Based on a Russian folk tale. A proclamation went out through all the land that whosoever could build a flying ship would win the hand of the Tsar's daughter. The youngest son of a simple peasant shows up to claim her, and the dumbfounded Tsar quickly has second thoughts, setting several 'impossible" tasks for 'The Fool of the World' and his remarkable friends.
大傻瓜與飛行船, L'idiot du monde et le bateau volant
UK
Netherlands
Netherlands
UK
I watched this on accident, hoping instead to watch the 1991 version with Robin Williams.
This has the brilliant character design of a Rankin & Bass production, with the same inconsistent stop motion animation. There are moments that look incredible, while others look half-finished.
There's plenty of imagination and creative design, but it suffers from the same problem of many folk story adaptations. The repetitive, cyclical nature of these stories make for odd pacing in adaptations. They also appear to mix some Baron Munchausen into the story, but my knowledge of the original Russian story comes from Wikipedia.
Not a strong recommend. But if you're in between Rankin & Bass holiday specials and just need a fix, this scratches a similar itch. Those interested in stop motion animation will find even more to enjoy.
Where has this been hiding all this time? I'd have loved this as a kid, since I love Cosgrove Hall animation, and this is beautifully done, with an art-style that fits their stop-motion method like a glove. The story itself captures the right sort of folk tale whimsy, and I was amused to learn that the original story also informed elements of Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. This is one that's worth the digging to see, it really should be better known than it is, and I recommend it as a treat for kids, would be a great thing to put on at Christmas.
There's something vaguely unsettling about the animation here. It's a little stiff, a little uncanny, and a little disappointing at times. The transformation of the ice into the flying ship, for instance, could have been much more whimsical and awe-inspiring, I think, with a few small changes to the process. Still, any animation is well beyond my skill to reproduce, so it all impresses me a little.
The story is a plain sort of fairytale with an interesting little feminist-friendly twist. It's not enlightened by modern standards, but it admits the injustice of the princess being used as a reward. It nobly posits the hero as not seeking her (or anything beyond reuniting his family) as a reward. It has…
Ship of fools.
10/10.
A big part in my film/TV viewing since growing up,I've always been sad that despite their biggest creations out on DVD, Cosgrove Hall's output still remains tragically overlooked. Thinking in 2017 of a title to watch for my 1,500th IMDb review,I decided to reunite with Cosgrove Hall's fool of the world.
View on the film:
Sailing over Nicolai's palace, director Francis Vose gives this Cosgrove Hall production an immaculate attention to detail,from care clearly being shown towards the smallest detail of each character ( from the arrows of Sharp Shooter,to the food made by Mrs Woodcutter.) and the palace being covered with glittering gold.
Done in a stop-motion animation style, Vose makes the style look remarkably…
Cosgrove Hall were a vital part of UK animation from the seventies through nineties. With Dangermouse and Count Duckula among their better-known output (and having lived well beyond their original runs), as I child I would be enraptured by their fabulous stop-motion work, which included adaptations of Kenneth Grahame and Terry Pratchett, and here an adaptation of a Russian folk tale which shares some similarities with the story of Baron Munchausen.
I must have seen this when it was first broadcast in the UK. I remember watching it a second, maybe a third, consecutive Christmas. I can still recall the disappointment of waiting for it to screen the next year and not finding it again, talking about it to friends…
