Wizards

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.

Ralph Bakshi was a one of a kind filmmaker. He actually created his own genre. No one else has ever tried to make movies like the ones he made. "Wizards" takes a little while to get going but that doesn't really matter. It's consistently watchable. This movie makes me wonder what Bakshi could have done done if he ever had a real budget. Oh by the way, despite what my daughter says "Wizards" isn't just for aging stoners.

Wizards is great! Even if you don't like Ralph Bakshi, you should watch this movie. The story about a fight between magic and technology is great. Two magician brothers(one evil, one good) fight in this movie. The evil one, Blackwolf, is a dark Hitler-inspired sorcerer who wants to dominate the world, while Avatar is a short, stocky, cigar-smoking, lazy, red-nose magician. Blackwolf uses old Nazi propaganda films to stimulate his troops, and uses old war machines(a.k.a. Tanks, machine guns and other World War II weapons). The story is excellent, some jokes are really funny, and the drawings and animation are beautiful and very artistic. The characters are very good, my favorite being Peace, the assassin. The bottom line is: I loved this movie. It's fun and it's not stupid at all. Along with "La Planète Sauvage", this ranks as the best animation film ever. 10 out of 10!!!

I like Ralph's work. But was kind of unsure about Wizards. Many reviews said the story makes no sense and the film is amateurish. Okay, after watching the thing... let's make things clear: 1. The story DOES make sense. You just have to watch the film several times, very carefully. 2. The animation is quite good. For you all who likes perfection (are you sure you even know the meaning of the word?), in "making of" Ralph himself states he does not care about cleanliness, as long as a movie has soul. 3. About elves with Brooklyn accents. Have you ever seen an elf??? Do you know how they speak? Or do you think they come from Wales exclusively? 4. I said everything above. ^

Ah, Wizards. Now this is a movie that newsgroups love to pick apart. But look past it's cheapness and it's technical flaws, and you'll find an underrated gem of animation. Although oddly structured (our protagonists don't set off on their quest until about half an hour into the movie) and weighed down with exposition, Wizards tells a good story, the art is excellent, and it has one of the coolest animated battles I've ever seen... think Ralph Bakshi does Braveheart.

This cartoon was one of those in the seventies when animation was almost dead. A few folks revived it with movies like Fritz the Cat, Lord of the Rings, Fire and Ice and Wizards. Although Wizards didn't do well during the prime time, it rocked as a midnight movie. But, even with the simple plot, engaging characters and sporadic humor, one gets the impression that this movie was not well-planned. There is conventional animation, rotoscoping and overexposed film sometimes being used on the same screen. It also seems that they ran out of money and had to resort to stills with a narrator (nice voice)... You'd think that this would make the movie worse; however, it gives the movie a charm that a slicker production wouldn't have...