Wizards
Directed by Ralph Bakshi
Written by Ralph Bakshi
1977/US
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime
Weehawk: [to horse] Steady, Westwind. We’ll eat alone, lest we sit with fools.
The good vs. evil plot is just OK but the animation and music are absolutely outstanding.
In a post-apocalyptic earth, the land of Scortch is a polluted place occupied by mutants and ruled over by evil wizard Blackwolf. The Good Lands are ruled by Blackwolf’s good brother, Avatar. Both are about 9,000 years old. Both lands are also full of elves and fairies, malignant or benevolent as the case may be.
Blackwolf has somehow got hold of an ancient movie projector. The movie is a stream of Hitler speeches and combat sequences. Blackwolf decides that fascism and technology are the route to world conquest (he obviously didn’t watch the end of the movie). The good guys have only love and magic to defeat them. A little band led by Avatar travels the perilous road to Scortch to save the planet.
The fantasy wasn’t the big draw, at least for me. The fantastic animation and score overcame all and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the tip Hoosier.
And that finishes my viewing for 1977.
