The Thief and the Cobbler

"Arabian Knight" redirects here. For the comic book character, see Arabian Knight (character). For the hip hop producer, see Arabian Knight (record producer).

The Thief and the Cobbler
An unreleased poster made near the end of the film's production, before it was taken from Williams.
Directed byRichard Williams
Written by
  • Richard Williams
  • Margaret French
Produced by
StarringVincent Price
CinematographyJohn Leatherbarrow
Edited byPeter Bond
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Majestic Films (The Princess and the Cobbler)
  • Miramax Films (Arabian Knight)
Release dates
  • 13 May 1992 (1992-05-13) (Workprint)
  • 23 September 1993 (1993-09-23) (The Princess and the Cobbler)
  • 25 August 1995 (1995-08-25) (Arabian Knight)
Running time
  • 91 minutes (Workprint)
  • 80 minutes (The Princess and the Cobbler)
  • 72 minutes (Arabian Knight)
  • 100 minutes (Recobbled Cut Mark 4/Mark 5)
  • [1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$28 million[2]
Box office$669,276[3]

The Thief and the Cobbler is an animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Richard Williams,[4] who intended it to be his masterpiece and a milestone in the animated medium. Originally devised in the 1960s, the film was in and out of production for nearly three decades due to independent funding and ambitiously complex animation. It was finally placed into full production in 1989 when Warner Bros. agreed to finance and distribute the film after his successful animation direction for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.[5] When production went over budget and behind schedule, and Disney's similarly-themed Aladdin loomed as imminent competition, Williams was forced out and the film was heavily re-edited and cheaply finished by producer Fred Calvert as a mainstream Disney-style musical. It was eventually released by Allied Filmmakers in 1993 with the title The Princess and the Cobbler. Two years later, Miramax Films, which was owned by Disney at the time, released another re-edit titled Arabian Knight. Both versions performed poorly at the box office and received mixed reviews.

Over the years, various people and companies, including Roy E. Disney, have discussed restoring the film to its original version. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences archived Williams's own 35 mm workprint. He acknowledged the film's rehabilitated reputation, due to projects like The Recobbled Cut, a restoration by Garrett Gilchrist, and Persistence of Vision, a 2012 documentary by Kevin Schreck detailing the production.

The Thief and the Cobbler is one of the films with the longest production times. It is the final film for several actors and artists, including animators Ken Harris (died 1982), Errol Le Cain (died 1989), Emery Hawkins (died 1989), Grim Natwick (died 1990), and Art Babbitt (died 1992), and actors Felix Aylmer (died 1979), Eddie Byrne (died 1981), Clinton Sundberg (died 1987), Kenneth Williams (died 1988), Sir Anthony Quayle (died 1989), and Vincent Price (died 1993, one month after the film's initial release). It has maintained a cult following since its release.[6]

  1. ^ Kenny, Glenn (21 September 2016). "Review: A Rough Cut of 'The Thief and the Cobbler' Makes It to MoMA". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2021. 'The Thief and the Cobbler: A Moment in Time' is not rated. Running time: 1 hour 31 minutes.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dobbs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Arabian Knight (The Thief and the Cobbler) at Box Office Mojo
  4. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 165. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. ^ Briney, Daniel (21 August 2001). "The Thief and the Cobbler: How the Best Was Lost, 1968–1995". CultureCartel. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2006.
  6. ^ 22 Animated Cult Classics Worth Checking Out - MovieWeb