Scott LeBrun Ralph Bakshi wrote, produced and directed this animated combination of the post-apocalypse and fantasy genres, in which two brothers, Avatar (voice of Bob Holt) and Blackwolf (voice of Steve Gravers) both grow up with magical powers. The thing is, Avatar is a good guy and Blackwolf is just plain evil. Avatar goes on a quest to face and vanquish his putrid sibling, accompanied by an elf named Weehawk (voice of Richard Romanus) and a fairy princess named Elinore (voice of Jesse Welles). Largely aimed at a younger audience than previous Bakshi films, "Wizards" still does offer some pretty intense battle sequences, some cartoon gore, and a little suggestiveness (such as how Elinore is dressed throughout). What makes it interesting is that Avatar rules his kingdom of Montagar benevolently and kindly, while Blackwolf relies on weapons and technology, and also uses Adolf Hitler as a role model. Blackwolf reaches into Earths' past and appropriates Nazi propaganda to brainwash his minions, leading to some inspired use of live action sequences within the frame.Nowadays viewers are much more conditioned to computer generated images, but for the time this was made, this remains a fine example of traditional hand-drawn animation. Some of the images are quite striking, and character and creature design are enjoyable, as elves and mutants ultimately engage in war.The vocal performances are wonderful, especially from Holt; also lending their voices are David Proval (Romanus' co-star in "Mean Streets") and Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill.A short-and-sweet running time (81 minutes) and a rousing score composed by Andrew Belling further assist in making this an enjoyable feature, if not as satisfying overall as Bakshis' later "Fire and Ice".Seven out of 10.

MissSimonetta The first time I saw Wizards (1977) I hated it. Then I was somehow compelled into watching it again and while I still didn't like it, I admitted to myself that it was interesting. Upon the third viewing, I was in love. This is a movie that gets better and better the more you watch it.God knows why, as it's quite flawed. Whoever they hired to do the voice over narration sounds like she's just taken a sleeping pill. Sometimes the plot is choppy and the editing can be strange. The ending is a bit abrupt.But still, this movie has charm to spare. The characters are twists on archetypes and feel human despite their cartoonish nature. Even the villains are compelling and sometimes likable. The backgrounds are gorgeous, ranging from soothing, storybook-like watercolor illustrations to sketchy, over-detailed concoctions with violent colors. The music is pure, awesome 70s cheese. And the climax is just fantastic; totally unexpected.Folks are divided on Bakshi's love affair with rotoscoping. Unlike The Lord of the Rings (1978) or American Pop (1981), the rotoscoping is great in Wizards, because the rotoscoping is used only for the demons in the villain's army. Some would say they clash with the other, Saturday morning style characters, but the contrast actually works here and feels like less of a mess. And because the rotoscoping is saved for the villains, it makes them all the creepier.Out of all Bakshi's films, this one is my favorite. I have the Blu-ray and have probably seen it over twenty times by now.

zetes I have a soft spot for Ralph Bakshi's rock 'n roll family saga American Pop, but, really, he's not all that talented of an animator or filmmaker otherwise. I have still moderately enjoyed everything else I've seen by him. Until now, that is. Wizards is a disaster. It feels like about a quarter of an idea that was quickly drawn up and thrown into theaters. The quarter of an idea isn't a bad one, but it makes for an incredibly slapdash movie. Two wizards from the distant future, a good and evil twin brother, are at war. The evil wizard has discovered ancient films of Nazi Germany, and he inspires his mutant minions to go to war with the elves and fairies who live in the non-irradiated lands. The good wizard, along with a heroic elf, a reprogrammed evil robot and a big-tittied fairy set out to destroy the evil wizard's film projector. The character designs aren't half bad (especially the big-tittied fairy), but the animation is just dreadful. I'd recommend skipping this one.

Michael A. Martinez I first watched this film at the tender age of 9 and even then found it awfully sloppy and crude by animation or narrative standards. Bakshi claims that this movie is aimed at kids, and while I have to admit it's a lot more kid-friendly than something like COONSKIN or HEAVY TRAFFIC, there ain't a lot here for kids to like.Truly, this film doesn't hold up too well with a lot of unsuccessful blending of animation with rotoscoped footage, which, to be honest is more often just processed film than it is truly "rotoscoped", which would imply actual work went into it. The final battle scene is actually pretty hard to tell what in the Hades is going on with so many reused cells and ugly roto'd stock footage. I'm happy to see that his techniques in this area blended together much more beautifully in his next 3-4 films, the high point of which would be FIRE AND ICE.Too much of the script feels awfully first drafty. For instance the villains of the piece don't really seem to have much motivation for their desire to destroy the world beyond just the usual "oh, they're evil" mentality. Similarly, none of the heroes are likable or even the slightest bit interesting aside from the criminally underused Peace, the red uniform wearing android from the cover.However, I have to hand it to Bakshi for making up for his lack of resources with a lot of heart and a lot of love in rampant abundance. The most successful portions of this film are the side-vignettes showcasing the ridiculous villains. The scenes in "Skortch" are wonderfully gloomy and campy, complemented quite well by Andrew Belling's excellent (though at times quite dated) score. A lot of the vignettes are quite funny, though the success and amount of humor follows with the rest of the film's elements as being quite inconsistent.WIZARDS is a film with a lot of little things in it to appreciate even though the film as a whole is disjointed, cruddy, and rather tedious. I can say though that I'm glad I own it and watch it once every few years just because at the very least it's a great mood piece and has a much more personal & creative feel to it than most more recent animated features.