Weird Films Worth Watching: WIZARDS (1977)

It's a beautiful mess and I love it for that.

Animation is NOT just for kids, folks.

I can't explain what keeps bringing me back and endearing me to the psychedelic ‘70s prog-rock fever dream that is WIZARDS. It’s an animated fantasy film made by Ralph Bakshi and released in 1977, and like many fantasies of that era, it steals many story & character elements from LORD OF THE RINGS. This makes sense, as Bakshi made his own animated adaptation of Tolkien’s book (the first half, anyway) a year later. But that’s another story.

WIZARDS is a hot mess of a movie due to a rushed and financially constrained production. Many scenes feel un-finished, especially its climactic and bloody battle sequence, and the narrative feels dis-jointed and plodding at times. All the same, it has a nostalgic and endearing quality to it, especially in its design, which is appealing in that gritty Bakshi kind of cult film aesthetic. I wish the gorgeous artwork could be printed into a hardcover coffee table book for gazing at its beauty and amazing characters.

Fun Fact: the film contains some charming voice work by Mark Hamill just months before he would be known to the world as Luke Skywalker.

WIZARDS is certainly a product of its time, but its story and themes are timeless. Each time I come back to it, I forgive its flaws even more, shifting from "I like it enough to wish it was better" to "I know it's not perfect but I really don't care." Its strange sloppiness only adds to its mystique, and the animation is so awesome it really doesn't matter. The narrative is more of an exercise in dream logic than a meticulously-integral plot, and I love it for that. I also love the soundtrack.

I think what endears me to Bakshi's work in general is that it's honest about the ugliness, messiness, and utter stupid behind war, violence, racism, oppression, and life in the gutter. As with his previous films FRITZ THE CAT, HEAVY TRAFFIC, and especially his best film COONSKIN, Bakshi shows these ugly things for what they are, rather than gloss them over or sanitize them, and we could use some brutal honesty in art now and then. I'd rather be told an R-rated truth than a G-rated lie any day. Even if he does it through the lens of an adolescent mindset, it matters. We were all adolescents once.

“They killed Fritz!”

You can watch the entire film here. Make it a midnight movie and let me know what you think of it.