My lady and I watched the whole DVD last night and we both really enjoyed it. I had actually never even heard of The Thief and the Cobbler before this project, to my surprise, so it's all been new to me. I have to say it's now one of my favorite animated pieces of all time. I don't care for anime-style animation (can't stand it, actually) so this was quite a treat for me since it seems like everything traditionally animated these days is either anime or highly-influenced by anime. This film is unique. Some of the sequences are absolutely mind-blowing, especially when the Cobbler chases the Thief through the palace. What a fantastic piece of work, and what a difficult task it must have been to restore it to even this state.

I'm glad the trailer for Arabian Knight was included on there as well, as it gave me a chance to see how terrible that version was without having to actually watch it. I wanted to puke when Princess Yum Yum started singing that schmaltzy song, or when the Cobbler opened his stupidly animated mouth to say "I'm Tack!" It's like seeing the Mona Lisa "finished" with finger paints... the leaning Tower of Pisa straightened and turned into a McDonald's... the Star Wars trilogy "enhanced" with newly created digital--er, I think you know what I mean.

Consider me a new fan of the film. I'm sold. And now I must add my voice to the voices of those clamoring for a truly restored Director's Cut of the film in the future.

--SKot

P.S. - regarding Roy Disney, as I understand it: yes he resigned from Disney in disgust in 2003, but more recently came back on board again after a successful campaign against Michael Eisner's handling of the company ended with Michael Eisner finally stepping down as CEO (hooray!), and changes being made on the board of directors. His return bodes well for fans of Disney's traditional animation, and he could be the best hope for seeing both a Thief and the Cobbler director's cut *and* the eventual release of Song of the South on DVD, among other things.