Saturday, June 09, 2007

My God! It's full of

No, I don't know what that means, either.

Well, I've been on a bit of a break from work. Doing almost (but not quite) nothing.
It's Saturday though, and some things must be done.
But before I do something "productive", this update.

Hideaway Update:
Hitches in the finance department.
Evidently, the sort of loan I have is looked at askance by conventional lenders.
This, I am assured, is a "hitch" and not a killer - we'll see.
Delays, delays.

Waist Management:
My vacation has also meant a vacation from most of my newly aquired good eating habits.
Not a total departure, mind you. Just a brief hiatus.
Monday brings a return to the training table.

The Review: Wizards
Back in "the day", actually considerably before "the day", CGI was non-existant.
The nearest thing to mass animation was
rotoscoping.
I am not going to make ridicuoous, Ludditic comments implying that there is no Art in modern
animation. This is patently untrue. I also believe that the love of Animation is alive and well.
But, today's offereings are undoubtedly different.

Wizards is the brainchild of
Ralph Bakshi, a Palestine immigrant, and one of the unsung heros of Animation. A veteran of the Terrytoons and Famous Studios animation houses, he is one of the individuals responsible for Tom Terrific - the first cartoon created for broadcast TV. But that was just the beginning of a long and, you should pardon the expression, illustrious animation career.

Bakshi created the then infamous
Fritz the Cat - the first (and possibly only) normally distibuted animated film to receive an "X" rating. This was followed by Heavy Traffic and Coonskin, also considered extremely controversial for thier very adult (and in some ways realistic) themes.

Then came Wizards.
A Post-Apocalyptic "high" Fantasy that centers around two brother wizards, twins in fact, in a world where "Technology" is not only virtually unknown, it is outlawed.

The differences between the twins is obvious from birth: Avatar, the good wizard, is cherubic and smiling. The other brother, Blackwolf, is wasted looking and repellant. And so it goes throughout thier young lives, with Avatar (predictably) growing into a kindly and wise young man, while Blackwolf becomes ever more cruel. Upon the death of thier mother (the Queen), they fight for the throne. Blackwolf is defeated and driven off to rule the mutant population in the still-radioactive land of Scorch. Needless to say, Blackwolf has the mother of all chips on his shoulder. And who could blame him? Cursed from birth by deformity and an evil name, shunned by all the "good" creatures it is not surprising perhaps that he grew into a bitter, evil adult. One with powerful magical powers to boot. But I digress.

Over the next (many thousands) of years, Blackwolf launches a series of attacks on Montagar (where the good guys live), but his armies are always repulsed. Why? Because they have no "heart". No will to fight. The population of Montagar, on the other hand, have not only virtue on thier side, but are fighting to protect thier homeland. Naturally, they win every time.

But Blackwolf is nothing if not patient - and smart.
Turning to "Technology" to find something to give his armies an edge, he comes across Nazi propaganda materials and employs them and thier methods.
Once he fills the mutant army's heads with talk of thier "destiny" and thier status as the new "Master Race", his army is suddenly filled with enthusiasm and resolve. Blackwolf has found his Cause.
Inflamed with purpose, they are once again launched against Montagar. The "good lands", having been softened up by a series of strategic assassinations, begin to fall.

In classic style, a Quest is launched. Avatar (now old and allegedly retired) leads a small group consisting of Eleanor, the Fairy Daughter of the (now deceased) President of Montagar, Weehawk an Elven warrior and Peace - the robot responsible for the death of the President. (Peace was previously known by the admittedly more threatening (but way cooler) name "Necron 99". Avatar has broken his programming by offering an escape from Blackwolf's domination and the personal suffering this causes the robot.)

As one might expect, the whole thing comes out in a successful, if bittersweet, fashion that I will not elaborate on. In fact, the resolution is one of the most satisfying - and unpredictable - parts of the story, so I won't spoil it.

The story as I have described it makes this movie seem like a typical, Good v. Evil, Quest Story where the Good Guys win and Evil is vanquished for ever. And it is.
But to leave it at that is like calling a gift typical because it was wrapped in bright paper and ribbons. In this case, the wrapping is fairly exceptional, and quite entertaining - but the real goodies are inside.

Having tried your patience this long with my description of the surface of the film, I won't abuse you further by any sort of deep examination of the underlying symbolism in Wizards.
Some of it can be a little heavy-handed, even for the late 70's, but VietNam was still fresh in the mind of the world. And Bakshi himself was from Haifa - a former Palestineian city conquered by Isreal. So it is not surprising that an obvious anti-war sentiment would come through.
But along with the obvious is the subtle. Comments about politics and politicians, religion and society at large are sprinkled all through the piece. And, while much of the art is "cartoonish", many of the frames are so dense and intricate they amaze.

What comes shining through everythng else is the fact that Ralph Bakshi loves Animation.
This is even more obvious when listening to the commentary track, where he tells not only of the start of his career, but how he had to use his life's savings to finish the film.
Not only does he love his work, his most beloved friends were/are animators. In fact, he comments that, after the passing away of some of these friends, his has strong feelings of ambivalence about even deserving to continue to make animated films. That he did (and does)
is a matter of record, but that a person should even have such thoughts speaks volumes.

Warts and all, this film is the best of it's sort to come from Bakshi.
And in many ways, there is no other film like it.
The only other feature that comes close is
Fire and Ice - my enjoyment of which has more to do with the involvement of Frank Frazzetta than anything else.
And, IMHO, the less said about
The Lord of the Rings, the better.

The Bottom Line:

Worth the Price of Admission? : It was worth full price in '77, and it still is today.
Would I watch it Again? : Good lord yes!
Worth Owning? : I own it. 'Nuff said.

No comments: