenes that were never polished, other characters also remain voiceless, and it is much longer (by an hour). While I can agree that voice acting adds levels of emotion and detail to animated characters it is not needed here. Their silence makes the Thief's and Cobbler's actions much more monumental and adds an atmosphere of stoic-ness to the drama and comedy to the slapstick. Regarding the voice work however, the brunt of it is left to Vincent Price as the vile Grand Vizier ZigZag (who speaks in rhyme!) as well as the actors for King Nod and Princess YumYum.
The film embraces surrealist chase sequences that mesmerize with colors and shapes, and at times captures texture remarkably well (a tack on the floor, moving a drain lid, or the castle moat). Many moments are memorable, but the war machine sequence is the greatest animated sequence I have ever had the privilege of viewing.
A must see for all.
The Thief and The Cobbler is an absolutely stunning piece of cinema and animation that is all the more fascinating for its notorious and doomed production history. Richard Williams certainly had a vision. One so grand that it transcends pastiche of his forefathers and friends of the industry. And even though it will forever be unfinished, The Recobbled Cut, represents the amazing fandom and dedication of other fellow artists and animators; a collection of folks who care and appreciate everything Williams tried to do. His efforts have not gone in vain.
The Thief is perhaps the pinnacle role for all those Wile E. Coyote types; the giant goofball who just wants that one thing and can never quite taste the glory... a true homage, and yet there is another found in The Cobbler, a great silent hero, apparently modeled after Harold Lloyd (and others). The two together (but not really) are a tandem for the ages. The Thief in particular comes across as annoying at first but becomes really like-able. His journey for something simple simultaneously triggers and resolves issues left and right; an unaware creature of happenstance that fits beautifully in and out of the story. I cannot recall a more "useless" yet important character ever. And it works so so well (easily an influencer of the nutty squirrel from the Ice Age films).
An important note to make, there are apparently other versions to this film as well-one or two others at least (Miramax one specifically and I believe it is the original) that were taken over after Williams went over budget and couldn't complete any deadlines. In these versions choices were made to give every character a voice actor (not necessary) and the story and characters revamped and trimmed to great lengths. I have not seen them so I cannot compare, but The Recobbled Cut is the version you should probabky see considering the differences and how it is potentially the closest to Williams' grand vision. In The Recobbled Cut the Thief and Cobbler are voiceless (which works to great affect), rough animated sketches are places in for the scenes that were never polished, other characters also remain voiceless, and it is much longer (by an hour). While I can agree that voice acting adds levels of emotion and detail to animated characters it is not needed here. Their silence makes the Thief's and Cobbler's actions much more monumental and adds an atmosphere of stoic-ness to the drama and comedy to the slapstick. Regarding the voice work however, the brunt of it is left to Vincent Price as the vile Grand Vizier ZigZag (who speaks in rhyme!) as well as the actors for King Nod and Princess YumYum.
The film embraces surrealist chase sequences that mesmerize with colors and shapes, and at times captures texture remarkably well (a tack on the floor, moving a drain lid, or the castle moat). Many moments are memorable, but the war machine sequence is the greatest animated sequence I have ever had the privilege of viewing.
A must see for all.