Animation 26 Apr 2006 07:36 am
Re-Cobbler
- It’s been something of an open secret among animation enthusiasts that Garrett Gilchrist has been posting good quality reconstructed segments of Richard Williams‘ film, The Cobbler and The Thief.
It takes a little patience and interest, but you can go to YouTube to see a good number of the pieces of it re-formed as a viewable cut of some of Williams’ work before it was snatched away and desecrated.
The film is stunning of course in its bits and well worth the effort for those with the time. There are amazingly viewable pencil tests mixed in with large doses of painted, completed scenes. This wasn’t a completed film, and it doesn’t completely play like one. However, the quality of the Pencil Test sections in this version is better quality than the third generation copy that I own.
The animation in the original film, of course, is brilliant in large sections, but I am always taken away by the majesty of Errol LeCain‘s priceless backgrounds. Somehow he seems to be the guy no one ever talks about in connection with this film. I’m going to feature a number of postings on Errol’s beautifully illustrated children’s books later this week.
Thanks to Garrett Gilchrist for his work here. His site is also a link to (mostly pencil drawn) art from The Cobbler and The Thief. Here and here.
- Over at ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive Blog, they’re posting some Sunday pages from Polly & Her Pals. I’m in pig heaven. Take a look.
Thanks to Kent Butterworth for letting the Archive scan them.
- I love the headlines they give the political articles at Buzzflash.com. The articles can be found on most other left-wing political sites, but these guys are usually funny.
(Spoiler alert: if you don’t hate Bush, you’ll hate this site.)
