This was a butchered movie.
You can't deal with "the Thief and the Cobbler" without recounting the sickening story behind it, so here's the really short version (I may have some facts wrong, so don't quote me on any of this). Richard William's wanted to be the first person to animate an entire feature-length movie all by himself. It took him nearly three decades to finish about twenty minutes. By the late 80's he was driven nearly insane drawing every single frame of film *by hand* by himself, so Disney offered to help him finish it.
They did a completely half-assed job on the remaining animation and songs, added narration where there was no need, slapped the title "Arabian Knight" on it, and whipped it in and out of theaters before the unwitting public could say "'Aladdin' rip-off".
We'll never get to find out what kind of movie Williams would have made. As sad as that is, it's probably better to admit it's a non-issue and deal with the movie we do have (and don't get me wrong; that does NOT mean that what happened to "Thief" isn't disgraceful).
It is worth a rental just to see what remains of the original, Williams produced animation. You will be able to tell the difference; the Williams scenes are the ones where the characters seem to be roaming around a series of Escher prints. His finale, where the Thief destroys a gigantic mechanical army with one slapstick accident after another, is still breathtaking. Fast-forward to these bits and, definitely, watch them with the sound off.
You can't deal with "the Thief and the Cobbler" without recounting the sickening story behind it, so here's the really short version (I may have some facts wrong, so don't quote me on any of this). Richard William's wanted to be the first person to animate an entire feature-length movie all by himself. It took him nearly three decades to finish about twenty minutes. By the late 80's he was driven nearly insane drawing every single frame of film *by hand* by himself, so Disney offered to help him finish it.
They did a completely half-assed job on the remaining animation and songs, added narration where there was no need, slapped the title "Arabian Knight" on it, and whipped it in and out of theaters before the unwitting public could say "'Aladdin' rip-off".
We'll never get to find out what kind of movie Williams would have made. As sad as that is, it's probably better to admit it's a non-issue and deal with the movie we do have (and don't get me wrong; that does NOT mean that what happened to "Thief" isn't disgraceful).
It is worth a rental just to see what remains of the original, Williams produced animation. You will be able to tell the difference; the Williams scenes are the ones where the characters seem to be roaming around a series of Escher prints. His finale, where the Thief destroys a gigantic mechanical army with one slapstick accident after another, is still breathtaking. Fast-forward to these bits and, definitely, watch them with the sound off.