#recobbledcut

The history of The Thief and the Cobbler is long and heartbreaking. In short, it was an impossibly ambitious animated film whose troubled production went on for so long it was never finished. Eventually picked up, pieced together as best as possible, and then released by two separate studios, the versions we've seen are heavily compromised. Nonetheless, Richard Williams' original vision captured the minds of many. In 2013, a painstakingly reconstructed fan edit dubbed "The Recobbled Cut" - the closest we’ll ever get to the director’s intention - emerged. Though still incomplete, this glimpse at what could've been is breathtaking.

Golden City is kept safe thanks to three magical golden balls atop King Nod’s tallest minaret. When a thief steals the balls, all seems lost. Hope rests in the hands of Princess Yum-Yum (Sara Crowe) and the cobbler Tack (a silent role) while the scheming Grand Vizier Zig Zag (Vincent Price) sees the disaster as an opportunity.

A simple summary of this film’s plot does not do it justice. This is an unusual film you cannot forget. The visuals are a cross between Persian miniature paintings and the works of M.C. Escher. As characters run through corridors, you’ll be blown away at the amazing use of perspective, the crispness of the lines, and painstaking amount of detail. It’s so beautiful it’s overwhelming. The sheer amount of long, unbroken shots, the way every scene had to be painstakingly choreographed and developed, the brilliant way perspective is skewed to show off the lush background and the brilliantly designed characters… The Thief and the Cobbler is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It uses the medium of animation like no one else ever had - and it was all done by hand.

This picture's unconventional choices make it a fascinating watch. When was the last time you saw a film whose two leads had no dialogue - outside of the silent era? Sounds weird for the sake of being weird? Maybe, but it allows the story to focus on body language, facial expressions, and color to convey to you what is happening. You haven’t seen slapstick done this well since the Looney Tunes' golden years.

Based on this glimpse of what might've been, did we miss out on “the greatest animated film of all time”? Not quite. The visuals are spectacular. The story? just ok. Some scenes last too long and the way the villains are introduced means the stakes don't feel as high as they could. It’s easy to get mad at Allied Filmmakers and Miramax for releasing butchered versions of this artistic vision, but you also can’t blame them. This film is so strange, so unusual, and was taking so long to produce anyone would worry. A 30+ year obsession like this one almost certainly saw scenes that were previously “finished” scrapped entirely because the character designs were tweaked or a new stylistic choice was made down the line. Looking at it from today's standpoint, I don’t think this project would have ever gotten finished no matter how much money Richard Williams would've managed to raise.

If you love animation or movies with interesting backstories (so basically, ones where everything goes wrong), it's worth digging up this version of The Thief and the Cobbler. Usually, I’d criticize a film for demanding the audience “do homework” to enjoy themselves. This case is so wild you gobble up every testimony, date, and name like a hungry wolf inside a chicken coop. This “Recobbled Cut” might just be the most important fan edit ever made. (Recobbled Cut, June 10, 2016)

The Princess and the Cobbler is a testament to the power of the written word. That’s to say it’s so horribly written and so unfunny the breathtaking visuals no longer matter. Before you can understand why this film is such a tragedy, a bit of history. The project began in 1964 and continued until 1992. The reason for this record-setting timeline? Independent funding, complex animation, and unorthodox storytelling techniques. This pet project finally went into full production when Warner Bros. agreed to provide some finances. Unfortunately, writer/director Richard Williams and his team went over budget and fell behind schedule. The film was taken from him, hastily "completed" and released in theatres. This is the bastardized version audiences would've seen in 1993.

In the prosperous Golden City, sleepy King Nod (Clive Revill) rests comfortably on his throne while three magical golden balls protect his subjects from invaders. When an unnamed Thief (voiced by Ed E. Carroll) steals the treasures, Nod’s daughter Princess Yum Yum (Bobbi Page) and a simple cobbler named Tack (Steve Lively) must find them before the barbaric One-Eyes attack and destroy the city. Unfortunately for them, Nod’s Grand Vizier, Zigzag (voiced by Vincent Price) schemes against the Golden City.

Any way you look at it, this movie sucks. Either you know how good it could've been and you complain about the studio interference, or you come at it fresh and wonder what madness you’ve stepped into. Either way, prepare yourself for a picture that never shuts up. There isn't a single moment of quiet contemplation or any pauses in the dialogue. The thief provides endless bad pop culture references inside a world that is set hundreds of years ago, constant attempts to make you laugh despite a complete lack of comedic timing, and each gag is more tired than the next. Similarly, Tack and Princess Yum Yum never cease vomiting corny dialogue about love, longing, and destiny.

Then, they start singing. This picture wants to be Disney. It wants to be Disney so bad it rips it off incessantly. Why does this film contain pop culture-spewing funny sidekicks and talking animals? Because Aladdin was released a year earlier. Sitting down with The Princess and the Cobbler means enduring a series of songs so bland, so unimaginative they’d put you to sleep if they weren’t forcing geysers of blood to flow from your ears.

The worst thing about The Princess and the Cobbler is that it might've been good. The animation is fantastic. There’s plenty of humor found in slapstick confrontations, playful optical illusions, and outrageous character designs. Unfortunately, this version of the film is tainted beyond salvation. It’s the equivalent of finding a cockroach in your salad. The insect didn’t touch every single leaf but the meal is ruined. It’s a bold feat to fill an artful tale with so many distractions you can hardly recognize the beauty of the colors or the stylish visuals.

Before seeing this picture, I saw the fan-produced “Recobbled Cut” of the originally-titled The Thief and the Cobbler, which attempts to bring the film back to what it would've been like if Richard Williams, had completed his vision. It’s night and day. The released version, courtesy of Allied Filmmakers, is the antithesis of what could’ve been a classic. It's painful to watch and heartbreaking. There is no reason to watch this film instead of the version made with genuine appreciation and love. While this requires digging and doing your homework, it's worth it. (On DVD, August 26, 2016)