Fire And Ice

[Foxbat]

Directed by Ralph Bakshi
Made in 1982
Available on DVD (78 minutes)

Fire and Ice is a Fantasy animation in the finest traditions of Good versus Evil. The world a few thousand years ago is going through a time of change. From the north, a massive glacier pushes ever southward and threatens to cover the planet in a shroud of ice. The Humans are forever pushed towards the equatorial jungles and seem powerless to prevent this onslaught. But this Ice-Age is not a natural phenomenon – the evil Nekron and his twisted mother are behind the magic forever driving the frozen invasion of ice and subhuman creatures.

Standing in Nekron’s path is the good king Jarol, controller of the lava and lord of Fire Keep. His people living among the volcanoes of the equatorial jungles stand against Nekron’s subhuman army and glacial progression. This clash of titans seems forever in deadlock until a hero emerges……

This is an entertaining romp into a world of loincloths and battleaxes, where men are all Conan-like and women wear extremely skimpy clothing whilst being captured and carried around a lot by evil doers. Cliched and simplistic in the plot department it may be but it’s still mighty good fun. The animation has a fluidity about it that makes it seem as if real actors have been used for the action scenes – such is the flow of movement. Now, where have I seen this before? Hmmm. Let me think. The half-finished Lord Of The Rings animation. Yep. That’s it!. It came as no surprise when I discovered that Bakshi was the man behind the animated LOTR. This style is quite distinctive and wonderfully effective.

The sound is in stereo and functional and there are absolutely no extras on the disc.

This is one for fans of Sword and Sorcery. It’s not perfect but it’s good enough to recommend to any confirmed fan of the Fantasy genre. If you like quality animation steeped in adventure and the age old battle of Good and Evil with plenty of action, this is definitely a worthy and interesting addition to any Fantasy collection.