Usually I really dig these weird animated films from the '70s which always seem to feature fusion on the soundtrack, no matter what the setting. I believe that the pinnacle of this tiny genre is "Savage Planet," and I could see that this film had some roots in that vein. However, Bakshi's sense of humor sinks most of the good here - far too many elements from his "Fritz the Cat" have snuck in and sabotaged things. The still prologue builds one of the main wizards into a mighty figure, but when you finally see him animated, he looks like the prototype for Captain Caveman and talks like Columbo. He smokes cigars with his toes and pals around with a typical fantasy cliche - the geek's wet dream fantasy big-breasted fairy woman. I'm so sick of seeing that kind of juvenile stuff in work like this.
On the upside, some of the design is very impressive, especially the black & white background work. The music is like generic Yes, but is sufficiently groovy.
It's only 81 minutes long, but after the first half, it begins to wear thin. I saw this with two other guys: one fell asleep and my other friend and I spent the last 30 minutes or so in conversation, occasionally pausing to admire some design.
On a final note, the film relies much too heavily on Nazi imagery. The first blatant use of it doesn't arrive for a while (and the first use remains the best in the film: Black Wolf's throne room), but after Bakshi first concedes to Hitler the whole thing snowballs until you feel you must be watching the undiscovered animated version of "Triumph of the Will."
On the upside, some of the design is very impressive, especially the black & white background work. The music is like generic Yes, but is sufficiently groovy.
It's only 81 minutes long, but after the first half, it begins to wear thin. I saw this with two other guys: one fell asleep and my other friend and I spent the last 30 minutes or so in conversation, occasionally pausing to admire some design.
On a final note, the film relies much too heavily on Nazi imagery. The first blatant use of it doesn't arrive for a while (and the first use remains the best in the film: Black Wolf's throne room), but after Bakshi first concedes to Hitler the whole thing snowballs until you feel you must be watching the undiscovered animated version of "Triumph of the Will."