This is one of the trio of Ralph Bakshi animated features that appeared in cinemas in the 70's. The most high profile was his adaption of The Lord of the Rings, while his most respected was the subversive Fritz the Cat. Wizards falls somewhere between these two. It combines the fantasy world of the former with the adult themes of the latter. As a result it is a bizarre and somewhat uneven feature that is undoubtedly somewhat unique. Like Fantastic Planet and Heavy Metal, it falls into that small group of animated movies that can be considered bona fide cult movies.

Its story has a couple of twins, one good (Avatar) and one evil (Blackwolf) fight one and other for domination; the former with magic, the latter with technology. This is our world in the future, a world of elves and wizards. Old war machinery and Nazi propaganda films are rediscovered by evil beings and used as a means to militarily conquer weaker peoples. It's quite clear that the story as such presents a cautionary tale. It suggests that uncontrolled technology is a very bad thing, while it also reiterates the evil of fascism. What, of course, is so strange with all of this is that it is presented within the framework of an all-out fantasy adventure cartoon. Wizards is a good example of one of the earliest examples of animation that was consciously moving away from children's stories. In truth, though, the story here isn't all that great and the characters not especially good. For this reason, the film never fully engages.

In terms of visual artistry Wizards is something of a mixed bag. It combines traditional animation alongside detailed still drawings, real footage and rotoscoping. The latter always feels like a bit of a cheap way to do animation but it is done here more successfully than it was in Bakshi's later Lord of the Rings. It's used in a more stylised way here and doesn't seem so out-of-place. The various art styles are put together in what has to be termed a multi-media approach. I think it mainly works and certainly gives the film a different look and feel. Some of the animated characters are a little poor though such as the character of Avatar who looks ridiculously comical. This juxtaposition of children's comic characters with decidedly heavy imagery such as swastikas and Nazi footage is weird to say the least. The scene where cartoon characters watch old Nazi films is certainly very memorable.

In the final analysis Wizards is a strange movie. Not an entirely successful one but at least it was daring to be different. For fans of cult 'toons this is a must though.

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.

The earth had suffered countless nuclear blasts after five terrorists set off the first explosion. The world is a struggle between powers of Technology and Magic. It took 2 million years to allow the sky to clear. In the good areas, the true ancestors of humans; fairies, elves and dwarfs, have returned to live in peace. In the desolate places, humans have changed into mutants. Delia queen of the fairies has given birth to twin wizards Avatar and Blackwolf. After the death of Delia, Blackwolf tries to assume the role of dictator and Avatar is able to defeat him. Blackwolf vows to return and rule the planet. In the badlands, he becomes the Führer of Scortch ruling mutants and restoring ancient technology. Eventually he finds an old projector with Nazi military propaganda. He uses magic to create a powerful weapon against the elf army. Meanwhile Avatar becomes the president's daughter Elinore. Blackwolf sends the robot Necron 99 and successfully assassinates the president. Avatar reprograms the robot and renames it Peace.

It's a post-apocalyptic world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth if the evil side copied the Nazis. The use of live action war footage in the animation gives the Ralph Bakshi unique vision of the artform. It has the sensibilities of 70s animation including some borderline jokes and a highly sexual fairy. The look is iconic and memorable. It also tries to make a statement about the power of propaganda. This really sticks with you.