I don't suppose that many people realise that "The Lord of the Rings" had been tackled long before Peter Jackson gave us the definitive version. The earlier one was by legendary animator Ralph Bakshi back in 1978. He only got as far as Part One, and since his low-budget attempt flopped, Part Two and more never happened. However Bakshi is a truly amazing talent who should be better-known, particularly for this film which is probably his masterpiece. His earlier "Heavy Traffic" (1973) and "Fritz the Cat" have their own fan clubs; however neither of these are the least bit suitable for children, since Bakshi's streetwise characters and sexual mockery are very much for adults.
"Wizards" would be just about OK for kids, despite the would-be Queen of the Fairies having voluptuous cleavage and prominent nipples. In a post apocalyptic universe the remains of the human race are mutants and the disciples of twin brothers fall into the good and evil camps, the former inhabited by fairies and elves, the latter by ogres and worse. Once the evil wizard has managed to harness images of Hitler's rallies to mobilize his troops to greater effort, the rather laid-back and elderly good wizard must set forth to rid the world (again) of such evil. The story is in many ways less important that the marvels of animation on view, from beautifully-drawn tableaux with voiceover narration, through traditional animation through modernistic rotoscoping -- it's a wonderful demonstration of the animator's art before the rush into computer-generated imagery. It's really a thoroughly satisfying example of artistic vision and skill.
No comments:
Post a Comment