The Thief and the Cobbler

The Thief and the Cobbler is an animated fantasy film directed, cowritten and coproduced by Canadian animator Richard Williams. The film is famous for its long, troubled history. Due to independent funding and complex animation, The Thief and the Cobbler was in and out of production for over two decades. It was finally placed into full production in 1988 when Warner Bros. agreed to finance and distribute the film. Negotiations broke down when production went over budget and behind schedule. Warner Bros. pulled out and a completion bond company assumed control of the film. The film was reedited and restructured by producer Fred Calvert without Williamss involvement, and released in Australia and South Africa as The Princess and the Cobbler in 1993 two years later, Miramax released an even more heavily edited version of the film in North America under the title Arabian Knight.

The film opens with a narrator describing a prosperous city called the Golden City, ruled by the sleepy King Nod and protected by three golden balls atop its tallest minaret. According to a prophecy, the city would fall to a race of warlike, oneeyed monsters, known as oneeyes, should the balls be removed, and could only be saved by the simplest soul with the smallest and simplest of things. Living in the city are the goodhearted cobbler Tack, named for the ubiquitous pair of tacks held in his mouth, and a nameless, unsuccessful yet persistent thief. Both characters have no dialogue.When the thief sneaks into Tacks house, the two fight and stumble outside, causing Tacks tacks to fall onto the street. Zigzag, King Nods Grand Vizier, steps on one of the tacks and orders Tack arrested while the thief escapes. Tack is brought before King Nod and his daughter, Princess YumYum. Before Zigzag can convince Nod to have Tack executed, YumYum saves Tack by breaking one of her shoes and ordering Tack to fix it. During repairs Tack and YumYum become increasingly attracted to each other, much to the jealousy of Zigzag, who plots to take over the kingdom by marrying the princess. Meanwhile, the thief notices the golden balls atop the minaret and decides to steal them. After breaking into the palace through a gutter, the thief steals the repaired shoe from Tack, prompting the cobbler to chase him through the palace. Upon retrieving the shoe, Tack bumps into Zigzag, who notices the shoe is fixed and imprisons Tack in a dungeon. ........

Source: Wikipedia