Richard Williams's Prologue/Final Chapter
Just a few days ago the legendary animator Richard Williams died. He's not nearly as well known as animation pioneers like Walt Disney or Hayao Miyazaki, but you've probably seen at least some of his work. One of his most famous projects was his involvement in the animation of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
Throughout history there have been people with passion projects that, for one reason or another, didn't quit make it off the ground, or at least didn't finish in the way attended. The inventor Buckminster Fuller had a host of inventions that he worked on but didn't get enough funding for, and Orson Welles didn't get his passion project "The Other Side of the Wind" finished until years after his death (thanks to Netflix). Richard Williams was no exception. His most famous passion project was the film "The Thief and the Cobbler," an animated take upon "The Arabian Nights" (begun years before Disney's "Aladdin"). Ultimately, after working on the project on and off for about three decades, studios took over the film and finished it for him against his wishes. But the animation he did complete that was done according to his own plans is magnificent, looking fluid and artistic even by todays standards.
But what I really want to draw attention to is his final project, a short film titled "Prologue" (ironic since this would be his final film). Originally he planned on ultimately doing an entire animated film based upon the ancient Greek play "Lysistrata." To begin with, he decided to do the prologue as a short film (which actually got nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film). It's a traditionally hand drawn film, something of a rarity today with the rise of computer animation. But there are two main things about the animation that are different from most animation. First off, Williams drew every single drawing in this short film. And second, the drawings are extremely realistic, not looking at all like a cartoon but more like something one might see from a master artist in a museum.
The short film is basically a graphic bloody fight scene (definitely not something one would typically find from Disney) in which everyone dies, and a little Greek girl who witnesses this runs away. It's honestly one of the best animated short films (especially on a technical level) that I have ever seen. I originally saw this a few years back when it originally came out, but thought of it again when I read the obituary of Richard Williams. I just thought that I would share a film that I think should be seen by more people.
Throughout history there have been people with passion projects that, for one reason or another, didn't quit make it off the ground, or at least didn't finish in the way attended. The inventor Buckminster Fuller had a host of inventions that he worked on but didn't get enough funding for, and Orson Welles didn't get his passion project "The Other Side of the Wind" finished until years after his death (thanks to Netflix). Richard Williams was no exception. His most famous passion project was the film "The Thief and the Cobbler," an animated take upon "The Arabian Nights" (begun years before Disney's "Aladdin"). Ultimately, after working on the project on and off for about three decades, studios took over the film and finished it for him against his wishes. But the animation he did complete that was done according to his own plans is magnificent, looking fluid and artistic even by todays standards.
But what I really want to draw attention to is his final project, a short film titled "Prologue" (ironic since this would be his final film). Originally he planned on ultimately doing an entire animated film based upon the ancient Greek play "Lysistrata." To begin with, he decided to do the prologue as a short film (which actually got nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film). It's a traditionally hand drawn film, something of a rarity today with the rise of computer animation. But there are two main things about the animation that are different from most animation. First off, Williams drew every single drawing in this short film. And second, the drawings are extremely realistic, not looking at all like a cartoon but more like something one might see from a master artist in a museum.
The short film is basically a graphic bloody fight scene (definitely not something one would typically find from Disney) in which everyone dies, and a little Greek girl who witnesses this runs away. It's honestly one of the best animated short films (especially on a technical level) that I have ever seen. I originally saw this a few years back when it originally came out, but thought of it again when I read the obituary of Richard Williams. I just thought that I would share a film that I think should be seen by more people.
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