The Thief and the Cobbler: A Practice in Editing

My desk while editing The Thief: Polished, 2022

A little over two years ago I started a project titled "The Thief and the Cobbler: Polished" which was meant to be my own reconstruction of the film The Thief and the Cobbler explicitly using finished animation and storyboards. Not only was this an extreme exercise in video editing, which at the time was something I wanted to do a career, but it was also something I felt had promise and had never been done before. The only person to really step up and take the film by the reigns and recut it himself was Garrett Gilchrist, creator of the Recobbled Cut. Ever since his attempts, Recobbled Cut Mark 4 has been considered the definitive version of the troubled feature. While the Recobbled Cut is an incredible feat of editing, preservation, and perseverance, I always had the feeling that another approach could be put towards Thief.

The Thief was never finished, at least not to Richard Williams' expectations in what he wanted. Though, I don't think he ever truly knew what he wanted. I think I know what he wanted spiritually, to create his magnum opus, his love letter to animation, but I don't think he ever truly figured out what was best for the movie itself. Due to his constant need for perfection and his lack of organization, the film was taken away from him and "completed" in a way even he knew was wrong. Because of this, no cut of the film will be accurate. There will always be something missing, a creative decision made by the editor instead of Williams, something not polished to how he wanted. Through the various cuts of the film that we were given in the 90s as it passed several hands and the little bits and scraps Gilchrist managed to scrounge up from trashcan finds and eBay listings, we have the pieces to a jigsaw puzzle that can be put together in any decent way and be considered "complete" because there is no picture on the box for what it's supposed to be.

So while watching Recobbled Cut 4 for the fifth or so time, I decided I wanted to try my own hand. I went through and downloaded all of Gilchrist's old "Thief Scrapbooks" giant zip files filled with newspaper clippings, concept art, and clips he had accumulated from Williams' work, as well as other uploads he had put up over the years. Without Gilchrist's multi-year obsession for this film we wouldn't have half of what's currently available. It was impossible to do it properly without his collection. With that in hand along with whatever else I could find online, I created my own little collection of Thief material. One could, theoretically, put it all together in all sorts of ways to create their own version of the film.

I created a Discord server specifically for the project and invited people that, at the time, I had been talking to at some extent about the project and were passionate about the film like I was. In retrospect, in all honesty, most of them weren't very helpful besides bounce a few ideas around. However, Notelu, someone who I have known for many years, was helpful in upscaling the low quality footage we had on hand and did it subtly. Key word is subtly. Later on I had decided to invite a particular person to the project to help out with upscale and restoration, though that later proved to be a mistake. Their methods were far more abrasive, with every upscaled shot removing key details. Though the straw that broke the camel's back was when they wanted to use Gilchrist's restorations instead of doing it all by hand. When I told them stealing other people's restorations is precisely not what we wanted to do, but after that they decided to leave. Perhaps it was for the best.

A comparison between the original and restoration of spire turn around shot.

From the beginning it was a challenge. Though, thankfully, Notelu had sent me a link to some software named Phoenix Finish. It was the only film restoration software I managed to find for free that I could actually understand. Using Phoenix, I managed to remove the dirt and scratches from the beginning crystal ball animations. In the above comparison, I also attempted in creating what I call a contrast map, though I'm sure it's a technique that already has a name and has already been used by many others. I took the original animation, converted it to greyscale, and leveled the contrast for deep shadows, placing it on top and blending it with the original. This meant I could restore a shot using only what I was provided, without blending it with other sources such as pencil tests for better visibility. This technique, in my opinion, leads the viewer to understand it as simply a damaged film rather than an obvious restoration. I also made changes to the beginning crystal ball shots themselves, many unfinished and because of that, removed. This meant I had to shorten the beginning dialogue and speed up the ball's rise. This worked to my benefit, no longer do you have to wait 5 minutes for the movie to start. Originally, that 5 minutes wouldn't have been a problem, because the credits were meant to appear above the ball as it came towards the viewer. However, I felt that no one is qualified to mimic Williams' golden typography he had intended, and decided not to include them. This was a sacrifice I made for better viewing, not for accuracy. Such as many changes I made. The Recobbled Cut already covered most bases for accuracy.

The final title composite

I used a similar technique with the film title itself. Given it was renamed multiple times in the past, the best copy that can be found of the original animated title is on the 2009 DVD. I took that, greyscaled, leveled, stabilized, removed dot crawl, and placed on top of a still image of the logotype from a poster. It's probably the best rendition of the animated title card anywhere currently and probably the thing I'm most proud of out of the whole project.

