The Princess and the Cobbler (1993)

Director:

Richard Williams

Writers:

Richard Williams (screenplay) &
Margaret French (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

Plot:

The film tells a story which takes place in an oriental city from the tales of thousand and one night...

Plot Keywords:

Obsessed Love | Unfinished Film | Kleptomaniac | Dream Like | Independent Film

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Zig-Zag the Grand Vizier (voice)
Anthony Quayle	...	King Nod (original version) (voice)
Hilary Pritchard	...	Princess Yum-Yum (original version) (voice)
Windsor Davies	...	Chief Roofless (voice)
Paul Matthews	...	Mighty One-Eye (original version) (voice)
Joan Sims	...	Nurse / Mad Holy Old Witch (original version) (voice)
Clinton Sundberg	...	Dying Soldier (voice)
Donald Pleasence	...	Phido the Vulture (voice)
Sean Connery	...	Tack the Cobbler (voice) (unconfirmed)
Felix Aylmer	...	Narrator (original version) (voice)
Kenneth Williams	...	Goblet / Tickle (voice)
Stanley Baxter	...	Gofer / Slap (voice)
George Melly	...	Dwarf (voice)
Eddie Byrne	...	Hoof (voice)
Thick Wilson	...	Hook (voice)

Also Known As:

Arabian Knight (USA) (recut version)
Once... (UK) (working title)
The Amazing Nasruddin (UK) (working title)
The Majestic Fool (UK) (working title)
The Thief Who Never Gave Up (UK) (working title)
The Thief and the Cobbler (USA) (recut version)

Runtime:

72 min | 91 min (working print) | Australia:77 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:G | Australia:G | South Korea:All | Spain:T | USA:G

Company:

Richard Williams Productions

Trivia:

The American video version reinstates the original title of "The Thief and the Cobbler" but is in all other respects the edit released by Miramax under the title "Arabian Knight". This edit strips the original soundtrack, adds three song sequences, removes many scenes (including an expanding view of One-Eye's palace, the king in torment, and the clever Thief using Yum-Yum's stolen hand-shaped back-scratchers to survive a hand-chopping sentence) and adds lengthy narration by Matthew Broderick and Jonathan Winters (the title characters were originally almost silent). It also replaces the original Witch with a large Eye, thanks to new dialog by Jennifer Beals and Clive Revill. None of this was in the 1968 voice recording session, starring Vincent Price (there is a rumor Sean Connery also sat in on the session, but his part is lost). The version released in Australia was titled "The Princess and the Cobbler" and was much closer to Williams' original cut, albeit still with the songs. In this version, as in the original, Phido and the Thief never speak, and the Thief survives a hand-chopping sentence. Williams' legendary near-finished wide-screen "workprint" of the film survives on bootleg video, although many scenes are still in pencil-test form.

Quotes:

Mighty One-Eye: [shouting] ONE-EYES... WIN AGAIN!

Movie Connections:

References Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (1956)

Miramax version vs. workprint

I've had the opportunity to view a copy of the workprint Richard Williams cobbled together (consisting of finished footage, storyboards, and pencil tests), and it gives a good idea as to what the movie would have been like if Williams had managed to finish it.

Is it better than the Miramax version? Most definitely. Miramax vandalized the movie by adding those voice-overs for the Thief and the Cobbler characters - a ludicrous idea, since these characters were designed to be SILENT. Seeing these quiet characters not moving their mouths - but hearing wise-cracking dialogue, and dialogue that doesn't fit the character's personalities - is infuriating and very distracting. Though Miramax didn't do all the butchery, since the movie was significantly cut by other hands, and with poor linking animation added. (Not to mention some HORRIBLE song numbers.)

The workprint beats the Miramax version by far - but it's not perfect. True, seeing all that uncut animation - AMAZING animation - makes it a must see. It's breathtaking at times. But if the movie had been finished, I'm sure critics and audiences - when not gushing about the animation - would have criticized the story and characters. There's barely a story here, and it takes forever to get going. And once it gets going, there are plenty of times when the story stops for a pseudo intermission. Apparently, Williams was so charmed by all the vignettes that he thought up (mostly to do with the Thief bumbling around and making an ass of himself), he didn't want to leave any of them out. Seen by themselves, the vignettes are funny and a wonder to the eye. But seeing one after the other...well, it gets tiring after a while.

As well, with all the effort put in making visual splendor and animated gags, it seems not much was put into fleshing out the characters more than they are now. (Though they all have a charm that carries them further than you'd expect.)

Though I do have some sympathy for Williams for the heartbreak he suffered after being fired from the project (after working on it for more than 20 years!), he must accept his share of the blame for his firing and the eventual butchery of his project, seeing that he constantly went over time and budget, and refused to stop "improvising" as well as avoiding scripts and storyboards.

Anyway, seek the workprint and avoid the Miramax version!