The Thief And The Cobbler – Recobbled Cut
by OCPmovieIt’s the the great effort to recreate the original version of this lost animation classic.
member ratings: 
(7 votes, average: 9.71 out of 10, rated)
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original film name: Arabian Knight
film studio name : Disney
Cuts removed/added/extended : Too many to mention
DVD Details:
Type……………..: Movie
Video Format………: NTSC MPEG2 Anamorphic DVD-5
Aspect Ratio………: 2.35:1
Main Movie Runtime…: 01:37:11
Genre…………….: Animation
Sources…………..: Various
Size……………..: 4.37 GB
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Post Information
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Posted to…………: alt.binaries.?????
News Server……….: Giganews
Parts per Day……..: As many as connection allows
Fills Policy………: Only if hosted on premium servers
Repost Policy……..: Nope
Conceptual improvements/advancements of edit over original:
Acclaimed master animator Richard Williams spent the better part of three decades working on what was meant to be his masterpiece, The Thief and the Cobbler.
After his success as animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit he was finally able to get studio financing to take The Thief from a career spanning side project to full-blown production. A stolid perfectionist, costs mounted and deadlines loomed with Williams at the helm, and Warners eventually pulled out when Disney announced the similarly themed Aladdin.
With funding gone, the film was taken from Williams by his creditors and was completed by others (under the leadership of Fred Calvert), cheaply and poorly while making massive changes to try to make it more mainstream. This version only saw release in Australia and South Africa, as The Princess and the Cobbler. Later Disney bought it and heavily edited it again, in such a way as to make it appear a cheap knockoff of Aladdin (instead of the film that’s largely believed to be the greatest inspiration behind Disney’s film), while making it almost unwatchable in the process. Released as Arabian Knight, it was a travesty.
This Recobbed Cut is a recent fan-created reconstruction of the film as Williams wanted it, or as close to as possible. Based on a workprint of the film from when Williams was nearing completion (shortly before the film was taken away from him). Using the workprint, DVDs of the two officially released cuts of the film, and other related elements taken from various sources this Recobbed Cut reveals the masterpiece that could have been.
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This new version, Recobbled Cut Mark II, has been compiled after a widescreen version of The Princess and the Cobbler surfaced shortly after this version became widely available online. This was such a huge find that Garrett felt compelled to recobbled it once again, incorporating more of the fully animated widescreen material that he just didn’t have before.
The scenes which are most affected are the witch and war machine scenes, which have been improved in quality.
Also added – more “Deleted Characters” footage of the Mullah Nasrudin and the Enchanted Ogre Prince.
For more info, visit
http://www.originaltrilogy.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=4256
orangecow.org, ffrevolution.com, and thiefandthecobbler.com.
Features:
- Recobbled Cut Trailer
- Arabian Knight Trailer
- Allied Filmmakers Trailer – New for Mark II!
- Nine Image Galleries – 3 New for Mark II!
“Deleted Characters” section featuring:
- Enchanted Prince Bubba: Witch sequence – More for Mark II!
- Princess Meemee – Bath sequence
- Mullah Nasruddin: Bread sequence – New for Mark II!
- Animated menus featuring pencil tests from the original film
- About the Film
- Restoration commentary by Garrett Gilchrist and Patrick McCart
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Release Notes
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From the three-time Academy Award winning animator of Who Framed Roger Rabbit …
Restored version of Richard Williams’ unfinished animated masterpiece, The Thief and the Cobbler.
Unofficial restoration by Garrett Gilchrist. This is not intended for profit, just a fanmade research project and tribute to this classic film.
The film was worked on for 26 years, with a team of master animators like Ken Harris and Art Babbit. This film inspired Disney’s Aladdin. Ruined versions of it were released as Arabian Knight and The Princess and the Cobbler.
For more info, visit originaltrilogy.com (forum 11), orangecow.org, ffrevolution.com, and thiefandthecobbler.com.
