Director Ralph Bakshi takes pride in saying that his films are "anti-Disney."
Wizards is no exception and is very different than what it
appears to be. Bakshi’s attempt at making a family film fell a short and
created a film that is memorable but for all the wrong reasons.
Wizards is a film written, directed, and animated by Ralph
Bakshi. Bakshi is better known for his adult cartoon Fritz the Cat and
when creating Wizards wanted to make a film for all ages. The
story that he created tells of a post-apocalyptic earth. The earth is destroyed
by nuclear bombs set off by terrorists. A few survivors are left who are severely
mutated and have essentially become monsters. Through this technology has faded
and has given way to the original inhabitants of earth, fairies and dwarfs.
Their appearance has also given way to the return of magic. We are told that
the ruler of this world gave birth to twin wizards who couldn’t be anything
other than complete opposites. Avatar, the good wizard, is short, has a long
orange beard and a grumpy temper. He wages a war against his brother Blackwolf,
the evil wizard, who is bent on world domination. To achieve control of the
world, Blackwolf enlists the help of the mutants and brings back guns, tanks,
and technology of our time. He also obtains old Nazi war films and uses them
as a weapon against the unsuspecting elves. This leads to a struggle of magic
verses technology that can only be described as a cool idea that wasn’t
presented well.
First things first, the concept for this film is great. Science and fantasy
combined is a superb idea that fans of either genre would love to see however,
as I said above, this film just combined the two poorly. The story is poorly
written and is often hard to follow at times. There are breaks in the story
that are unnecessary and jar the continuity of the film. I wonder if Bakshi
created a film that was so different that he almost intended for the film to
be so “sloppy." One thing that is different about this film is how
it combines animation with live action backgrounds. It is interesting to look
at but the animation itself is rather dated. There is minimal character detail
and no impressive character designs. The film looks rather bland. One thing
that could be causing this is the fact that this film is older and believe me
it shows. Not only in the look of the film but in the audio. The soundtrack
is horrible. One would think they were watching an animated Jazz video rather
than an animated film. Again, this is mainly due to the time of the film's release
and could have been characteristic of the time. Wait…Disney films were
made in the 1970’s and looked nothing like this! This could also be part
of Bakshi’s anti-Disney technique. Another thing about the film is that
it really isn’t for children. From blood to some “iffy” language,
I wouldn't suggest letting your children watch this film. Not to mention the
large breasted, scantily clad fairy that must be really cold throughout the
whole movie and I mean REALLY cold!
As for special features this film has the bear minimum. The only redeeming one
is the mini-documentary on Bakshi that has him talking about his career and
the film. They are as follows:
-Ralph Bakshi The Wizard of Animation Featurette: This is the only redeeming
factor on this DVD. It is a nice mini-doc on the man behind this film and in
his own words. It’s interesting to hear how he got into the business and
what led him to create this film.
-TV Spot and Theatrical Trailer: After watching these you’ll wonder why
anyone ever went to even see this film. They are pretty hilarious to watch however.
-Still Gallery: Pretty boring as most Galleries tend to be.
-Audio Commentary by Ralph Bakshi: This is interesting and gives you insight
into the films creation.
In today’s world there is no way that this film could be released as a
children’s film. Its violence and Nazi imagery would never be allowed
to be shown to young children. As I said before the concept of this film is
great and in today’s film industry could probably be done in live action.
But in this case, it was not. If you enjoyed this film as a kid maybe think
about getting it. If you have never seen it, then hold off and buy another film.
Movie Score: D+
Special Features Score: C
Overall Score: C-
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