The box office success of
The Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings finally afforded Richard Williams the finances,
which had previously eluded him, to complete his animated magnum opus...
More than twenty years in the making,
The Thief and the Cobbler was a troubled production with many title changes, false starts and many shut downs due to lack of funds. That is of course, until executives from The Samuel Goldwyn Company offered Williams the money he needed to finish the project after taking a liking to his previous works. While Williams went to work on his masterpiece, he enlisted his longtime assistant Richard Purdum to direct
Return of the King, which will be released by Turner this Christmas.
The film takes huge risks in giving the visuals more priority on the actual plot, and it pays off with beautifully drawn scenes not seen in animated films in a long time.
The film takes place in a Golden City which is supposedly protected from the forces of evil by three golden spheres atop the tallest minaret. However, the city is sent into a panic when the spheres are stolen by an unnamed Thief (silent), and prophecy has it that order can only be restored to the city if the spheres are returned to their rightful minaret by the simplest of souls. The main protagonist is a humble cobbler named Tack (also silent), who is saved from execution by the lovely Princess Yum Yum (Sara Crowe). Much to the chagrin of the villainous vizier Zig Zag (Vincent Price), Tack and Yum Yum take a liking to each other and together, the two set off an adventure to restore peace to the Golden City, with the Thief of course, tagging along for the loot.
Before reaching general release in theatres,
The Thief and the Cobbler was awarded the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated film to win the award in the festival's history.
The film was finally released to theatres on August 9, 1985, and became one of the most successful independent films to date.
And by the way, No, the Brigands are NOT what happens when you don't finish school.