Trailer:
http://rapidshare.de/files/13429755/ThiefRecobbledTrailer.avi.html
You can watch this entire restoration at Youtube, in low quality.
DVD cover art:
http://www.orangecow.org/thief/cobbleramarayv3.jpg
Disc label:
http://www.orangecow.org/thief/thiefdiscartv4.jpg
For the first time ever on video, enjoy the original version of this lost
animation classic, written and directed by three-time Academy Award winning
animator Richard Williams (animation director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit).
Nearly 30 years in the making, a labor of love by a team of animation greats,
this was to be the masterpiece of Williams career, perhaps the most ambitious
independent animated film ever conceived. The film was the inspiration for
Disneys film Aladdin, which proved to be its undoing. After over two decades of
work, the film was taken away from Williams when he couldnt meet his deadline.
It was eventually bought by Disney, recut and destroyed. It has never been seen
the way it was intended to be seen … until now. Based on Williams’ original
workprint, missing scenes have been restored using storyboards and unfinished
animation. Restored to its true form, this lost classic has finally been found -
for you at home.
Directed by Richard Williams
Screenplay by Richard Williams and Margaret French
Master animator Ken Harris
Produced by Imogen Sutton and Richard Williams
When Richard Williams was fired from his film The Thief and the Cobbler (after 26 years of work), Fred Calvert was hired to finish it quickly and cheaply. He did an incredibly poor job. His version was called The Princess and the Cobbler, later recut further by Miramax into the nearly unwatchable Arabian Knight. This “Recobbled Cut” uses footage from Williams’ original 1991 workprint with higher quality footage from Arabian Knight and Princess and the Cobbler … this does include some lower quality Calvert animation with the high quality Williams animation – it’s easy to tell the difference. The film has been carefully reedited to match Willliams’ original 1991 workprint for the film, and his original vision. Calvert footage has only been used if it conforms to Williams’ storyboards – in some cases footage has literally been reanimated frame by frame in Photoshop to make it match Williams’ scenes! The restoration in total took 4 months to complete.
Restoration from the editor/filmmaker who brought you Deleted Magic, SW Classic Edition, and Gods of Los Angeles.
Story:
It is written among the limitless constellations of the celestial heavens, and
in the depths of the emerald seas, and upon every grain of sand in the vast
deserts, that the world which we see is an outward and visible dream, of an
inward and invisible reality … Once upon a time there was a golden city. In
the centre of the golden city, atop the tallest minaret, were three golden
balls. The ancients had prophesied that if the three golden balls were ever
taken away, harmony would yield to discord, and the city would fall to
destruction and death. But… the mystics had also foretold that the city might
be saved by the simplest soul with the smallest and simplest of things. In the
city there dwelt a lowly shoemaker, who was known as Tack the Cobbler. Also in
the city… existed a Thief, who shall be … nameless.
ANIMATION AMONG THE MOST GLORIOUS AND LIVELY
EVER CREATED! – The New York Times
Restoration and cover artwork by Garrett Gilchrist
For more info, visit
http://www.originaltrilogy.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=4256
orangecow.org, ffrevolution.com, and thiefandthecobbler.com.
persons involved: Garrett Gilchrist a.k.a OCPmovie
FAN REACTION
Arguably, the one of the greatest animated film of all time tells the tale of an ancient prophecy. This legendary prophecy foretells if all the great golden balls are stolen from the cityâ€â„¢s grand tower, death and destruction will reign upon it. After a thief takes them, doom impends if a meek cobbler cannot save the city.
The Thief and the Cobbler has been FAN EDITED and reconstructed by Garrett Gilchrist of Orange Cow Productions to restore a masterpiece never finished as it was intended. This version combines the workprint, film released versions and other rare materials from around the world to create the most complete film. The film itself was directed by Richard Williams, best known for his Oscar-winning animation direction for Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This fan edit has endured some great reviews from various websites around the world. It is now widely regarded as one of the greatest fan edits of our time. Thanks to Garrett Gilchristâ€â„¢s fan restoration, we can all enjoy this remarkable piece of animation history. -
IMAGES:
cover arts by ocpmovie and Mark Smith (download here):
cover art by Spaxxinator (DOWNLOAD HERE):
cover art by Spaxxinator (DOWNLOAD HERE):
cover art by Spaxxinator (DOWNLOAD HERE):
Disclaimer: You must own the original movie before acquiring any FanEdited movie. We here at FanEdit.org respect the company’s copyrights, and don’t want to infringe on any company’s rights. Thank you, FE!
