A big part in my film/TV viewing since growing up,I've always been sad that despite their biggest creations out on DVD, Cosgrove Hall's output still remains tragically overlooked. Thinking of a title to watch for my 1,500th IMDb review,I decided to reunite with Cosgrove Hall's fool of the world.The plot:Wanting to give any would-be husband a challenge, Tsar Nicolai and his daughter Princess Alexei decide that she will get married to the man who can make a ship fly in the sky. After declaring this, Nicolai and Alexei challenge is heard across the whole of Russia. Whilst he works in the farm helping his family, Peter's brothers take the family savings and promise to return with the Princess. Unknown to Peter, his brothers have used the challenge as a way to steal the family gold. Going in search of his brothers, Peter crosses paths with a shaman in the woods. Taken by Peter's kind offering of food,the shaman (who had earlier met the brothers) creates a flying ship out of feathers for Peter. Before setting off for the palace, the Shaman tells Peter that he must let anyone who wants to go on the ship join. Flying to the palace,Peter picks up various people who want to share their skills with Nicolai. Landing at the palace,Peter and his fellow travellers discover that they have flown into new challenges.View on the film:Sailing over Nicolai's palace, director Francis Vose gives this Cosgrove Hall production an immaculate attention to detail,from care clearly being shown towards the smallest detail of each character ( from the arrows of Sharp Shooter,to the food made by Mrs Woodcutter.) and the palace being covered with glittering gold. Done in a stop-motion animation style, Vose makes the style look remarkably flexible, with tracking shots running down the corridors of the palace.Bringing the Fantasy magic out of the tale, Vose conjures the ship with an incredibly subtle use of CGI which makes the creation of the ship sequence sparkle. Whilst some of them are on the large side, Vose makes the legs and limbs are the characters look incredibly fragile,with close-ups displaying the smooth facial expressions. Joined by memorable songs from composer Mike Harding, the screenplay by John Hambley writers an enchanting tale, with the skills of each visitor leading to thrilling challenges from Nicolai.Running under an hour,Hambley fills the film with enough events for two hours, as Hambley cleverly uses the challenge set by Nicolai to give everyone their moment,and also cast a warmth between Alexei and Peter. Introducing the tale, David Suchet gives a superb performance as the narrator, with Suchet giving a richness to the animation in his narration, as the fool of the world flies into view.

I reviewed this film many years ago when it came out on videocassette for School Library Journal. As the other reviewer stated, the animation was extraordinary for 1990; the entire production was beautiful including the sets, the puppets' clothing, the voice-over acting; the narration by David Suchet, etc. Based on a Russian folktale, the production stays true to Russian culture of a by-gone era. Young peasant boy Pyotr receives aid from magical beings and people in order to fly a magic ship to the Czar's palace. There he hopes to win the hand of the princess by accomplishing three impossible tasks. I still own the videocassette as this is still one of the best animated films I have ever seen.

THE FOOL OF THE WORLD AND THE FLYING SHIP is probably Cosgrove Hall's most recognizable and charming story ever featured. Making its debut appearance on the PBS series, LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY, this story is truly a classic that both adults and children will love for many years.THE FOOL OF THE WORLD AND THE FLYING SHIP is a beautiful tale about a young man named Pyotr who's kindness towards an old man and with help from six unusual super humans, eventually leads him to the Czar's winter palace so that he can take the Czar's daughter hand in marriage.The animation is superb as the creators effectively use puppet animation to make this story more creative and realistic to look at. This story will be an instant treat for the young and old and also check out for the Rabbit Ears' version of this tale, narrated by Robin Williams which is called RABBIT EARS- THE FOOL AND THE FLYING SHIP.

I saw this when it came out in the early '90's and was very impressed by the animation, voices and story. The kids will like the adventure while adults will appreciate the way each character is uniquely portrayed. And it even teaches the kids about greed and friendship.