Wizards (1977)

Director:

Ralph Bakshi

Writer:

Ralph Bakshi (written by)

Release Date:

9 February 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The ultimate futuristic fantastic epic

Plot:

On a post-apocalyptic Earth, a wizard and his faire folk comrades fight an evil wizard who's using technology in his bid for conquest.

Plot Keywords:

Wizard | Mutant | Fairy | Technology | Twin

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Bob Holt	...	Avatar (voice)
Jesse Welles	...	Elinore (voice)
Richard Romanus	...	Weehawk (voice)
David Proval	...	Peace (voice)
Jim Connell	...	President (voice) (as James Connell)
Steve Gravers	...	Blackwolf (voice)
Barbara Sloane	...	Fairy (voice)
Angelo Grisanti	...	Frog (voice)
Hyman Wien	...	Priest (voice)
Christopher Tayback	...	Peewhittle (voice)
Mark Hamill	...	Sean (voice) (as Mark Hamil)
Peter Hobbs	...	General (voice)
Tina Romanus	...	Prostitute (voice) (as Tina Bowman)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ralph Bakshi	...	Fritz / Storm Trooper (voice) (uncredited)
Victoria Bakshi	...	Fairy Girl (voice) (uncredited)
Heinrich Himmler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Viktor Lutze	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Susan Tyrrell	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ralph Bakshi

Writing credits
Ralph Bakshi		(written by)

Produced by
Ralph Bakshi	....	producer

Original Music by
Andrew Belling

Film Editing by
Donald W. Ernst

Production Management
Bill Orcutt	....	animation production manager (as William Orcutt)

Art Department
Michael G. Ploog	....	illustrator: histories (as Mike Ploog)

Sound Department
Eileen Horta	....	supervising sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Ted C. Bemiller	....	animation camera

Animation Department
Mary J. Adams	....	final checker
Enrique Alpizar	....	cel reproductions
Brenda Banks	....	animator
Sandy Benenati	....	ink and paint artist
Alice Cowing	....	final checker
Louise Cuarto	....	ink and paint artist
Janet Cummings	....	color modeler
Diane Dunning	....	ink and paint artist
Tasia Erickson	....	animation effects (as Tasia Williams)
Dotti Foell	....	animation checker
Edgar Gutierrez	....	cel reproductions
Stod Herbert	....	assistant animator
Charlotte Huffine	....	assistant animator
David Jonas	....	background artist
Alison Leopold	....	ink and paint artist (as Alison A. Victory)
Ian Miller	....	background artist
Ian Miller	....	background designer
Nelda Ridley	....	final checker
Ben Shenkman	....	assistant animator
John Sparey	....	layout artist
Irven Spence	....	animator
Irven Spence	....	sequence animator
Martin Strudler	....	background artist
Martin Strudler	....	background supervisor
Martin Taras	....	animator (as Martin B. Taras)
Robert Taylor	....	animator
Ira Turek	....	background artist
Katherine Victor	....	final checker (as Kathrin Leichliter)
John Vita	....	background artist (as Johnnie Vita)
Art Vitello	....	animator (as Arthur Vitello)
Manon Washburn	....	ink and paint artist
Micki Zurcher	....	ink and paint artist (as Michele Zurcher)
Cosmo Anzilotti	....	animator (uncredited)
Toby Bluth	....	visual development artist (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Jack Hooper	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Andrew Belling	....	musical director
Don Perry	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Leah Bernstein	....	assistant to producer
Scott Citron	....	production coordinator
John Kaufman	....	production coordinator
Jose Kfuri	....	production coordinator
Howard Miller	....	titles
Christine Wirt	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Bakshi Productions
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• Playhouse Home Video (1987) (USA) (VHS) (For CBS/Fox)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• C.G. Films S.A. (1982) (Spain) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (????) (New Zealand) (VHS) (original video release)
• Koch Media (2010) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Horta-Mahana Corp.  sound effects and music editing

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Argentina:82 min | USA:80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:12 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (1986) (video rating) | USA:PG | New Zealand:PG (DVD) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | New Zealand:M (original rating) | Netherlands:16 (original version) | UK:A (original rating) | Peru:14

Company:

Bakshi Productions

Trivia:

The "religious" articles in the temple include pinball machines, a Pepsi-Cola sign, a catcher's mitt, an Oscar statuette, a jukebox, and a gold front grill from a Rolls Royce.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Avatar is telling the president about his brother, the narrator says that Blackwolf has been studying black magic for 5,000 years. But when Blackwolf is introduced, it says that the story takes place 3,000 years later.

Quotes:

Avatar:Oh yeah... one more thing: I'm glad you changed your last name, you son of a bitch!

Movie Connections:

Edited from Alexander Nevsky (1938)

Soundtrack:

Only Time Will Tell

A disturbingly displaced epic

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.