Maybe downloadable from Fanedit.info through Rapidshare (enter and download at your own risk and responsibility)
http://fanedit.org/feed/http://fanedit.org/comments/feed/
What is the difference between the Mark II download and the Mark III download? And, if Mark III is presumably the more improved/fixed/official version, then why is Mark II still available for download?
Review by samwisefan — August 2, 2008 @ 12:41 am
I’ve commented on linktalk, but i have to comment here too. This is absolutely incredible! Amazing skills are most definitely seen as you watch this edit. The integration of the different materials available into this one PERFECT version. Really loved it. Honestly really good.
Review by Spaxxinator — March 22, 2009 @ 2:10 pm
What an amazing curio. I have to admit that in all honesty this film wasn’t to my tastes – the different styles and imagery used, like a fusion of Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python days and a Salvador Dali painting, were impressive but the overall product felt like an exercise in style over substance because the story was quite weak. This may have been because the original workprint needed fleshing out some more. Either way, the inclusion of the workprint footage wasn’t at all distracting and the inclusion of the workprint, and storyboard animation felt appropriate to the style of the film.
I watched this with a four year old who could barely take his eyes from the screen for the entire film, although he did have a lot of questions because the narrative was quite difficult to follow. An amazing effort and evidence of yet another injustice in the movie world where an otherwise wonderful piece of film making art came oh, so close, to being realised bar for the money.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys what-might-have-beens.
Review by latenights — October 26, 2009 @ 12:54 am
I am the president of my school’s animation club, and this week we watched TTATC: Recobbled Cut. Even with its rough and unfinished patches, the movie blew my mind. It really makes me sad to think that we may never see a truly finished version of this lost masterpiece, but even if this masturful fanedit is the closest we’ll ever get to seeing Richard Williams’ original vision, it’s still an amazing piece of film that every animation fan and student needs to see. It’s really sad that Williams has disowned this movie, because it truly is a masterpiece even in its rough state right up there with the likes of Snow White and The Secret of NIMH… Possibly even moreso.
I really do hope that with Disney being under new management, John Lassiter in all of his awesomeness will revisit Roy Disney’s plans to restore and finish this movie. The Thief and the Cobbler was concieved as a labor of love, and it will take a labor of love to see it finished. The Recobbled cut is very much a labor of love for a film that never got a fair chance at success, and I am glad that I can now have and share this lost classic with my friends and family even if it is never truly finished.
Review by Timstuff — January 30, 2010 @ 5:22 am
The editing quality is superb. The editor did a great job with what he had. The plot and visuals were coherent, even when only story-boards could be strung together to make the sing.
As for the movie itself. I didn’t much care for it. Something about the pacing was just off for me and a lot of the whimsy falls flat. It has its moments and is worth seeing for the many inventive shots and abstract representations of many of the environments. I’m sure it would have been better had the director been able to finish it properly, but I’m still not sure I would have liked it.
Review by Joish — September 15, 2010 @ 12:34 am
A great effort by the editor. You can tell a tremendous amount of time and talent went into producing it. I think what mars it for me was that the quality of the .avi I downloaded was just too pixelated and choppy to enjoy on a big (100″ projected) screen. This is a film I think my nieces would really enjoy if a higher quality cut of it was available (even with the rough story board scenes included). That said, its an amazing curiosity piece of what could have been. It’s edits like these that continue to draw me to fanedit.org and fan edits in general. 7/10 for the effort alone.
Review by adrift — December 31, 2011 @ 3:12 am