Twentieth Century Fox/Thorn EMI, 1983
Limited Edtion DVD by Blue Underground, 2005

Directed by Ralph Bakshi
Written by Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas
Produced and Based on Characters by Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta
Music by William Kraft
Cinematography by Francis Grumman
Edited by A. David Marshall
Costume Design by Frank Frazetta

Cast
Randy Norton (Larn)
Cynthia Leake (Teegra)
Steve Sandor (Darkwolf)
Sean Hannon (Nekron)
Leo Gordon (Jarol)
William Ostrander (Taro/Voice of Larn)
Eileen O’Reill (Juliana)

Reviewed by Bruce Durham

In Fire and Ice Bakshi teams with the legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta and the prolific comic book writing duo of Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas to create a Conanesque tale of sword-and-sorcery. Fire and Ice is the story of evil ice-mage Nekron, his equally scheming mother Juliana, and their plot to enslave the world by forcing an ice-age on its inhabitants. Standing in their way is Fire Keep, ruled by the benevolent King Jarol, his son Taro, lithesome daughter Teegra, Larn, lone survivor of a village destroyed by the unrelenting approach of the ice-monoliths, and a mysterious warrior called Darkwolf.

Featuring a bevy of unknowns, save for B-movie actor Steve Sandor, Fire and Ice was shot using Bakshi’s trademark rotoscope technique. The actors are filmed in live action, and then each cell is painstakingly traced to produce a style of animation that is surprisingly fluid. Finally, the animated characters are set against lush Frazetta-like backgrounds. While it sounds good, in reality the rotoscope method lacks any form of shadowing, and the end result has animated characters that look totally detached from their surroundings.

The storyline by Thomas and Conway is pedestrian at best, with the only interesting twist, involving Darkwolf and Juliana, strangely removed from the final product. Still, it serves to move the film along to its inevitable happy ending and features the requisite themes of destruction, revenge, quest, and saving the scantily-clad princess.

The Limited Edition DVD comes with some good extras, most notably a short documentary on the making of the film, and an interview with Ralph Bakshi discussing his relationship with Frazetta. There’s a fun bit titled Sean Hannon’s Diary. It’s rather amusing to listen to him wax enthusiastic for his ‘big break.’ After checking The Internet Movie Database, I found that Hannon (who played Nekron) managed one more role, the ‘Large Creature’ in a forgettable film called Escapes. Fame is fleeting.

The second DVD could be considered half a ‘double dip.’ It is essentially material gleaned from the recently released Frazetta biography Painting with Fire. This makes the Fire and Ice: Limited Edition DVD especially attractive for those without that excellent biography in their collection. It provides great insight into Frazetta’s illustrious career, including his darker moments and his struggle as a recovering stroke victim.

The DVD transfer by Blue Underground is excellent, though an occasional artefact will tend to annoy. However, the colors are crisp and vibrant, a nice improvement over the out-of-print VHS version. Bravo to Blue Underground on a job well done.

Fire and Ice, though flawed, has achieved cult status over the years. This new Limited Edition is definitely recommended to fans of sword-and-sorcery, Ralph Bakshi animation, the curious, and last but not least, fans of the amazing Frank Frazetta.