Wizards

Wizards is the only animated movie I can think of where I spend half the time unsure if I’m looking at a stylistic effect or an unfinished shot. Writer/director Ralph Bakshi cuts between fully-animated character and action bits, sepia still drawings accompanied by voice over narration, rotoscoped battle scenes, and lots of tinted footage from Nazi propaganda movies. The story is thin, it feels like some vital linking material was never shot and the voice acting is variable but the kaleidoscopic style kept me watching through dead spots and many individual moments are incredible. Bakshi really pushes the boundaries of that PG rating, even for 1976. If you cut out the dim comic relief and got a better narrator (I love Susan Tyrell but she sounds completely wasted here) it’d be a minor classic.

Classic tale of good versus evil through the eyes of Bakshi. This is among my favorites of his films and is likely less offensive than the uninitiated would find his other works. I imagine most of the people who didn't like this would be absolutely horrified by most of his other films. Folks seem to be down with Bakshi or they're not; I'm definitely one of the former.