The Thief and the Cobbler is an animated fantasy film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Canadian-British animator Richard Williams. The film is known for its long, troubled history; due to independent funding and ambitiously complex animation, The Thief and the Cobbler was in and out of production for over three decades. It was finally placed into full production in 1988 when Warner Bros. agreed to finance and distribute the film. When production went over budget and behind schedule, Warner Bros. pulled out and a completion bond company assumed control of the film. The film was re-edited and re-structured by producer Fred Calvert without Williams' involvement, and released by Allied Filmmakers in Australia and South Africa as The Princess and the Cobbler in 1993; two years later, Miramax Films, at the time a subsidiary of Disney, released an even more heavily edited version of the film in North America under the title Arabian Knight.
Background[]
After Richard Williams was ejected from the project, production was moved to Los Angeles under the direction of Fred Calvert. For the new production several changes were done to the film, making it into more of a Disney-esc musical which were very popular during the 90's. The voice cast was the most notable change, using mainly voice actors based in Los Angeles, as many of the original actors were either unavailable, or in some cases, deceased. The voice work for this version was sort of a mixture of pre-lay and ADR, with moments of already finished animation being redubbed by the cast and scenes added to this version being animated to the cast's voices. Vincent Price was one of few whose voice was retained from the original, likely due to his celebrity status. Price may have also been brought on board to record new dialogue for this version, as Zigzag is heard making a few grunts and very short lines of dialogue that weren't present in the original. This version would be released in 1993 in Australia and South Africa under the title The Princess and the Cobbler and the following year in South Korea and The Philippines under its original title.
The film would not receive a release in the US until 1995 when the distribution rights were picked up by Miramax. The initial plan was to release the Princess and the Cobbler version as it was, but Harvey Weinstein decided to re-cut the film even further. This version featured newly written dialogue by Eric Gilliland, Michael Hitchcock, and Gary Glasberg. Several voices were also re-dubbed with celebrities Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Beals, Jonathan Winters, Eric Bogosian, and Toni Collette. This version would be released as Arabian Knight for the theatrical release, though the title would later be switched back to The Thief and the Cobbler for the home video release. This version is the most readily available on home video formats.
Cast[]
| Image | Character | Original / Workprint Version (1992) | Allied Filmmakers Version (1993) | Miramax Version (1995) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tack the Cobbler | ¿? | Steve Lively | Matthew Broderick |
| Steve Lively (singing) | ||||
|
The Thief | Eddie Carroll | Jonathan Winters | |
|
Princess Yum Yum | Sara Crowe | Bobbi Page | Jennifer Beals |
| Bobbi Page (singing) | ||||
|
Zigzag the Grand Vizier | Vincent Price | ||
|
King Nod | Anthony Quayle | Clive Revill | |
|
Nanny | Joan Sims | Mona Marshall | Toni Collette |
|
The Mad Holy Old Witch | Joan Sims Mona Marshall | ||
|
Chief Roofless | Windsor Davies | Windsor Davies | |
| Kevin Dorsey (singing) | ||||
|
The Mighty One-Eye | Christopher Greener | Kevin Dorsey | |
|
Phido the Vulture | Donald Pleasence | Eric Bogosian | |
|
Goblet | Kenneth Williams | ||
|
Gopher | Stanley Baxter | ||
|
Tickle | Kenneth Williams | ||
|
Slap | Stanley Baxter | ||
|
Goolie | Frederick Shaw | ||
|
Hook | Thick Wilson | ||
|
The Brigands | Joss Ackland | ||
| Peter Clayton | ||||
| Derek Hinson | ||||
| Declan Mulholland | ||||
| Mike Nash | ||||
| Dermot Walsh | ||||
| Ramsay Williams | ||||
| Geoff Golden | ||||
| Tony Scannell | ||||
|
Narrator | Felix Aylmer | Clive Revill | Matthew Broderick |
Additional Voices[]
Notes[]
- Despite it being called Arabian Knight, all English-language home video releases of the Miramax version use the original title, The Thief and the Cobbler.
- Sean Connery was to have supplied Tack's single line at the end of the film, but he never showed up to record, so Williams called upon a friend of his wife's to provide the line for the workprint.
- While Yum-Yum's dialogue was mostly re-voiced by Bobbi Page for the Allied Filmmakers version, one line of Crowe's dialogue is retained when Yum-Yum throws her pear at Zigzag in disgust during the polo game.
- Although Quayle's voice was mostly re-dubbed by Revill in the re-edited versions of the film by Allied Filmmakers and Miramax, Quayle's uncredited voice can still be heard for an entire scene when King Nod gives a speech to his subjects.
- Sims' voice for the Witch was mostly re-dubbed by Marshall, but a few lines spoken by Sims were retained when she first fully materializes and when she receives her chest of money all the way up to the part when she's in a basket lighting a match to the fumes. Sims is still credited in the role in the Calvert version, meaning that Marshall was likely used as simply a voice double.
- Clive Revill re-recorded a few lines for the Miramax version.
- Goblet, Gopher, Tickle, and Slap also have additional dialogue provided by several unknown voice actors in the Miramax version.
- Although Tack and Yum Yum are re-dubbed in the Miramax version, Steve Lively and Bobbi Page's original singing voices are still retained.
- Most likely in an attempt to slot in Eric Bogosian's dialogue for Phido, a different recording of Zigzag saying "Eh, Phido?" compared to the original is used after he is spun towards a wall.
- Although their characters are redubbed, Steve Lively, Bobbi Page, Ed E. Carroll, Mona Marshall, and Donald Pleasence are still credited in the Miramax version under "Additional Voices".
- In the workprint to the Allied Filmmakers version, The Thief was originally going to speak, giving him a sort of Gollum-esc voice. This of course was scrapped in the end, instead settling for various grunts and chuckles provided by Eddie Carroll, likely due to it being hard to implement dialogue without altering the animation. The Miramax cut, meanwhile, gives him full dialogue that is explained as being his inner thoughts.
Video Releases[]
| Distributor | Year | Format | Version | Region | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia/Tristar Home Video | 1994 | 
|
Allied Filmmakers | PAL | Australia | 
|
| Buena Vista Home Entertainment | 1995 | Miramax | NTSC | United States | 
| |
| 1997 | 
| |||||
| Magna Pacific | 2003 | 
|
Allied Filmmakers | 4 PAL |
Australia |
|
| Miramax Family | 2005 | Miramax | 1 NTSC |
United States |
| |
| The Weinstein Company Home Entertainment | 2006 | |||||
| Echo Bridge Entertainment | 2011 | |||||
| Lionsgate Films | 2012 | 2 PAL |
United Kingdom | 
| ||
External Links[]
- The Thief and the Cobbler at the Internet Movie Database
- The Thief and the Cobbler at Wikipedia