1983 animated film directed by Ralph Bakshi
Fire and Ice
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Directed by
| Ralph Bakshi
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Written by
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Based on
| Characters
by Ralph Bakshi
Frank Frazetta
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Produced by
|
- Frank Frazetta
- Ralph Bakshi
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Starring
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Cinematography
| Francis Grumman
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Edited by
| A. David Marshall
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Music by
| William Kraft
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Production
companies
| Aspen Productions
[1]
Film Finance Group
[1]
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Distributed by
| 20th Century-Fox
(United States)
Producers Sales Organization
(International)
[1]
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Release dates
|
- January 18, 1983
(
1983-01-18
)
(
Avoriaz
Film Festival)
- August 19, 1983
(
1983-08-19
)
(United States)
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Running time
| 81 minutes
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Country
| United States
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Language
| English
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Budget
| $1.2 million
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Box office
| $860,000
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Fire and Ice
is a 1983 American
animated
dark fantasy
adventure film
directed by
Ralph Bakshi
. The film, a collaboration between Bakshi and
Frank Frazetta
, was distributed by
20th Century-Fox
. The animated feature, based on characters co-created by Bakshi and Frazetta, was made using the process of
rotoscoping
, in which scenes were shot in live-action and then traced onto animation cels.
The screenplay was written by
Gerry Conway
and
Roy Thomas
, both of whom had written
Conan
stories for
Marvel Comics
. The background painter was
James Gurney
, the author and artist of the
Dinotopia
illustrated novels. Iconic American painter
Thomas Kinkade
also worked on the backgrounds to various scenes.
Peter Chung
, the creator of
Aeon Flux
, was a layout artist.
Plot
[
edit
]
From their citadel Icepeak, the evil queen Juliana and her son Nekron send forth a wave of glaciers; this forces humanity to retreat south towards the
equator
. Nekron sends a
delegation
to Firekeep, the
volcano
citadel of king Jarol, ostensibly to request the king's surrender. In truth, the ice queen has orchestrated it as a ruse so that her subhuman troops can abduct Jarol's beautiful daughter, princess Teegra. Juliana feels that Nekron should take her as a bride to produce an
heir
.
Teegra escapes her captors and comes upon a young warrior named Larn, the only survivor of a village destroyed by Nekron's glaciers. The two grow close, but they become separated when Larn is attacked by a monstrous
giant squid
, and Nekron's subhumans recapture Teegra. She briefly escapes again, but runs into the witch Roleil and her son Otwa, who intend to use her as a bargaining chip for incurring Nekron's favor. However, the subhumans simply kill them and take Teegra to Icepeak. Nekron refuses to marry Teegra, in spite of his mother's plan, but keeps the princess as a hostage.
While looking for Teegra, Larn encounters Darkwolf, a mysterious masked warrior who pursues a personal vendetta against Nekron and Juliana. While Darkwolf holds off Nekron's horde, Larn continues his search and comes upon Roleil's remains, which briefly reanimate and tell him how to find the princess. At the same time, Jarol sends his son and Teegra's brother, Prince Taro, to Nekron to bargain for Teegra's release. With Larn as a stowaway on their ship, Taro and his emissaries reach Icepeak. Nekron refuses to release Teegra and insults her, inciting Taro to attack him. Using his magic, Nekron forces the prince and his delegation to kill each other.
Larn infiltrates the ice fortress, but fails to retrieve Teegra and is rescued by Darkwolf. They travel to Firekeep to inform Jarol, who decides to give them time to penetrate Icepeak and rescue his daughter until the glacier crosses the border to his realm, forcing him to release the lava from the volcano to destroy the advancing ice. With some help from Jarol's
dragon hawk
riders, they assault the fortress, but only Darkwolf manages to reach Nekron. Larn, stranded midway during the attack, finally finds and rescues Teegra from Juliana. Darkwolf slays Nekron, but Nekron's dying agony expands the glacier explosively, prompting Jarol to open the volcano's valves. The lava flow swiftly overcomes the glacier, obliterating Icepeak, Juliana, and the subhuman army.
Larn and Teegra barely succeed in escaping the cataclysm. When they encounter a wounded subhuman, Larn prepares to kill him, but Teegra stops him and they embrace with a kiss. From atop a cliff, a smiling Darkwolf briefly watches the pair, then disappears.
