The Thief and the Cobbler

The workprint version of The Thief and the Cobbler – The Thief and the Cobbler: A Moment in Time (90 minutes) – is simultaneously a breathtaking display of phantasmagorical ambitions to create an animated work without creative compromises and, unfortunately, proof that it is simply not possible to complete some things without deadlines and restrictions. And therefore no one will ever see The Thief and the Cobbler in its originally intended form. At most, it will remain in its preserved form in a certain phase of development, which bests illustrates what the dreamt-of film could have been if not for the evil investors who wanted something for their money, but also if there was no unreasonable master of animation who refused to finish the film with compromises. The vision remains quite apparent even in the extant fragments, as the maximum fulfilment of the principle of animation, i.e. breathing life into something, emanates from every second. In addition to that, the version consisting of a mix of finished sequences, unfinished phases and sketches splendidly presents the enormous amount of work and intricate creative genesis that every second of a film must under in the animation process. (28.11.2018)