Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done

With the vogue for cartoons to be successful (Antz, Toy Story, Nemo etc), it is surprising that Dick Deadeye has largely disappeared without a trace. Based on the drawings of Gerlad Scarfe - which do take some time to get used to if unfamiliar with his style (he also did the opening titles of BBC's 'Yes Minister'), the stroy is simply cobbled together from a selection of Gilber & Sullivan operettas (Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore to name only three). The story is reasonably followable (for a cartoon), but there are many wonderful musical moments with updated (even 'Pop') treatments to well known G&S songs, plus a few new ones. 'The Moon & I' sung by Linda Lewis was even a minor hit in 1976, but this didn;t seem to help the film receive greater viewing audiences.

It did not receive a full UK distribution, but did play in selected 'art house' cinemas, then disappeared without a trace. As far as I am aware it has never released on video or DVD, but it would certainly be worthwhile for those who like pleasant comedy and G&S's music.

Dick Deadeye is an incomprehensible jumble of disconnected story ideas and popified Gilbert & Sullivan songs with poorly rewritten lyrics. And according to IMDB users, it's absolutely terrific.

The only explanation I have is that the reviewers saw this as children and developed an eternal fondness for it. Children are less concerned by things like coherent storytelling and wit and more likely to be drawn in by speed and noise, which Dick Deadeye has in abundance.

The visual design by Searle is pretty nice, but there's little else to recommend this.

Found out about this from the Gilbert and Sullivan page on Facebook, and saw it on YouTube. It lies buried and almost forgotten - WHY??? If there's an entrepreneur out there out there who wants to bring culture and a refreshing breeze to British Animated excellence - GET THIS MASTERPIECE ON DVD NOW!!! Especially if you like Gilbert and Sullivan operas. And NO! I'm NOT going to tell you what the ultimate secret is - you'll have to watch this gem for yourselves.

A must see for all Gilbert and Sullivan freaks (it's on YouTube.) It recalls Yellow Submarine and other unconventional cartoons, but is quite in a league of its own. The animation and character designs are simultaneously hideous and gorgeous--I wish more animation looked like Dick Deadeye. The effort put into the backgrounds is especially admirable.

The plot almost doesn't matter. It's just an excuse to throw a bunch of G&S characters and songs together. You wouldn't think 70s-ified versions of these songs would sound good, but it's actually musical genius. We hear energetic funk, folk, reggae, you name it. For example, the John Wellington Wells song sounds like if Elton John wrote Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. Some viewers might take issue with how much the writers altered Gilbert's original lyrics, but I think it keeps the film from being predictable.

I take some issue with the underrepresentation of Ruddigore and Princess Ida. The film tries to include a reference to each operetta, and does a good job considering, but the character of Rose Maybud is nothing like her original version. These are small nitpicks considering how much I love the film as a whole, though. I never thought adding so many boob jokes to Gilbert and Sullivan would work! The jokes take you by surprise with how good they are.

I enjoy Dick Deadeye much more than any Disney movie. If it hasn't had a DVD release, it needs one to reach a larger audience.

For those who are interested, there exists an illustrated book of the movie. It was published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. It is probably now out of print, but might be found in some library collections. It incorporated original designs by Ronald Searle on the inside covers, and character drawings by Bill Melendez Productions. Gilbert and Sullivan lovers will find all the words to many of their favorite songs which were used in the movie, with additional lyrics by Robin Miller. Text was by Jeremy Hornsby, while the original story (of the movie) was by Leo Rost. Interestingly the copyright is by Ronald Searle, dated 1975.