Friday, July 11, 2014

[TV SHOW REVIEW] The Fool and the Flying Ship (1991)






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Title: The Fool and the Flying Ship

Starring: Robin Williams

Genre: Comedy / Russia / Fantasy 

Company: Rabbit Ears Productions

Directed by: C.W. Rogers

Year: 1991

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  Amazon




Once upon a time in Russia, the Tsar had made a proclamation throughout the land that whoever brings him a flying ship will marry his daughter, the princess.  When a country bumpkin, known as the Fool, hears about this proclamation, he decides to go out and build himself a flying ship.  Once he is able to obtain a flying ship, the Fool meets up with several strange men who have unusual abilities and they head off to the Tsar's palace together.  But, when the Tsar saw that the Fool and his friends were nothing but peasants, he decides to set them three impossible tasks for them to complete before the Fool marries the princess.

Will the Fool and his friends be able to complete these tasks?




Honestly, this is my most favorite story from the Rabbit Ears series because it has everything that you would want to see happen in a fairy tale: comedy, fantasy and creative storytelling!  Robin Williams was brilliant in narrating this story as he gave each character a distinctive voice and brought so much life to this story!  I really enjoyed the creative tone of this story as the idea about having a flying ship that can take you anywhere in the world and having friends who have special abilities that can help you in a tight situation was really amusing to me!  I also loved the characters in this story, with my favorite characters being the Runner and the Fool as they were extremely hilarious and interesting to look at.  I also loved the focus on humor in this story as it made the situation and the characters much more memorable and lovable.  Henrik Drescher's artwork is what truly made this story worth watching as the illustrations are bizarre yet hilarious to look at and I always loved the artwork of all the characters, especially of the Fool (who almost looks like Pinocchio), the Runner who has antlers in his head and the Puffer who looks like He-Man when he transforms into his muscular self.





The only problem with this story is that Henrik Drescher's illustrations might be an acquired taste for many people.  Some people might like Henrik Drescher's illustrations for its creativity and its bizarre style while others might hate the artwork for being too ugly or too bizarre.

Overall, "The Fool and the Flying Ship" is a fun and creative video to watch and I am sure that many viewers will enjoy this story for its surreal humor and creative tone!




2 comments:

  1. My top 5 (relatively accessible) recommendations for surreal animation:

    1. "Alice" (1988) or anything else by Czech stop-motion animator Jan Svankmajer
    2. "Fantastic Planet" (1973)
    3. "Akira" (1988)
    4. "Allegro non Troppo" (1976) - essentially the crazy Italian version of "Fantasia"
    5. "Yellow Submarine" (1968)

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