Cast
[
edit
]
Character
|
Performance model
|
Voice actor
|
Larn
|
Randy Norton
|
William Ostrander
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Teegra
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Cynthia Leake
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Maggie Roswell
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Darkwolf
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Steve Sandor
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Nekron
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Sean Hannon
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Stephen Mendel
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Jarol
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Leo Gordon
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Taro
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William Ostrander
|
Juliana
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Eileen O'Neill
|
Susan Tyrrell
|
Roleil
|
Elizabeth Lloyd Shaw
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Otwa
|
Micky Morton
|
Tutor
|
Tamarah Park
|
Clare Nono
|
Monga
|
Big Yank
|
Pako
|
Greg Wayne Elam
|
Envoy
|
?
|
Alan Koss
|
Defender Captain
|
?
|
Hans Howes
|
Subhumans
|
James Bridges
Shane Callan
Archie Hamilton
Michael Kellogg
Douglas Payton
Dale Park
|
Ray Oliver
Nathan Purdee
Le Tari
|
Production
[
edit
]
By 1982,
fantasy films
had proven to be considerably successful at the box office, including
The Beastmaster
and
Conan the Barbarian
, and Bakshi had a desire to work with long-time friend and fantasy illustrator
Frank Frazetta
.
[2]
Bakshi received $1.2 million to finance
Fire and Ice
from some of the same investors as
American Pop
, and
20th Century-Fox
agreed to distribute the film based upon the financial longevity of
Wizards
.
[2]
Because
Fire and Ice
was the most action-oriented story Bakshi had directed up until that point, rotoscoping was again used, and the realism of the animation and design replicated Frazetta's artwork.
[2]
Bakshi and Frazetta were heavily involved in the production of the live-action sequences, from casting sessions to the final shoot.
[2]
The film's crew included background artists
James Gurney
and
Thomas Kinkade
, layout artist
Peter Chung
, and established Bakshi Productions artists Sparey,
Steven E. Gordon
, Bell and Banks.
[2]
Chung strongly admired Bakshi and Frazetta's work, and animated his sequences on the film while simultaneously working for
The Walt Disney Company
.
[2]
Reception
[
edit
]
Janet Maslin
of
The New York Times
wrote, "If you love comic books but can't bear the unnecessary bother of turning pages,
Fire and Ice
[...] may be for you. It would help if you were a sex-obsessed 12-year-old boy, but it isn't essential."
[3]
Gene Siskel
of the
Chicago Tribune
gave the film two stars out of four and called it "attractive to look at, but its slow-moving, predictable story makes viewing it much like reading a comic book with pages made of lead." He added that "the constant rhythm of Teegra being captured and rescued and captured and rescued is, after a while, more than a bit tiring."
[4]
Sheila Benson
of the
Los Angeles Times
wrote that "in spite of all the glorious washes in the background, which do indeed have the Frazetta look,
Fire and Ice
is as unintentionally funny a fantasy as you could hope for."
[5]
Donald Greig of
The Monthly Film Bulletin
called the action sequences "impressive enough" but stated that "the animators' fetishistic fascination with the human form ... underlines the two-dimensionality of the script, for the artwork is certainly the only fleshing-out that characters receive."
[6]
Colin Greenland
reviewed
Fire and Ice
for
Imagine
magazine, and stated that "Much more enjoyable is his earlier
Wizards
, now on video from CBS/Fox, a fantasy with a sly sense of humour. Compared with this,
Fire and Ice
is a bit glum."
[7]
Andrew Leal wrote, "The plot is standard [...] recalling nothing so much as a more graphic episode of
Filmation
's
He-Man
series. [...]
Fire and Ice
essentially stands as a footnote to the spate of barbarian films that followed in the wake of
Arnold Schwarzenegger
's appearance as
Conan
."
[8]
In 2003, the
Online Film Critics Society
ranked the film as the 99th greatest animated film of all time.
[9]
Home media
[
edit
]
The film was released on
VHS
,
Betamax
,
CED
, and
LaserDisc
by
RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
in 1983.
GoodTimes Home Video
re-released the film on VHS in 1988. In 2005, it was released on
DVD
by
Blue Underground Entertainment
on a limited edition two-disc set, paired with the documentary
Frazetta: Painting With Fire
, about the film's co-creator and producer, Frank Frazetta.
[10]
The company later released the film on
Blu-ray
in 2008 with Remastered
1080p
video and a
7.1 surround sound
remix in both
Dolby TrueHD
and
DTS-HD Master Audio
.
Remake
[
edit
]
In 2010,
Robert Rodriguez
announced that he would direct a live-action
remake
of the film.
[11]
Bakshi stated that he did not want any involvement with the film, but he agreed to license the rights to Rodriguez.
[12]
The deal closed shortly after Frazetta's death.
[11]
On December 18, 2014,
Sony Pictures Entertainment
acquired the filming rights to the live-action remake version of the film, to be directed by Robert Rodriguez.
