Wizards

Ralph Bakshi, the man you might know best as the director of that animated The Lord of the Rings film, has in fact had a long and illustrious career as an animator of the weird and bizarre. His films are rarely all that politically correct, kid-friendly or even sane. So, what if he decided to direct a family-oriented fantasy epic?

Well... it would morph into an allegory about the founding of the nation of Israel, the use of propaganda in the Nazi war machine and the struggle between the forces of natural world and the industrial revolution. Nazi flags and swastikas would feature prominently, the main protagonist would be a drug abusing garden gnome lookalike, with a love interest so skimpily dressed that it would not even fly in most strip clubs, and would feature enough gore, horror imagery and acid trip sequences to satisfy even the legendary Caligula.

You know, for kids!

So yeah, the film certainly didn't hit its once intended mark, but when you put that aside, the film itself is actually quite a lot of fun. Sure, it goes bat guano insane with remarkable frequency, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, is pretty inconsistent when it comes to the quality of animation, contains numerous plot holes and errors, and is all around just a blatant mess. But what a glorious mess it is! This is pure let your jaw hang loose and just take it in kind of experience. The film makers were clearly taking something while animating and you can get the last remaining whiffs of that from this film.

Is it for everyone? Absolutely not! It's offensive, insane and unhinged. But, if that sounds like fun to you, you're in for a ride. My advice: bring booze.

When one imagines wizards, usually knights, mounts, damsels, and dragons come to mind almost exclusively. But would one think of the haunting memories of the holocaust, or any actions Hitler's Nazi Regime took whenever magic-wielding wizards are mentioned? Not likely.

Bakshi's able to pit the essence of fantasy against the monstrosity of an ever-growing being we call "technology." The animation is simple (albeit complex and interesting at times) yet unique, the characters are conflicted and well-developed, and the twisted, somewhat random humor adds a twist of reality in a seemingly hopeless world. Definitely a movie to watch and a movie to criticize in its own rite.

I found this movie as a teen and used to show it to friends the morning after parties. It's sort of a Saturday morning cartoon gone horribly awry. I've never seen animation like it before, though I understand Bakshi has other stuff out there. I like it better than Heavy Metal and American Pop. I found it while looking for Rock and Rule, which I didn't find very memorable. This, however, I saw once and had to see again! Everyone I've shown it to has liked it- it's a sci-fi fantasy cartoon with a moral message and enough plot and humor to keep things interesting. Again, great morning after type stuff, though perhaps a bit intense and/or slow at times.

This cult/comic/anime movie ranks right up at the top of the list along with all the good ones - Heavy Metal, American Pop,etc. To the people who say the animation is no good and the story line is horrible I have two points to make: 1. Look at the year it was made. C'mon, trees were entertaining if you drank the right "Kool-Aid". and #2 - you don't like the animation and the story line, yet you can't wait for the new season of South Park to come on. This movie has all the necessary elements for any classic that stays in your heart long after you saw it. Unforgettable characters, one scene that reached out to you and you still can't get it out of your head, and that one catchy line that makes you smile every time you hear it. (For me it will always be "They killed Fritz!") This is a movie to enjoy over and over.

I have come across who like this movie and some that don't so much, sometimes downright hate it even. As for me, I don't love or dislike Wizards. It is certainly an interesting movie, and is certainly better than Cool World, but as far as Bakshi's movies go I do much prefer Heavy Traffic and American Pop. Wizards' flaws have been covered a number of times in previous reviews, but I do share my agreement with some that have been brought up. The dialogue I don't think has been a general strength in Bakshi's movies but I did find it very corny here. The soundtrack also felt a little cheesy and perhaps too 70s, and the pacing is awkward, often feeling sluggish. I had mixed feelings on the story, it was a great idea and while simple was generally interesting and engaged me once I got over its strangeness. But I did have issues with the narration; not since Don Bluth's Rock a Doodle have I seen an animated movie with such an (I feel) unnecessary overuse of narration. However, the film does look wonderful, the characters do look too cartoony but I liked their rough-around-the-edges charm and the backgrounds and colours are stylish and beautiful. The characters while on the stereotypical side are at least likable and engaging, I did find myself rooting for Avatar. The voice acting is solid on the whole. Overall, decent film and underrated but too flawed for me to consider it a masterpiece. 6/10 Bethany Cox