Has anyone seen "The Thief and the Cobbler"?

Question

Either the "recobbled" version (the unfinished version), or the finished version. If you've seen both, can you tell me what was added to the finished one that ruined it? I've only seen the unfinished version.

well, I see I'm not going to get any serious answers...

joyboy-- Yeah, I did hear about the added musical sequences, but I haven't seen them. I'm too afraid it will ruin the movie for me.

Answer 1

Yeah...

I saw "The Theif/Princess and the Cobbler" in an Australian cinema in 1993. I gather that this version is much the same, but not entirely; and that Australian (and, for some reason, South African) audiences got to see a bit more footage than everyone else. Maybe I'm wrong about this. I do know that, in a sense, this movie doesn't exist: there's just a lot of footage and more or less apt ways of putting it together.

Forget the ways of putting it together: the footage is great, some of the most sumptuous and witty animation you will ever see. I don't know how to plead its case without making a false impression. "Sumptuous", might, to some people, suggest a kind of misguided photo-realism - but no, the drawings are beautifully stylised. "Witty" and "stylised" sounds a bit like code for that kind of animation whose only distinction is its cheapness - but no, clearly a lot of work and detail has gone into the animation. Perhaps I can put it best by saying that the villain has six fingers and blue skin; but he's so convincingly animated that I was halfway through my second viewing before I noticed either fact.

"The Thief and the Cobbler" was one of the earlier, more appropriate titles. It's the only title I've heard that accurately describes the story. It's not a bad story. And the thief is a wonderful character. For his sake I would put up with any number of trite lyrics like, "She is more than this / She is more / So much more / She is more than this."

Forget I quoted those words. Watch it - and bemoan the fact that you can't watch it on a wide screen.

Answer 2

Personally I think both of them were ruined.