The original workprint vs what was intended

Later on as I reviewed the workprint for the film I noticed that there were grease pencil markings at a few splices. Not every splice, just a handful. When mentioning this to Notelu she told me that they were left there by the editor, likely Williams himself, as a note for transitions. At the time I was very uneducated on 35mm film and how it functioned, and even now I find difficulty finding documentation on editor's marks on films. Even before I writing this I reviewed books on film editing from the time and none of them make note of specific marks that determine what kind of transition was intended. Nonetheless, it seems fairly obvious what they had in mind when reviewing the workprint.

Soon I'd notice more marks throughout the workprint. Lines crossing between each other between two scenes were dissolves, singular lines were fade ins/outs (or sometimes crossing lines- likely remnants from a past dissolve from an earlier workprint.) The scene with King Nod's dream of the soldier coming to warn him of One Eye made far more sense in how it was supposed to be constructed. The individual shots of the soldier and the growing eye were meant to dissolve into each other. Ironically, the lines that gave these instructions also obstructed the image, and I wasn't able to construct what was intended with what I had, given that the workprint was the only version of the film to include those shots.

As I was editing the film I would discover that many of the sequences that were never finished didn't really need to be included. While this, to many, may seem sacrilegious, I felt that it was worthy to try. Yum Yum never searches for Tack in the prison and only sees him again when he appears behind the curtain, that was the biggest change made. A few scenes were reordered as well. Another big change, and discovery, is when King Nod rejects Zig Zag's ransom to wed Yum Yum. This scene was never animated under Williams. When it was animated under Calvert, the lines were entirely rewritten. However, laying Zig Zag's animation on top of the audio from the workprint revealed that they had animated his reaction with that audio for reference. It is far from perfect and I prefer the original boards, however I included Calvert's animation anyway because of the goal of the project itself (not to use any unfinished animation) as well as how interesting the coincidence was in the first place.

Later on I discovered that Gilchrist's scans of the film elements that remain of the war machine sequence were very poor. Gilchrist himself agrees with this, and has been wanting to get it rescanned for quite some time. The problem is over-exposure, everything red is too red and because of that many details in the machine have been blown out and lost. Incredibly, I managed to find someone who had an older scan of these film elements that were done for a previous mark of the recobbled cut. While they were of lower quality, the white balance was far more accurate and easier to look at.

Unfortunately, by the time I made it to this point in the film, I was beginning to get tired of the project. Most of what I wanted to discover and learn I had done. There was little to keep me motivated to keep working, knowing that there will never be a "perfect" version of this movie to watch. I realized, most of the reason I was doing this in the first place was just to have a version of the film that I preferred to watch and enjoy without jarring changes in quality. I edited it like a producer instead of a historian. As my motivation dwindled, I decided to cancel the project. I had finished editing it, mostly, but I had hardly done any restoration, which was something I was really wanting to do in the beginning. (It didn't help that I got a new computer half way through that for some reason does not work with Phoenix Finish.) Because of this, the war machine scene I just put in from the workprint. I did not have the energy anymore to edit the entire thing together from the film scans.

A little less than two years later, for reasons I don't even remember now even though it was quite recent, I decided to release what I had done. I opened the old premiere file, tied up a few loose ends in editing and shipped it out on YouTube. I think I may be the only other person to "complete" a ground-up edit from The Thief and the Cobbler. Nearly every shot I placed by hand from various sources. I found a new respect for the Recobbled Cut, fan edits, and editors in general.

Every now and then I think about revisiting it, by finishing it how I intended. But I don't think it's time. So, for the time being, here is the "it's good enough" version. Complete without credits! Like how it was intended to end. (Much to nearly every animator's dismay...)

This was Foodfight! the Videogame

 

A screenshot of the back alley level, 2006

In 1997 Larry Kasanoff and Joshua Wexler of Threshold Entertainment had the idea for a movie titled Foodfight!. It took 9 years to produce, 4 years to release, and is considered a colossal failure in the world of animation.

But, before everything went downhill, there were big plans for this film, to create an entire Foodfight! franchise, a Threshold Entertainment empire. With every successful animated film of the 2000s, there must be the video game adaption tie in.

In the beginning, in 2001, that first took on this challenge was Midway Games West. Not a lot is known about this version of the game, in fact the only reason we know it exists is because concept artist Jason Leong shared some concept pieces he did for the game. This was created during the time in which the character Dex was a human being instead of a dog, along with various other early differences such as the Keebler Elves still being part of the film. It's unknown why exactly this didn't go forward, likely because Threshold kept missing deadlines on the film's release.

Leong envisioned that the game could have
various mini games starring the mascots.

Around 2004, the game switched hands to what was then a fairly small game studio, Cat Daddy Games. But before I get into its development, I need to talk about how this was discovered in the first place.

