The Thief and the Cobbler VHS

There's nothing I can say about the film's screwed-up history that could be said better than what has already been put here, so I want to just review the film I ordered. Overall, I did like it - interesting characters, alright story, and holy crap that chase scene between Tack and the thief was so cool. However, someone at Miramax deserves to have a steamroller drive over their genitals for some of the crap that went wrong with this film. And I am going to point those things out (warning, there will be spoilers).1. Tack. Tack is absolutely adorable - this cute, shy little cobbler. He's also white as a sheet...how someone in a Middle Eastern country manages to be that white is a mystery all in itself, but maybe he's an albino. Who knows. My problem is with the fact that about halfway through the movie, his skin goes from ghost white to Caucasian white and then to what looks like Middle Eastern by the end of the film. Make up your mind already! Very sloppy animation work and a total lack of attention to detail to allow this to happen not once, but twice. Also, even if I had not familiarized myself with the movie's history, it's painfully obvious that Tack was meant to be a character of few words and that someone had the bright idea to give him a bunch of unnecessary lines, some of which involve him being the narrator.2. The voices. Aside from Tack having words put in his mouth, someone also seemed to think it'd be a great idea to do this to more characters. The thief never actually opens his mouth and speaks, which means he's meant to be a silent character. Nope, Miramax decided he would communicate with us via telepathy, or as they put it, "he's a man of few words, but many thoughts." And the stupid jokes were unnecessary - the thief's actions spoke well enough for themselves that he did not need a voice. And why did the bird need a voice? He said nothing of importance and it's clear he was not meant to talk.3. Animation quality. The film is like an animated quilt with random, differently designed patches spread everywhere. There's obvious vintage-looking segments, some gorgeously animated scenes, and then the half-baked crap that looks like it's from a 90s cartoon. Could they have tried a little tiny bit harder to make the animation look better? It's bad enough I have to be aurally assaulted by Matthew Broderick's voice, but some of the animation was just blah.4. The fight scene. You hear for so long in the film about the enemy, One-Eye. OMG One-Eye is coming, One-Eye is coming, we're all gonna die and the country will explode and rain of blood and acid will fall up into the sky, hell itself will open up and billions of tortured souls will pour out and eat what remains of the earth and then the planet will explode. Okay, they don't actually say all that, but my point is everyone freaks out over this immensely-powerful enemy and then the entire army is defeated in like a minute. I can get over how the army is defeated by Tack launching one of his tacks - it's ridiculous, but I can deal with it. I would have liked to see more actual battling first, like maybe Tack gets his arse whooped a bit before he realizes what can bring the enemy down. And I would have liked to see the enemy storm the palace, or see more of that gigantic monster-machine they brought with them. It was just so pitifully short and I think if it lasted a little longer, it could have been a really epic battle scene.Despite all that, though, I still liked the film. Obviously I think if it had been completed while adhering more to the original creator's vision, it would have been astounding. It's as if someone took a bunch of puzzles, mixed up all the pieces in a big pile, and Miramax took things that obviously did not fit and forced them into the picture so that nothing matched by the time it was finished. Would I watch it again? Honestly, yes. I don't want to judge the film solely on what it could have been and what was done well in this film is worth watching.

DVD label does not look like it is official and computer software warns this is not an original DVD.That being said the quality was still good and movie was as good and cheesy as I remember.

Sharing the older animated movies with the younger generation because all they have now is one studio (pretty much) and none of it is even hand done anymore. Sad for sure. But sharing the beauty of what I grew up with is so cool because you can appreciate how much they really do love the art of it all.

It has some sublime examples of Richard Williams animation, most well know for Who Framed Roger Rabbit?! Greater kaleidoscopic moments than any other hand painted 2-D cell animation feature that I can think of. Way cooler at times than Yellow Submarine ever gets (IMO). Unfortunately, Sean Connery is not in this or any version I am aware of and some scenes are not as good as others ie some of the musical singing. A higher quality would be better. This version is below the standard of most DVDs from big movie companies like Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Disney etc but a lot of Mill Creek disks are from obscure sources. For an animation aficianato this film is REALLY REALLY REALLY DESIREABLE.

