Starring: Ralph Bakshi, Victoria Bakshi, Jim Connell, Steve Gravers, Angelo Grisanti Directed By: Ralph Bakshi Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: 20th Century Fox Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: May 25, 2004 Running Time: 80 minutes Theatrical Release Date: March 02, 1977
Description: Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, this fantasy adventure follows the story of Avatar, the kindly, eccentric sorcerer-ruler of Montagar, a rainbow paradise inhabited by elves and fairies. Avatar?s evil brother, Blackwolf, dominates Scortch, a bleak land of goblins and wraiths. When the power-hungry Blackwolf attacks Montagar, Avatar, accompanied only by a spirited young woman and a courageous elf, must enter the darkness of Scortch to save his world. WIZARDS is a thought-provoking, kaleidoscopic feast for the eyes that will enthrall animation fans and film lovers of all ages.
Amazon.com: Far from the masterful treatment that groundbreaking animator Ralph Bakshi gave the similarly themed The Lord of the Rings just a year later, Wizards feels amateurish. A simplistic distillation of fantasy tropes, the scenario is millions of years after nuclear war wipes out civilization. Middle Earth fairies, elves, and magic emerge from the "good lands," while dimwitted mutants with poor comic timing emerge from the nuclear wastes. In the ultimate confrontation between good and evil, a hippie-ish wizard named Avatar defends his utopia against the technological and neo-Nazi revival of his bad-seed twin, Blackwolf. With volleys of jokes that couldn't hit a barn door, elves with Brooklyn accents, and the dubious climax that sees the kindly old wizard using one of the hated machines of war to triumph over evil, Wizards is one of fantasy animation's least successful examples. --Alan E. Rapp
What a cool movie. This is a great movie. I mean, really. I am not going to go as far as to explain all the intricate parts that make it great, nor am I going to say it's the best cartoon ever made.
What I will say is the Bakshi did the animated world a favor that most people will never know about. Cartoons don't have to always be these soft, lighthearted puffballs that many animators at the time were leaning towards. Bakshi has a considerable amount of graphic violence and swearing in this cartoon that really improve on the quality. In a fairly recent interview(2004), Bakshi claimed that this was indeed a kids movie, and that in the end, the violence will not screw up the kid (Snow White really is more violent than this movie).
One cool thing about this movie is that I really hate fantasy flicks. I really do. I find them very, very bad. This movie was good enough to make me overcome that, and I believe that should be noted.
In the end, I think this is a pretty fantastic movie, and definately worth a watch.
Ahead of its Time If you are a fan of modern animation, Wizards is an underground gem that you should dig for. Quirky, clever, cutting and cool, Wizards is a FSF lover's film from the smart-alecky elves to the beauty of Montagar. This is grown-up animation made long before CGI, back when what the Japanese were doing looked like flip books with nothing animated but the mouths. No, nothing looks 'real'. It isn't meant to. Where's the fun in that? Maybe it's not for everyone, but this is a movie I love and want to share with those who will appreciate it.
Bakshi Was Never Better This flick used to play @ the Midnight Matinee's ,(if you remember those you are dating yourself!), in the 70's . I don't know of anyone else who animates like this . Its great on a big 'ol flat screen w/surround sound .
Political animation fantasy Remembered seeing this as a teen/young adult in theater. Quite awesome story, great narrator voice, eye candy, gives you something to think about.
A must have movie for animation buffs. One of Ralph Bakshi's masterpieces of animation. This man is one of the pioneers of modern animation and those of us who are fans of this genre owe him a debt of gratitude. Bakshi showed the film industry that there existed an adult and sophisticated audience for animation other than that containing the Word Disney.
This is a fairy tale and should not be interpreted literally. Bakshi was not saying that Wizards defeated the Nazi army. Bakshi simply tried to create a fairy tale about the dangers of greed, jealousy and war. This is a fairy tale about little people getting caught up in the larger game of kings and the process of colonial expansionism.
I love this film and am glad to have it as a part of my video collection. My friends have became Bakshi fans since watching this film and other works of his including Fritz the Cat and Heavy Traffic.
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