Wizards (1977)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A battle of magic and technology unfolds in a post-apocalyptic world where mutants and mythical creatures coexist.
The story
Earth has been devastated by a nuclear war, leaving radioactive clouds that took 10 million years to clear. While humans have transformed into mutants, humanity's true ancestors—trolls, fairies, elves, and dwarves—resurface in the idyllic land of Montagar. After a magical duel between twin wizards Avatar and Blackwolf, Blackwolf retreats to the dark land of Scortch to lead an army of mutants. He seeks to use ancient technology and propaganda to conquer the 'good lands.' Meanwhile, Avatar trains the President's daughter, Elinore, to become a fairy, while preparing to stop Blackwolf's technological threat.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In a post-nuclear Earth, the land of Montagar is inhabited by mythical creatures like fairies and elves, while mutants roam the radioactive wastes. The fairy queen Delia gives birth to twin wizards: the kindhearted Avatar and the evil Blackwolf. After Avatar defeats Blackwolf in a duel, Blackwolf retreats to Scortch, where he builds an army of mutants and seeks to use Nazi propaganda and ancient technology to conquer Montagar. Avatar trains the President's daughter, Elinore, and teams up with an elf warrior named Weehawk and a reconditioned robot named Peace to destroy Blackwolf's 'dream machine' projector. During their journey, the group faces various dangers, including a forest of fairies and a snowy mountain range. After a series of skirmishes where Elinore is briefly captured and Peace is killed, the group reaches Scortch. While Weehawk leads a distraction, Avatar confronts Blackwolf. In a final twist, Avatar uses a technological tool—a pistol—to shoot Blackwolf dead. Weehawk destroys the projector, and the group decides to start their own kingdom elsewhere.
- First release year
- 1977
- Runtime (minutes)
- 81
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ralph Bakshi
- Writers
- Ralph Bakshi · writer; Ralph Bakshi · director; Ralph Bakshi · producer
- Cast and characters
- Bob Holt · Avatar; Jesse Welles · Elinore; Richard Romanus · Weehawk; David Proval · Necron 99/Peace; Steve Gravers · Blackwolf; James Connell · President; Mark Hamill · Sean; Christopher Tayback · Peewhitle
- Genres
- animated; science fantasy; fantasy; science fiction; adventure; satirical
- Themes
- moral ambiguity of technology; destructive powers of propaganda; nuclear war; fascism
- Tone and mood
- psychedelic; freaky; ominous; camp
- Setting
- A post-apocalyptic Earth featuring the idyllic land of Montagar and the dark land of Scortch.
- Premise and plot tags
- magic vs technology; post-apocalyptic; fantasy adventure; allegory
- Source material / true-story basis
- Concept for an unproduced television series called Tee-Witt and a pitch for War Wizards.
- Reception
- The film received a mixed reception, described as a psychedelic trip with an on-the-nose metaphor. It was successful in theaters that showed it and developed a worldwide audience.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6/10 · scale: 10 · review count: 28
- Production trivia
- Mark Hamill's film debut occurred around the same time as his casting in Star Wars.; Ralph Bakshi paid for unfinished battle sequences out of his own pocket.; The title was changed from 'War Wizards' to 'Wizards' at George Lucas's request to avoid conflict with Star Wars.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…