Richard Williams Movies
Involved in film animation from the young age of 12, Richard Williams' international reputation as a true innovator grew so much that by 1990 he was voted "the Animator's Animator" by a poll in the London Times, and a commentator for the New York Times has called Williams "miles ahead of anyone in the world of animation." Williams' work has spanned classic hand-animation style and incorporates contemporary computer animation methods.In the late '40s, Williams worked for both Disney and UPA studios, ultimately leaving for England in 1955 where he created his wonderful 33-minute animated film The Little Island (1958), which won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film in 1959. This piece gained him immediate recognition as a professional and highly talented animator.
This was followed with A Lecture on Man and Love Me Love Me Love Me in 1962, Circus Drawings (1964), Diary of a Madman (1965), The Dermis Probe (1966), and Nasrudin (1972). The made-for-TV version of A Christmas Carol (1971) won Williams his first Oscar. Williams worked on the unfortunately nearly forgotten film Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977) which has some charming songs by Joe Raposo, as well as advanced animation and characters somewhat reminiscent of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine (1968).
Williams has also designed and animated title sequences for several feature films, including the Blake Edwards/Peter Sellers vehicles Return of the Pink Panther (1974), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), Woody Allen's What's New Pussycat? (1965) directed by Clive Donner, Casino Royale (1967), and linking sequences for The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968).
Williams is arguably best known as the director of animation and designer of the characters for Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988). For this project, Williams won two Academy Awards including a Special Achievement Award. Besides his three Oscars, Williams has received three British Academy Awards, an Emmy, and an astonishing 246 international awards.
In 1995 he offered the Richard Williams Animation Masterclasses for professionals and students which are conducted in London, Hollywood, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, Sydney, Hong Kong, France, and Denmark. As an extension of his teaching, Williams has authored the acclaimed book The Animator's Survival Kit (2001). Williams founded his own studio which continues to turn out animation films, as well as myriad prize-winning commercials. In 1995, Williams also animated, directed, and co-wrote the musical Arabian Knight with the voices of Vincent Price, Matthew Broderick, Eric Bogosian, and Jennifer Beal. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, Rovi
Ainsley Dupree (Martha Plimpton) is a short-order cook at a diner in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, a country town in the middle of nowhere. Lonely and bored, Ainsley becomes pen pals with Jack Stillings (Kevin Anderson), who is currently serving time in prison. When Jack is released, he immediately asks Ainsley to marry him, and she impulsively agrees. Jack embraced Christianity while behind bars, and he encourages his wife to attend church with him each Sunday. However, Jack's requests soon become demands, and before long, she's forbidden to leave the house while he's at work pumping gas. Ainsley quietly rebuffs Jack's demands, slipping into town to a convenience store while he's away, but she soon learns, after Jack's parole officer pays a visit to their home, that his crime was more serious than she imagined; he beat a woman so brutally that she nearly died. Meanwhile, Sheriff Sam Rogers (Hal Holbrook) finds a 14-year-old boy, Tom Spencer (Nick Stahl), wandering dazed in ragged and bloody clothes along a lonely road. Tom leads Sam to the scene of a violent crime he has just witnessed, while telling him of the traumatic events in his family that led to an act of shocking brutality. Writer and director Tim Blake Nelson adapted Eye of God from his own stage play. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martha Plimpton, Kevin Anderson, (more)
Master animator Richard Williams (best known for his work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) created this visually dazzling full-length cartoon. Tack (voice of Matthew Broderick) is a shy and humble cobbler in love with the beautiful Princess Yum Yum (voice of Jennifer Beals). Tack gets his chance to impress the Princess when he's pressed into service to help defeat a wicked sorcerer, Zigzag (voice of Vincent Price); Tack also runs afoul of a charming but duplicitous thief (voice of Jonathan Winters). Arabian Knight (also shown as The Thief and the Cobbler) was reportedly long in production and held back from release for a time because the distributors were afraid that many Americans would not be inclined to see a family film set in the Middle East in the wake of the Gulf War; by the time it finally opened, two members of the voice cast, Vincent Price and Donald Pleasence, had passed on. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