It plays good on my tv.

We were so happy to watch this again as a family. We live in the US and it worked it out DVD player. Hallelujah🙌

My young daughter and I watched this many times while she was growing up, and now that she's grown I thought it would make a great gift for her to share with the daughter she may have one day. Right away I saw a LOT of versions of the remake, but virtually none of the original (look for the one with the voice of Jonathan Winters as one of the characters). I ended up paying a premium for the original, but oh, was it worth it!If your local library has one, check it out, and then go buy one for yourself!

I have owned the Thief and the Cobbler since it was first released on VHS, and both my children have watched it over and over and over. PLUS all their friends ask to borrow the tape because we seem to be the only people that bought it when it was in wide distribution. But this is not JUST a kids film, it has plenty of duel meanings to keep an older audience snickering. It's animation style is unique among children's film, and though it does have some dark parts to it, I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone since it is a film the children never seem to tire of. I can't wait until it's on DVD!

At best it is disingenuous to say that this animation is the work of, and directed by, Richard Williams. At worst it is a totally false claim. The history behind this film is well to known to anyone who admires the work of Richard Williams ..... he devoted a substantial part of his recent life, and virtually all his private savings, to creating a film into which he wanted to pour his entire knowledge and understanding of animation techniques and storytelling. In the end, the project bankrupted him and his all work was bought by Harvey Weinstein's group who then set about finishing it ...... but in doing so they went the full hog and added truly abysmal, schmalzy songs; animation sequences that are as flat as a pancake when compared to RW's originals; and voice-overs and character-voices which are so lifeless that they drain the life out of everything. Only a few original recordings which were completed and left intact suggest what we should have been able to hear and experience. (eg: the Brigand leader).The only reason to buy this movie now is to seek out and marvel at RW's original sequences. It is no coincidence that you can currently only buy this as a Region 1 DVD. However, the most telling fact is that RW wanted his name removed from the credits but it has been retained against his wishes. There is nothing else to recommend this mish-mash except for the knowledge that buried within its Americanised, sugary dullness there are still whole sections which show RW at his imaginative best. That is why I award this movie 2 stars ..... but if you hope to see a true Richard Williams movie, look elsewhere or you will be totally disappointed.

An absolutely appalling butchery of a long in development movie from a master animator. Richard Williams must have been devastated what they did to his cherished project! The added songs, the voiceover for the the Thief. I still purchased it, as there are still wonderful moments to treasure. The animation, as you would expect, is stunning in places, particular the cobbler in a chase sequence, and the really complex climax. You can see the love and attention Williams put into it. All destroyed because the moronic money men tried to "salvage" a movie they felt wasn't viewer friendly enough! its a real shame!

Purchased this in an effort to relive memories of the original release I saw Australia. The release in Australia was titled "The Princess and the Cobbler" and has a number of differences to this version.The main difference is that the Australian release kept the thief silent. I assume this DVD is the version that was released in the USA, as there is a voiceover on the thief and the voices for the Cobbler and the Princess are different.The voiceover on the thief in this version is just appalling - completely unnecessary and actually detracts from the character. The beauty of this film was the fact that the animation created most of the story and built the characters - dialogue was minimal and only included where necessary. The voices for the Princess and the Cobbler also seem disconnected and inappropriate to the animation. These differences made the whole thing so disjointed that I ended up turning it off. I have no words for how disappointed I am that they butchered this film in such a manner. The animation, especially in the chase sequence, is amazing and deserves much, much better.I'm still holding out hope that they will release the Australian release version on DVD.

i chosed this rating cause it was interesting,there was nothing i disliked about this dvd and would recommend to my friend.

Perfecto