Wizards (1977)

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.

Director:

Ralph Bakshi

Writer:

Ralph Bakshi

Stars:

Bob Holt, Jesse Welles, Richard Romanus

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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)

Storyline

In a post apocalyptic future that appears as a blend of World War II Europe and J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, a pint-size wizard named Avatar must save the world from a band of fascist mutants controlled by his evil twin brother, Blackwolf, who likes to confuse enemy armies by projecting films of Adolf Hitler speeches during attacks. Painted live-action footage of advancing Nazi armies contrasts with Saturday-morning-cartoon-style animation of fairies and elves as Avatar travels through various magical and radioactive realms on his quest. Aiding him are the beautiful Fairy princess Elinore, hot-blooded warrior elf Weehawk, and Peace, a misunderstood robot rebelling against his Blackwolf-controlled programming. A bizarre and psychedelic meditation on magic vs. technology, this ultimate futuristic fantastic epic cult film still finds an audience on college campuses and will prove quite rewarding to viewers in the right frame of mind.

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Plot Keywords:

massive breasts | wizard | villain turns good | future earth | dark future | 

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Taglines:

The ultimate futuristic fantastic epic

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

War Wizards

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bakshi Productions, Dong Seo Animation, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (RCA Sound Recording) (5.0) (L-R)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film was first released in New Zealand, it was given the M rating, due to the film's animated violence, profanity and sexual content. But, when the film was released on DVD in New Zealand in 2011, it was re-rated PG. The film was given the PG rating in England and in America.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Avatar: I'm too old for this sort of thing. Just wake me up when the planet's destroyed.

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Alternate Versions

On April 30th, 2005, as part of the Ralph Bakshi retrospective at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Bakshi's personal print of the film was shown, which was missing two pieces of narration:

• Susan Tyrrell does not read the opening shot's storybook title in her narration voice-over. In this print, the film's narration starts with "The world blew up in a thousand atomic fireballs...," in the next shot.
• The character of Nekron 99's (AKA Peace's) narrated introduction was also missing from the print.

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Connections

Referenced in AniMat's Classic Reviews: Happily Ever After (2015)

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Soundtracks

Only Time Will Tell
Performed by Susan Anton

User Reviews

A story of a mystical land in the far distant future.

This is one of the most brilliant movies ever made. Though the film alters in tone quite often from dark and moody to light and whimsical, it's one of my all time favorite movies. It's Ralph Bakshi's first film aimed at children, but it's actually very intense, violent battle sequences, some mild adult language, suggestive material, and some dark themes that are more suited for older audiences. It's a story of Avatar and Blackwolf, two wizard brothers. Avatar rules the peaceful kingdom of Montagar with wisdom and magic, while the evil Blackwolf rules the dark land of Scortch with technology and war.

It's a great combination of science fiction and fantasy set years into a strange post apocalyptic future where broken tanks, guns, and Nazi propaganda are regarded as ancient artifacts. Wonderful supporting characters include Weehawk, a courageous and cynical elf, Elinore, a young fairy princess whom Avatar is in love with, and Necron 99, a robotic assassin who is turned into a good robot named Peace. This movie has a great deal of symbolism and is very thought provoking, it deals with the power of propaganda and the dangers of the over reliance on technology.

I was impressed by the surreal and creative animation, and I was mesmerized by the mystical and otherworldly music score. The film's climax is brilliant and fits the overall tone of the film. Treat yourself to a symbolic retro-future style film loaded with psychedelic animation, memorable characters, and a truly wonderful adventure that will transport you to a whole new world set ten million years into the distant future.