The Thief and the Cobbler

The Thief and the Cobbler is an animated film which was begun by animator Richard Williams in 1964. It lay unfinished for over 20 years until, following the success of his work on 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit', he was given funds to complete the film. Unfortunately he failed to meet the time and budget constraints put on him by the studio and the film was take out of his hands. A rushed and severely edited version of the film was released in 1995, to commercial and critical dismissal.

Despite this the film is revered by animation fans, who over the years have sought to reconstruct Williams original vision. Several 'reconstructed' versions of the film have been produced by fans, the most recent of which was completed in August 2006. This version, though rough around the edges, shows what could have been and showcases some fantastically designed and detailed hand drawn animation.

Much more about the film can be found on the wikipedia entry linked to above. But the main reason for this post is that the fan reconstruction is now available, in it's entirety, at google video here. For comparisons sake the original cinema cut can be found here. Finally, a documentary on the director and his work, with an emphasis on 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' is here.