[13]
Fire and Ice Comic Series
[
edit
]
In July 2022
Dynamite Entertainment
announced they would be publishing a prequel comic series in collaboration with Frazetta Girls and Bakshi Productions.
[14]
Less than a year later, in May 2023
Dynamite Entertainment
announced
Fables (comics)
creator and
Eisner Award
winning writer
Bill Willingham
will be writing the series with artwork by powerhouse artist
Leonardo Manco
.
[15]
Fire And Ice #1 was published by
Dynamite Entertainment
in August 2023 with Issue #1 covers by
Bill Sienkiewicz
,
Francesco Francavilla
,
Mahmud Asrar
,
Joseph Michael Linsner
,
Leonardo Manco
, and the original
Frank Frazetta
poster.
[16]
I discovered both
Frank Frazetta
and
Ralph Bakshi
at an early age. My awareness of Frazetta cemented the first time someone put a Conan book into my hands. I discovered Bakshi when almost everyone did, when the film Wizards was released. I was in college at the time and working a number of jobs to be able to afford it. One of those jobs was at a local movie theater. I got to see it about a dozen times, twice a night for a week, and it ignited something profound in me. Now, 50 plus years later, there was a chance to work with these story giants. I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to work with these Giants in the Earth.
Frazetta’s granddaughter, Sara Frazetta, owner of Frazetta Girls, expressed excitement for the project saying:
I've always had the desire to explore more character and world building around the film and doing this comic series has provided just that. Our team is truly out of this world. I'm so proud of everyone involved. There is so much heart and the process has been overwhelmingly positive.
Eddie Bakshi, son of
Ralph Bakshi
, shared equal excitement saying:
The dedication and talent has been jaw-dropping with this new series. The Bakshi Family is honored and thrilled to be able to see fire and ice Come back to life with such creativity. what an incredible storyline addition. We are all in for this release.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Fire and Ice (1983)"
.
AFI Catalog of Feature Films
. Retrieved
August 8,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Gibson, Jon M.; McDonnell, Chris (2008). "
Fire and Ice
".
Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi
. Universe Publishing. pp. 192, 196.
ISBN
978-0-7893-1684-4
.
- ^
Maslin, Janet (November 24, 1983). "Screen: 'Fire and Ice'".
The New York Times
. C12.
- ^
Siskel, Gene (January 24, 1984). "Slow plot weighs down 'Fire and Ice' animation".
Chicago Tribune
. Section 5, p. 2.
- ^
Benson, Sheila (August 26, 1983). "'Fire and Ice' is a Marriage of Genres".
Los Angeles Times
. Part VI, p. 6.
- ^
Greig, Donald (August 1984). "Fire and Ice".
The Monthly Film Bulletin
.
51
(607): 242.
- ^
Greenland, Colin
(November 1984). "Fantasy Media".
Imagine
(review) (20). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 47.
- ^
Beck, Jerry; Martin Goodman; Andrew Leal; W. R. Miller;
Fred Patten
(2005). "
Fire and Ice
".
The Animated Movie Guide
. Chicago Review Press. p.
84
.
ISBN
978-1-55652-591-9
.
- ^
"Top 100 Animated Features of All Time"
.
Online Film Critics Society
. Retrieved
April 21,
2010
.
- ^
"Fire And Ice (2-Disc Limited Edition)"
.
Blue Underground
. Archived from
the original
on April 26, 2007
. Retrieved
March 25,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
Knowles, Harry (May 19, 2010).
"A family friendly
Machete
? What do you mean no race war? & A secret Frazetta project?? Exclusive Robert Rodriguez interview!!"
.
Ain't It Cool News
. Retrieved
May 20,
2010
.
- ^
Ashby, Devon (March 14, 2012).
"The God's Truth: An Interview With Ralph Bakshi (Part 2)"
.
Crave Online
. Retrieved
July 8,
2012
.
- ^
Fleming, Mike (December 18, 2014).
"Sony Pictures Acquires Robert Rodriguez & His Frank Franzetta Homage 'Fire And Ice'
"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
December 19,
2014
.
- ^
"Dynamite to Develop Comics and Game Based on Frazetta and Bakshi's 'Fire and Ice'
"
.
- ^
a
b
"Dynamite Announces Writer and Artist for Fire and Ice Prequel Comics"
. May 21, 2023.
- ^
"DC Comics & Dynamite Will Both Have Fire and Ice Comics Out"
. May 18, 2023.
External links
[
edit
]
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Feature films
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Short films
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Television series
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Television features
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Other works
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