Before now, all that was known to anyone outside of the studios about the Foodfight videogame was its appearance at E3 2006. No copyright information, no press release, no article on IGN, the game, seemingly, was never announced beforehand. Its existence was only known because of a few seconds of B-Roll at the E3 showing it as a playable demo. Later, it would be discovered that 2K was meant to distribute the game, and Global Star was a developer. However, strangely, when people contacted developers at Global Star, they had never heard of the game. This brings us to my friend, Reese, who after browsing Moby Games' catalog on 2K' licensed games, discovered that a heavily recurring name was Phil Mikkleson. Incredibly, after sending an email, Mikkleson knew exactly what Reese was talking about. Not only did Mikkleson recognize it, he was the producer.

Mikkleson stated: "I didn't know it ever came out as a movie. I expected it never would. When I was brought in on it there was a level or two that were playable (sort of) on the Wii. After a few milestones it became clear that this game was unlikely to be completed. I think it was going to be Wii, PS, and Xbox? ... It was pretty clear to me that this was not going to get done without more money and more time."

This was about a year prior to this post. After Mikkleson stopped responding to emails, Reese and nowhere to go. After I had released ROTTEN as well as the various materials I had accumulated during my research on the film, Reese mentioned this conversation online. After speaking with them directly, Reese directed me to Mikkleson and I decided to give him a call, and this is how I learned about the game's development.

Mikkleson stated, as said before, that the game was being developed for Wii, PS2, Xbox, and DS. It had a couple playable demos, but only demos, but he knew it just "wasn't going to happen." Even though Cat Daddy did a large amount of production and development on the project. He later mentioned that the game was headed by an "awesome game developer" Harley Howe, who just happens to be Cat Daddy's co-founder.

After calling Harley up, he told me that it was Cat Daddy's first "big" project, their first departure from smaller games like School Tycoon. Foodfight was being marketed as the next big thing, the rival to Pixar, and Cat Daddy wanted to be a part of that when they caught wind that Threshold was looking for a developer. After pitching their idea, Threshold signed the deal and it was officially in production. by this point, the film was being transitioned to motion capture and every piece of animation they had done to this point was never going to be used, but Cat Daddy didn't know that and neither did Foodfight's distributor, Lionsgate. Threshold sent Cat Daddy a large amount of files for reference including models for every main character, a teaser trailer, and environment and character designs. With just these for reference, the game was created as close as possible to what was presented. It was, according to Harley, created to look as close as possible to if you were playing the movie itself. With plans to even have the film cast to come back and record lines specifically for the game.

A comparison between the game and the original animation.

Harley recalled a specific story of Larry Kasanoff, Foodfight's director, visiting the studio to check on the game's development. According to Harley, Kasanoff arrived in a limo, in the rain, coming out wearing a fox fur coat with a six foot train. Kasanoff was very confident about the direction of Foodfight and as he toured the facility he kept reaffirming that Foodfight was going to be huge. However, the work that Kasanoff showed the development team from Foodfight was the same clips they had seen years prior. The movie, it seemed to them, wasn't budging an inch from the first time they saw it.

When Harley and his team visited Threshold Digital Research Labs, it was apparent to them that the animators were only rotating models to appear busy. (Very similar to what Mona Weiss, a texture artist on the film in 2005, also stated she was told to do during tours.) Harley recalls they left the studio simply thinking "oh shit."

As Foodfight missed deadline after deadline, Cat Daddy realized that it wasn't worth continuing production and it was cancelled in early 2008. With only a handful of levels completed for a demo, the game was far from complete when it was canceled. While most of the mechanics and ideas were put in place, much of the meat was still missing. It was far enough along, however, for a pitch reel to be compiled and was sent off to Sony and other companies for approval.

Though it was never finished, Harley said that without the game, Cat Daddy wouldn't be where they are today. With Foodfight they bridged the gap from their previous work to their first big hit, Carnival Games, which was ported to many platforms and I myself remember seeing at GameStop for years. Most of the team that worked on the game still work at Cat Daddy today.

During our contact Harley was kind enough to have his crew put together what they have from the game and what Threshold had sent them for reference. The game itself, unfortunately, could not be included due to there not being a build on hand and not having the resources or time to compile a new one from the surviving source. However, what was sent was an incredible collection of film and game assets such as models, textures, scripts, and music. You can download the entire collection here and dig through it yourself.

Special thanks to Harley Howe for entertaining my Foodfight obsession. While it is a shame the interview we had planned never happened, I'm glad it got this far. Special thanks also goes to Reese, without them I never would've found it in the first place.

