Movies - Wizards

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Wizards is an animated post-apocalyptic Science Fiction/Fantasy epic movie written, produced and directed by Ralph Bakshi in 1977, and released by 20th Century Fox.

The film, originally titled War Wizards (later shortened to Wizards to avoid confusion with Star Wars, which was being made at the same time for Fox), was originally to be entirely cel-animated from scratch, but because of budget problems, Bakshi was unable to complete the battle sequences with the budget Fox had given him. When he asked them for a budget increase, they refused (during the same meeting, director George Lucas had asked for a budget increase for Star Wars and was also refused).

So, Bakshi finished his film by paying out of his own pocket and using rotoscoping for the unfinished battle sequences. In these sequences, stock footage is stripped of detail, leaving only shadows of the live figures to be painted over onto animation cels. Clips include scenes taken from films such as Zulu
, El Cid
, Patton
and Battle of the Bulge
.

The film grossed $9 million theatrically, and was considered to be a hit by Bakshi and his crew. It has since been released on home video, and more recently, on DVD.

Synopsis

The world blows up in a thousand atomic fireballs. The first blast is set off by five terrorists. It takes two million years for some of the radioactive clouds to let some sun in, and by then, only a handful of humans have survived; the rest of humanity has changed into hideous mutants who floundered in radioactive lands that never allowed them to become human again, and made each birth a new disaster.

In the good land of Montegar, fairies, elves and dwarves (the true ancestors of man) come back, arising from their long sleep. They lived happily in the good areas. During a festival, Delia, the queen of the fairies, gives birth to a pair of twins: one good, one bad. These are not ordinary twins, but magical wizards. Avatar, the kind and good wizard, spends much of his boyhood entertaining his mother with beautiful visions, while Blackwolf, the mutant wizard, never visited his mother, and spent his time torturing small animals.

After many years, Delia dies. Blackwolf, learning that his mother had died, is excited, because for now he felt he would take over her leadership and rule the land. When Avatar confronted Blackwolf, he was enraged. They begin a furious battle, with Avatar coming out as the victor. His magic is stronger, because he had the emotional loss of his mother that drove him on. Blackwolf leaves the good lands, vowing to return make this a planet where mutants rule.

Years later, Blackwolf becomes the leader of Scorch, where he finds bits and pieces of old technology, restoring it. He tries to attack Montegar twice, failing, because in the midst of battle, his warriors get bored or sidetracked. Then, Blackwolf discovers an old projector, and some Nazi propaganda, which he eventually uses as a weapon. When played at certain points in the battle, it gets his warriors excited enough to fight, and at the same time, confusing the elves.

Meanwhile, in Montegar, Avatar has become a tutor to Elinore - the daughter of Montagar's president - who is training to become a full-fledged fairy. Avatar is madly in love with Elinore, but he feels old and over the hill.

The president is assassinated by Necron 99, a robot sent by Blackwolf to kill the believers in magic. After a confrontation through brain reading, Avatar learns from Necron 99 that the key is a dream machine that inspires armies with ancient war images.

Avatar, Elinore, Necron 99 (who, after Avatar's brain reading, no longer wants war, and is renamed Peace), and Weehawk, one of Avatar's elf spies, set out to destroy the projector, and save the world from another Holocaust.

Cast

Susan Tyrrell .... Narrator (uncredited)

Bob Holt .... Avatar (voice)

Jesse Welles .... Elinore (voice)

Richard Romanus .... Weehawk (voice)

David Proval .... Necron 99 / Peace (voice)

James Connell .... President (voice)

Steve Gravers .... Blackwolf (voice)

Barbara Sloane .... Fairy (voice)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Wizards (film) ]

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Movies - Wizards

Synopsis

Cast

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