The Thief and the Cobbler Discussion

[Jules]

All the other threads seem to be concerned about its DVD incarnations as the butchered "Arabian Knight" and other titles.

I need to ask whether there's been any development regarding Richard Williams' The Thief and the Cobbler restoration (the fan edit doesn't count). I don't know if Roy Disney is still interested, but I think I read somewhere (Wikipedia?) that a few years ago Don Hahn mentioned that all the art from the film was sitting in the Disney Animation Research library.

I think the only way we might ever see this film completed is if all the current surviving material is restored and remastered, and the remaining incomplete 15 minutes of screen time (pre-Fred Calvert meddling) be animated at Walt Disney Animation Studios and integrated with the older material.

Unfortunately Richard Williams will likely not want to have anything to do with any restoration process. He's disassociated himself from the film.

I've only seen YouTube clips of the film, and the animation looks glorious beyond anything I've ever seen done at Disney. And the art direction? It gives me chills ...

EDIT: I'm somewhat confused as to why we've never seen something of such visual mastery from Walt Disney Animation Studios, creators of Fantasia and Sleeping Beauty. Can somebody here (an animator or somebody who knows his stuff) compare the animation quality of your average Disney feature with The Thief and the Cobbler? How does it hold up?

[Mickeyfan1990]

All I know is that there was talk years ago about Disney restorating the film, but so far, nothing. The Weinstein Company currently hold the rights to the film (at least I think).

[Jules]

All I know is that there was talk years ago about Disney restorating the film, but so far, nothing. The Weinstein Company currently hold the rights to the film (at least I think).

Actually I believe Disney owns the film. It was released by Miramax in the US.

[Escapay]

The Weinstein Company own the rights to the film. When the Weinsteins were still with Miramax, it finally got a DVD release (albeit in pan&scan) in 2005. But then they got kicked out of Miramax, started The Weinstein Company, and took with them several movies that they originally distributed with Miramax (like Cinema Paradiso), along with the Dimension label (and I assume, catalogue of films). They later re-released The Thief and the Cobbler on DVD under The Weinstein Company label in 2006.

Disney does own the original artwork and other materials, as that was part of the late 90s intention to remount the film and complete it. But as I understand it, the rights to the actually-released version of the film (it was actually released as Arabian Knight in the US) belong with The Weinstein Company.

albert

[Mooky]

I've only seen YouTube clips of the film

In case you haven't seen it yet, you can watch the whole movie (the version known as the "recobbled" cut) here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 6719734101#

the animation looks glorious beyond anything I've ever seen done at Disney. And the art direction? It gives me chills ...

I'm not too fond of the story, but yes, it's a visual feast. Before I saw it I had no idea hand-drawn animation could be that three-dimensional.

[Ostrum-Safari1992]

I know it isn't a Disney film, but a while ago, Roy Disney was very interested in working on a high quality restoration of Richard Williams' "The Thief and the Cobbler", but the project fell through, I think in 2003. I do know that this film took over 20 years to produce, as Richard Williams funded the film himself. When he made a deal with Warner Bros., he was on track to finally finish his film until he missed the deadline and went way over-budget. The film was taken away from him and recut as "The Princess and the Cobbler" (released in 1993) and this version was recut again by Miramax in 1995, and released as "Arabian Knight".

Will Disney ever bring it back and try to restore the uncut version of the film and give it an official release? And why did the project fall through in the first place?

[JustOneBite87]

Disney will most likely do everything it can to suppress Thief & The Cobbler as long as they can. Many animators who worked on the film over a period of several years eventually moved to Disney and brought many of their ideas and sketches with them. Some of these were incorporated into Aladdin. If Thief ever got a wide release with a proper restoration, more people would take notice of the parallels between the two films.

[Ostrum-Safari1992]

Disney will most likely do everything it can to suppress Thief & The Cobbler as long as they can. Many animators who worked on the film over a period of several years eventually moved to Disney and brought many of their ideas and sketches with them. Some of these were incorporated into Aladdin. If Thief ever got a wide release with a proper restoration, more people would take notice of the parallels between the two films.

When the "Arabian Knight" version was released in 1995, some critics called the film a "rip-off" of "Aladdin". I can see some similarities, but if Disney were to give this a proper release, they could put an introduction on it, going over the film's production history.

[Jules]

Aladdin did not rip off The Thief.

Yes some elements are similar blah blah blah. They're both set in Arabia, and both feature a sultan, a grand vizier and a princess. That's about as close as they get.

I'm much more disturbed with the Lion King/Kimba and Atlantis/Nadia controversies.

I'm not sure if the Disney creative team is entirely to blame, in those cases, but they certainly seem "villianous" in their plagiarism (which hurts me because I love WDAS ... I wish they never plagiarised Kimba/Nadia).

[Ostrum-Safari1992]

Aladdin did not rip off The Thief.

Yes some elements are similar blah blah blah. They're both set in Arabia, and both feature a sultan, a grand vizier and a princess. That's about as close as they get.

I'm much more disturbed with the Lion King/Kimba and Atlantis/Nadia controversies.

I'm not sure if the Disney creative team is entirely to blame, in those cases, but they certainly seem "villianous" in their plagiarism (which hurts me because I love WDAS ... I wish they never plagiarised Kimba/Nadia).

I don't think "Aladdin" ripped off "The Thief". Both films have completely different looks to them. There are possibilities that Disney borrowed ideas, but I'm not sure (Didn't "Aladdin" begin pre-production in 1987?, when Disney and Richard Williams were working on "Roger Rabbit"?). But yes, "Aladdin" and "Thief" are completely different.

[ajmrowland]

I doubt they even tried to plagiarize Kimba. Never even heard of Nadia.

[JustOneBite87]

It's pretty hard to argue with the Kimba controversy. They pretty much took every character from Kimba, right down to the lion with a scar over one eye and his hyena minions.

[Sotiris]

Legendary Animator Richard Williams Turned Down ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to Finish ‘Thief and the Cobbler’ — but It Remains Unfinished
https://www.indiewire.com/features/anim ... 235030876/