 

The Curious Matinee of Mr. Wonderbird

In 1947, French animator Paul Grimault began directing a feature animated film with screenwriter Jacques Prévert based off Hans Christian Anderson's story, The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep. The film, titled La Bergère et le Ramoneur (a literal French translation of the story's title) took a fair amount of liberties with the story, adding a "mockingbird" character and a king, but it was going an incredible direction. With a steadily growing team of animators at Grimault's studio, Les Gémeaux, which he founded with business partner and producer André Sarrut.

Prévert and Grimault during the production of the film, 1947

I won't tell you the rest of the production's story, partially because I myself don't know or understand all of it. Unfortunately most of the documentation on this film is in French or Japanese, and much of that hasn't even been digitized. Google Translate isn't of much help either. But, anyway, as production continued it got closer to going over budget. Sarrut was taking too much on at once and became nervous on whether or not they could make back their money and please financers. Because of this, over time, Sarrut began laying off animators and crew, including, unfortunately, Grimault himself. The next two years is shrouded in a bit of mystery, but the film was "completed," hastily, and Sarrut presented himself as the great savior of the film, much to Grimault's irritation. The film was released not at all to Grimault and Prévert's satisfactions, even being called unfinished. They disapproved to such a degree that they had their names removed from the film entirely.

It was, however, a favorable success. Seeing a release across the globe and finding an incredible success in Japan, where it was adapted into a manga and is cited by Studio Ghibli founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata as massive inspirations in their career of animation.

The manga adaption, published in 1955

What's strange, however, is its release in the United States. Unlike most theatrical releases at the time which got ads in the newspaper and magazines, trailers at the drive-in-theater and the occasional street poster, this film recieved none of that. In fact, though it was released in France in 1953 and Japan in 1955, the United States wouldn't see it until late 1956. It was dubbed in English and titled The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird,. The earliest mention of a screening is in the Buffalo Courier Express, on December 22nd, 1956, being screened at the Paramount Theatre. (Not the Paramount, but the one probably on 612 Main Street.)

From what I can find, this is the earliest mention of the film in any American newspaper. No advertising, not a mention of its future release, it simply popped up. Later the following year it would pop up again and again in children's matinee screenings at churches, museums, and dollar theaters. The strangest part is there is no distribution company attached to the film. No company on the poster, any news coverage, or the film itself. At a specific screening in 1961 organized by the University of California Extension, the coordinator couldn't even figure out when it was from, just four years after simply appeared in the U.S. I can't really blame him. Today it seems impossible to track down how exactly it came to the United States to begin with.

The San Bernardino County Sun, Jul 9th, 1961

The film would be screened rarely for the next few decades at libraries and universities as a free, public film. By this point, in 1967, Grimault had gained the rights for the film again and between 1977-1980, completed it how he and Prévert had intended, now titled Le Roi et l'Oiseau (The King and the Mockingbird.) This version of the film has a fair amount of additions and changes from the original unfinished 1952 version. However, in my honest opinion, much of the additions were unnecessary and can sometimes be quite jarring in their difference in animation.

In the 90s, Mr. Wonderbird began appearing on television. Copyright law when Mr. Wonderbird was released was funny. You had to have a copyright notice and registration of said copyright with the copyright office in order to be protected. Wonderbird had neither of these things. Therefore, it was forfeited to the public domain immediately upon release. Because of this, Wonderbird was shown again and again on any television network that wanted to screen it. As VHS became more affordable, it would soon be released on there as well, and later in the 2000s it found its final home on a DVD released by Digiview. Using an ancient, ratty, faded Technicolor (maybe) print, this is the only copy available to anyone in the public, likely using the same telecine master that the VHS tapes used just 20 years beforehand.

Interestingly, though Wonderbird was a fairly easy film to acquire for any projectionist of the 20th century, I have not seen a single print surface online. Quite literally the only copy of the English dub I've seen anywhere is the same ratty public domain release. The original French version is nowhere to be found by the public, sitting in France's film archive. The Japanese dub, as well as any other dub also aren't available anywhere.

Many animation-fanatics now regard The King and the Mockingbird as one of the best animated features ever made. Yet, funnily enough, English documentation on it is sparse. And even that documentation in its native French language is hard to come by. (Especially legally.) Those who love this movie also tend to hate on the unfinished version that was released in 1952, and to that I say they deserve equal respect. Grimault considers them separate films, and they should be treated as such. Just as the film was considered a novelty in the past, I think many still consider it such today. People watch it because they're told its an incredible moment in animation history instead of it being a fantastic story with an incredible art style. I hardly see any fan art for this film even though it's supposed to be so amazing. It's almost like hardly anyone really engages with the film itself and only watches it through a pane of glass like an artifact. We Americans can treat these birds better.

You can watch The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird here

You can watch The King and the Mockingbird here