In Robert Zemeckis's trailblazing combination of animation and live-action, Hollywood's 1940s cartoon stars are a subjugated minority, living in the ghettolike "Toontown" where their movements are sharply monitored by the human power establishment. The Toons are permitted to perform in a Cotton Club-style nightspot but are forbidden to patronize the joint. One of Toontown's leading citizens, whacked-out Roger Rabbit, is framed for the murder of human nightclub owner Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye). Private detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), whose prejudice against Toons stems from the time that his brother was killed by a falling cartoon piano, reluctantly agrees to clear Roger of the accusation. Most of the sociopolitical undertones of the original novel were weeded out out of the 1988 film version, with emphasis shifted to its basic "evil land developer" plotline --and, more enjoyably, to a stream of eye-popping special effects. With the combined facilities of animator Richard Williams, Disney, Warner Bros., Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic, the film allows us to believe (at least for 90 minutes) that "toons" exist, and that they are capable of interacting with 3-dimensional human beings. Virtually every major cartoon character of the late 1940s shows up, with the exceptions of Felix the Cat and Popeye the Sailor, whose licensees couldn't come to terms with the producers. Of the film's newly minted Toons, the most memorable is Roger Rabbit's curvaceous bride Jessica (voiced, uncredited, by Kathleen Turner). The human element is well-represented by Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, and Joanna Cassidy; also watch for action-film producer Joel Silver as Roger Rabbit's Tex Avery-style director. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
Cartoonist Tom Wilson's loveable, optimistic, funny-page favorite comes to life as never before in this hand-drawn holiday special featuring animation by Richard Williams, Eric Goldberg, and Tom Sito and featuring music by Grammy-award winning recording artists Harry Nilsson and Perry Botkin. As the holiday season kicks into full gear, not everyone is feeling Christmas cheer and Ziggy decides to do his part in spreading goodwill by playing Santa Claus to collect money for the poor. With his faithful pooch Fuzz by his side, Ziggy takes to the streets in hopes of making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. Of course there will always be a few dishonest souls looking to take advantage of those in need, but with a little luck and a healthy dose of holiday cheer, Ziggy and his pal Fuzz will certainly find a way to keep the spirit of Christmas alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1977
This animated children's film tells the story of the two popular dolls who go off to find a pretty French doll who has been stolen by pirates. Many songs from popular children's composer Joe Raposo ensue, including: "I Look and What Do I See!," "No Girl's Toy," "Rag Dolly," "Poor Babette," "A Miracle," "Ho-Yo," "Candy Hearts," "Blue," "The Mirage," "I Never Get Enough," "I Love You," "Loony Anthem," "It's Not Easy Being King," "Hooray for Me," "You're My Friend," and "Home." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1971
This well-animated version of Dickens' classic Christmas story stays quite faithful to its source as it chronicles the painful lesson learned by a bitter old miser whose money lust alienates him from humanity. His lesson comes in the form of ghostly intervention from a trio of spirits who force him to reassess the direction of his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alastair Sim, Michael Hordern, (more)
- 1970
- R
This offbeat comedy finds Teddy (Marty Feldman) as a television advertising man given a seemingly meaningless project. Slated to make frozen porridge commercials, he comes up with the idea to find an erotic Goldilocks to sell the product. Soon a nationwide search is launched for the female spokesperson. He has trouble at home because his wife is the leader of the "Keep Television Clean" movement. Teddy dreams up a wild bunch of commercials and his daydreams harken back to silent era comedies. This was the first full length film for Feldman, the bug eyed comic who parlayed his television success in Britain into a comedy film career in Hollywood. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marty Feldman, Shelley Berman, (more)
- 1968
- PG13
- Add The Charge of the Light Brigade to Queue Add The Charge of the Light Brigade to top of Queue
During the ill-fated charge of British troops at Balaclava in the Crimean War, loyal soldiers who blindly followed orders were led to certain death. This is the fifth time the story has been told on film, but the actual event is an afterthought to the main plot. Snobbish aristocrats and ineffectual politicos combine with pompous blue-bloods to make decisions affecting 600 men thousands of miles away. A decidedly anti-war and satirical slant is presented, as inept generals stand knee-deep in bodies, each blaming the other for the fiasco. Vividly underscored here is the fanaticism, dedication, and blind loyalty which caused the total annihilation of hundreds of soldiers. This 5-million-dollar epic film recouped only 1 million after the initial release, leaving critics to compare the real-life disaster with the financial one suffered by the producers. Trevor Howard, John Gielgud and Vanessa Redgrave head the excellent cast. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Trevor Howard, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
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