The Thief and The Cobbler At Annecy

On stage at Annecy - Le Voleur et Le Cordonnier

Friday 19 June was the last day of the MIFA marketplace at Annecy, and also a rare chance to see The Thief and The Cobbler (en Francais: “Le voleur et le cordonnier”) original director’s cut – presented by the director himself.  Dad got a standing ovation when he came on stage, and he dedicated the screening to the memory of Ken Harris, one of Chuck Jones’ top animators on the Looney Tunes series and the man responsible for much of the animation of The Thief himself.

Pete Western reports on "A Moment in Time" at BFI - the first ever public screening of "The Thief and the Cobbler" in the UK

Animation people in the UK were in for a rare treat on the first Sunday in June. AMPAS [Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] arranged a screening of the work print of Richard Williams’ lost masterpiece “The Thief & the Cobbler” followed by a Q & A with the man himself. This event was all the more extraordinary because until AMPAS got in touch with Mr. Williams to tell him they were digitizing and archiving the original director’s cut, he had refused to answer all questions about the film.

UK Premiere of "A Moment in Time" - The Director's Cut of The Thief and The Cobbler - at BFI on June 1st

On June 1st, the BFI (British Film Institute) in association with the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences is screening the UK and European premiere of "The Thief and the Cobbler: A Moment in Time" - the long-awaited Director's Cut of Richard Williams' lost masterpiece.


BFI will be screening a new digital version of the reconstructed work-print at the BFI/Southbank in London. Richard Williams will be in discussion with veteran film critic David Robinson following the screening. BFI members can buy tickets now - and tickets go on sale to the general public on May 13th

The Thief and The Cobbler - A Moment in Time - by Andreas Wessel-Therhorn

The Golden City - part of the newly restored Director's Cut of The Thief

Last night on Tuesday December 10th Richard Williams introduced - for the first time ever - a newly-restored director's cut of his lost masterpiece The Thief and The Cobbler.  Titled The Thief and the Cobbler – A Moment in Time, the long-awaited screening took place at The Academy's Los Angeles home, the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills. Animator, director and Academy member Andreas Wessel-Therhorn was there to tell us what we missed.

Director's Cut of The Thief and The Cobbler to screen at the Academy on December 10

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that it will screen a newly edited director's cut of The Thief And The Cobbler - introduced by the Director in person - on Tuesday December 10th at 7:30pm, at the Academy, in the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre. The Thief will be preceded by Williams' Oscar winning short, A Christmas Carol. You can also see an exhibition, Richard Williams: Master of Animation in the building lobby until Sunday December 22nd.

Charlie Chaplin has Left Leicester Square

by Jane Wright

Jane (Smethurst) Wright did traditional, hand drawn special effects back in the 1990's on features like Prince of Egypt and The Thief and the Cobbler.  She wrote to FLIP with a story of obsolescence that any old school animator can relate to, and maybe get a chill from....

Last weekend I made my way to Leicester Square for the sole purpose of taking a photograph of London’s much-loved Charlie Chaplin statue. Not being a tourist I hadn’t been there for ages; even so, looking around I wondered if I’d entered a time warp and stumbled onto the set of It's a Wonderful Life and into Pottersville by mistake. I was dismayed at the soulless place I now found myself in. Worse still, Charlie had gone.

Margaret Williams, co-author of The Thief and The Cobbler, reviews Kevin Schreck's Persistence of Vision

Artwork from The Thief and the Cobbler by Errol Le Cain

Margaret Williams was the co-writer of the original screenplay of The Thief and The Cobbler, that is to say the version that existed before the film was radically altered by Miramax and Fred Calvert to become Arabian Knight. She recently went to a special screening of Kevin Schreck's documentary of The Thief, Persistence of Vision, and gave us her thoughts on the film.

Three Silly Chickens - Tanya Fenton's charming new children's book

Three Silly Chickens

Tanya Fenton is an animation artist who has worked on many animated feature films including The Thief and The Cobbler, Hercules and Fantasia 2000. She has recently turned author and illustrator. Her first book, Three Silly Chickens, is now in bookshops.

Farewell Lady Thatcher

People in England of my generation call themselves "Thatcher's children". Whether you are left or right politically, her influence was undeniable as she re-shaped the dialogue of both politics and economics in Britain.

She was mercilessly satirised by cartoonists, especially by the TV series Spitting Image that seemed made especially for her and her confrontational style of politics.

The Annie Awards and the Secret of Chuck Jones' Success

The Annies - the Animation Oscars

Last Saturday night, February 2nd 2013, was animation's big night - the Annie Awards, held this year at the UCLA Royce Hall in Los Angeles. They are the Animation Oscars, held once a year to celebrate excellence in animated film-making.

The Thief & The Cobbler - The Recobbled Cut - Part 2

Garrett Gilchrist's Recobbled Cut

Independent film maker Garrett Gilchrist has spent many years trying to re-assemble the original director's cut of one of the great might-have-been animated feature films - The Thief and the Cobbler. In this second part of our interview (you can see the first part here), Garrett explains what inspired him to create his latest version of The Thief: The  Recobbled Cut - Mark 4.

Film Review - Persistence of Vision; The Untold Story of the Greatest Animated Film Never Made

FLIP invited animator and storyboard artist Michael Schlingman to review Kevin Schreck's new documentary film Persistence of Vision - The Untold Story of the Greatest Animated Film Never Made, about the making of The Thief and The Cobbler. Michael worked on The Thief, and was also interviewed for Persistence of Vision. He went to a special screening of the film in Leeds last week.

The Thief and the Cobbler - The Recobbled Cut Mk 4

Cover artwork for Garrett Gilchrist's Recobbled Cut

Garrett Gilchrist is an independent film-maker with a passion for animation. He has spent many years attempting to rebuild the original director's cut of one of animation's greatest might-have-been epic films: The Thief and the Cobbler. In a two-part interview, FLIP asked Garrett to talk a little about his latest edit - The Recobbled Cut (Mark 4).