This week on Alcohollywood, we invite returning guest David Rheinstrom (of Twenty Questions Tuesday and Our Fair City fame) for one last job before he departs Chicago for the wide world of San Francisco – the “Recobbled Cut” of the infamous animated labor of love The Thief and the Cobbler! Who Framed Roger Rabbit’s Oscar-winning animator Richard Williams’ magnum opus is an elegantly drawn piece of cinema that follows the titular double-act as they attempt to retrieve the Three Golden Balls from the evil Vizier (Vincent Price), while winning the heart of Princess Yum-Yum in the process. Its thirty-year production history led Williams’ vision to be ultimately unfinished, but the Recobbled Cut by fan and animator Garret Gilchrist (link to the full film below) is an admirable effort to get as much of William’s intended film up on the screen. Check out our reaction to the film, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
Related Links:
The Recobbled Cut on Youtube
Persistence of Vision, the Documentary on the Making Of The Thief and the Cobbler
Tickets for Our Fair City: Human Resources (still running until the 13th, if you’re in Chicago! See Clint and Jared in a live radio play!)
(This episode is sponsored by Field Notes as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
LISTEN HERE OR DOWNLOAD:
THIS EPISODE’S DRINK: Princess’s Yum-Yums
Cobbler’s in the name, so our first instinct was to make a drink that best simulated the flavor of a peach cobbler. Making our own demerara syrup was a key component that’s easy to do at home, and the subtle sweetness and nuttiness of the drink makes for a nice welcome to these cooler autumn months.
2 parts brandy
2.5 parts peach nectar
1 egg white
.5 part orange liqueur
dash, blackstrap bitters
1 part cream soda
DEMERARA SYRUP:
2 parts brown or demerara sugar
2 parts water
1 tbsp honey
dash, cinnamon
dash, nutmeg
- TO MAKE DEMERARA SYRUP: Combine ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until a syrup forms. Store the rest in a bottle or jar and use in all manner of drinks!
- Combine brandy, nectar, egg white, orange liqueur and bitters in a shaker with ice; shake vigorously until the egg white gets frothy.
- Pour straight into cocktail glass and top with cream soda. Serve.
DRINKING RULES FOR THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER:
- (Specific to the Recobbled Cut) Drink whenever the film cuts between fully-animated shots and pencil sketches/animatics
- Every time you see an element of the film that Aladdin clearly cribbed from (e.g. the look of the Vizier, the Sultan, Phido/Iago)
- Any time someone says ‘balls’ (because we’re five years old)
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Vizier ZigZag laments, “You too, Phido? Man’s best friend? For ZigZag then, it is…the End.”
Join us next week as we take on another bit of cinema obscura – the Roger Daltrey-starring Lisztomania!
