No, not the Robert Frost poem, this animated collaboration between Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta was something of a dud back in 1983, and it’s not hard to see why. The public interest in sword and sorcery didn’t last long, and despite hits like Conan the Barbarian, there was little sign of the interest in boobs and dragons that would later blossom into Game of Thrones. Fire and Ice used rotoscoping to draw onto motion-captured images, heady stuff for the 80’s, but the results are decidedly mixed, even with nostalgia-glasses set to the max.
Part of the problem here is the slavish obsession with Star Wars; the story structure featured here is almost identical. Princess Teegra is kidnapped by the evil Nekron , and the heroic Lam sets out to rescue her. Every Luke needs a Han, and Lam gets an assist from the mysterious Darkwolf on his quest. Nekron and his pushy mom Juliana plan to take over the realm using their ability to advance ice, but as erotic sparks fly between Lam and Teegra, the fiery power of desire is an antidote to the chilly aggression of evil.
Fire and Ice would not be made like this today; no star names in the voice-overs, no cute side-kicks and a strange emphasis on sex. Last week I hailed Black Widow as the most posterior-obsessed film ever made, but I retract that humbly having seen Fire and Ice, in which barely a scene goes by without taut male and female buttocks featured. Frazetta had made something of a successful thing of sexualising male and female forms, as had Bakshi, but the results here are too sexy for kids while the story is too way clunky for adults.
With a He-Man hero and some startling backgrounds, which often look to be of Pixar standards, there’s some amusements in tracing Fire and Ice’s place in the fantasy canon. They had the right idea, but the wrong execution, and the result didn’t make back its budget at the box-office. A cult-canon has followed, but unless awful plot mechanics are your thing, this is best remembered as a technical breakthrough rather than a great work of storytelling.
Not sure there was much by way of taut buttocks in his poster for Yours, Mine and Ours (1968). I had already given up on Bakshi after Heavy Traffic so skipped this.
I did not know he did that poster, but have now looked it up and my investigations are now complete.
Well, the discussion of taut buttocks is all getting a bit weird. Where’s the respect for those with looser buns? It actually shows signs of a more relaxed lifestyle. I would search up tautbuttocks.com, but I don’t want to get a virus on my computer.
Right, that’s it sunshine, I said the next one to mention ‘buttcoks’ was on an automatic ban, and guess who it HAD to be?
Sling yer hook, YOU’RE BANNED!
What? My ban was only just rescinded! Great. That’s just great. To be fair, I did say ‘buttocks’, not ‘buttcoks’, which sounds much worse.
Straight ref. An appeal can be mounted in seven days at a cost of £35000 to yourself.
Straight red, sorry.
Won’t you miss my witty and effervescent comments?
Nope.
Sigh. Your loss. I guess I’ll see you in seven days. Do you want me to pay into your PayPal? I’ll just need the magic numbers on the back of your credit card.
That’s Ok, I deducted it from the value of your house.
There’s buttocks, I’m in. I don’t seem to remember this film but the animation is amazing but your tak about the plot has turned me off a bit. The rotoscoping looks a bit meh as well, but those backgrounds are ace.
I was introduced to rotoscoping through Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings travesty of a film. It was so bad that whenever I see the word “rotoscope” I automatically avoid the movie being mentioned.
Plus, my own buttocks are so taut that I’d feel second hand embarrassment for the characters here. I avoid second hand embarrassment whenever possible….
Similarly Alex is keen for me to know of the tautness of his own buttocks, but I do not remember asking readers for descriptions of their own fannies and will ban anyone else flaunting their bodies on my website.
Rotoscoping worked for Richard Linklater, but it’s not for everyone and probably not for me…
I’d like to point out that you brought up the subject, not us. We’re simply following your lead. This blog is your classroom and it’s your responsibility. Take responsibility sensei!
Even if this was free on Prime, I’d probably pass. But since it isn’t free, I don’t even have to worry about it 😀
Show me where I suggested I was interested in hearing about anyone with taut buttocks like the characters in Fire and Ice? Thought not, fake news mate! You and Alex are desperate to flaunt your fantasy bodies, but can do so elsewhere! You don’t get a physique like mine for nothing!
The fact that you talked about taut buttocks is all that was needed. If you weren’t interested, you wouldn’t have even brought the subject up.
I’m assuming you bought your taut buttocks from Tautbuttocks.com? Have not seen many good reviews of their products. Hope you weren’t scammed.
Sigh. I hoped I wouldn’t have to say this, but my mentioning the taut buttocks in this film is no excuse for you and Alex to start boasting about your pitiful physiques. I’m going to set the word ‘buttocks’ as one that entails automatic bans in future. You have been warned.
What about “buttock”, singular? or a misspelling like “buttox”? Do those count?
Just want to make sure the rules and guidelines are clear here. I wouldn’t want to get a ban after all 😉
As for pitiful physiques, didn’t you see that pix of Kris Freeman I put up the other day. If he reads these comments his feelings are going to be REALLY hurt. Those poor Olympians have a lot to deal with after all…
Never mind the Olympics, DJ Otzi just got himself authomatically BANNED, if you doubt the seriousness of this situation, have a look at what just happened to him. No mercy.
how long is he banned?
That is the question of the hour!
A week or forever, whichever comes first.
Some weeks FEEL like forever. Is it that kind forever?
Yes. Forever and ever.
I do wonder what good it does you to watch so much tripe. I suppose it’s part of a critic’s job. Not inspired to see this. Nopety nope.
There’s great artwork in this film, but storywise, a bit embarassed to be watching. You can use the time to participate in educational experiences; why not contact your local farm and ask to find out how milk is made?
Don’t actually have a local farm, got ASDA though. Milk is made in cows.
Is the correct answer.