Don Bluth's Jawbreaker

[wildbilltexas]

Don Bluth never topped The Secret of NIMH. Too much of his later work has an cloying over-sweetness for the kids that annoyed the hell out of me.

[TheHartzler]

Outstanding, It is simply amazing.

"JawBreaker" a story of a boy that seeks to find a magical tooth, that belonged to a power dragon named JawBreaker, those who held the tooth, will command JawBreaker to do what he or she commands him to do. Now that is more original.

I wish it was realsed on DVD in the 21st Century.

[ApacheMan2K]

Was this a pitch for a movie project? Somehow, this also reminds me of some scenes from "Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp", particularly the ones based on "Alice in Wonderland".

[velociraptor4you]

Hey, Don, I'm a big fan of you and your films, having watched them from since I was a kid. Your animation style is full of gritty, good, adult-type drama even though all of your films are aimed at younger audiences. Do you think you CAN do an adult-oriented movie, say a remake of a live action/animated movie back in 1992 that everyone thought sucked? No, I'm not talking about "Rock-a-Doodle," but a remake of Ralph Bakshi's "Cool World?"

[Kurama9137]

Does anyone else think Don has the potential to do an animated horror movie?

[Kitsuneranger]

You can't handle the tooth!

[FR3DKRU3G3R]

O.o did I just take drugs?

[HexSabre]

I love your style, Don! It's just so fun, magical, and alive. I don't know how else to describe it. I've noticed characters are always moving, always doing something... no one sits still. It's very... detailed and fluid animation!

[Harlemlate]

@midoribari Same Here. Hell this is better then disney.

[flux688]

this must be what happens when there's no one to rein in don bluth. crazy, crazy, wonderful man.

[weirdproq1]

Somehow I think this would have been like Dragon's Lair.

[wileyk209zback]

This almost makes no sense! It's like the plot suddenly keeps changing. Classic Don Bluth!

[OurGangFan]

@wileyk209zback This was unfinished!

[wileyk209zback]

@OurGangFan I know; but even if it's unfinished, this sample has the plot constantly changing

[MrRayquazaking]

@midoribari Its not like we loved him already.

[rawrvintageisclassic]

i would love to see this film in theaters!! Don Bluth should go back and animate at least one more film for his devoted fans!! :3

[Eszra]

This is cool!

[NCfanboy1]

0:14 DID THEY JUST KILL OFF A BABY!? Harsh!

[ChrisJohnsonMuzak]

He used bits of animation from his other films! Omigosh! Definitely The Secret of NIMH, and Thumbelina. This is awesome.

[BedOfRazors25]

@ChrisJohnsonMuzak And a bit of the environment from the Land Before Time. :)

[altarush]

This would have made a better t.v movie and a cartoon series.

[altarush]

@raymontmasse He left when they were doing that.

[bittercokejjang]

awesome! wanna see the whole movie

[animeforever243]

Beautiful animation...but the story makes next to no sense...

[themodernguitarist]

@animeforever243

Was probably just a short film to show off some animation, I guess.

[mewt66]

that would have been a good movie but sadly it didint

[WillisFilms1]

Well that whole traier was basically a Don Bluth movie.

[aquelescaraaaaaaaaaa]

0:16 i love that bit,

the way he moves, the way he talks, the voice actor is great,

it's just epic.

[KitsuneLexi12]

I miss cartoons like this. :(

[gbindahouse94]

If this video is anything to go by, I swear this was supposed to by Bluth's own parody of Dragon's Lair. I mean, glowing sword at random 'reaction' moments, danger at every moment, I know a lot of Don's films were active and sometimes insane but whoa!

[godstomper]

I miss cel animation.

[Psycotiger]

I notice that the descriptions states this is "a clip from a piece that was never released" but I don't see anything that says it was never finished.

[kratos1235]

Never before have I been so interested in something I know so little about

[KennethMoreland]

The inside of that monster's mouth as the same thing he used in Dragon's Lair II : Time Warp

[blackwaterII]

That was a trailer!? D: PS: The little boy sounds just like Fievel from "An American Tale." Maybe the same actor.

[faninnarnia]

what film is this?

[PekosBilj89]

what the fuck mr bluth... WHAT THE FFFFFFFFFFFFF...uck???

[wileyk209zback]

I wonder what year this was made? I am guessing it is from either 1983 or 1984; looks like this came right after "Secret of NIMH"

[cheezemonkeyeater]

I don't know what I just saw.

[20jonysisjustenough]

DID THE MOTHER MOUSE AND BABY MOUSE JUST DISSINTEGRATE!? WTF!!!!

[peterfinnfilms]

I hope this gets completed and released. If only so I can find out WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!

[Progearspec]

Ok i'm lost was this supose to be a movie or another fmv game !? Either way this sure would scare the heck out of kids.

[TheProudAmerican777]

I still don't get this. and this is the 7th time I watched it.

this is seriosly something out of an acid trip.

[GoblinXXX]

@TheProudAmerican777 Sometimes it's a GOOD thing that something doesn't get released.

[TheProudAmerican777]

@GoblinXXX yep no kidden.

[quiktymevideo]

I have no idea what I just saw, but now I really want to see this Jawbreaker.

[metalgodaragona1986]

Don Bluth should animate GWAR!

[MasterXcon]

so random awesome.

[femoman]

Well.....that was a BLAM if I ever saw it!

[wileyk209zback]

@femoman I know; if this were made as a movie or something, the Nostalgia Critic would have a field day reviewing this!

[TheSara12525]

i love the way Don Bluth made his characters have their mouths move and their body so very differently.

[charmy97]

@TheSara12525 I notice that when I was a kid too.

[MuffinGirl94]

Wha.........

[derBene]

There's so much going on, so alive. :) Probably got addicted to this as a kid when I was watching Secret of Nimh.

[keepabreast98]

Albeatz:Don Bluth,Please make Dragon's Lair 3 and call it Haunted Amusement Park.

[ScReWaTtAcKeD]

Dear Bluth,

Do your own rendition of Braindead 13 in full Bluth glory... now.

Sincerely,

ScReWaTtAcKeD

[ilovenanako2008]

This is the perfect Bluth style

[DonaldvsSephy]

....What the hell did I just watch? 

[DarknessNight]

cool stuff

[IWasAPepper]

I wish this was released. It looks like pure Don Bluth magic

[Movie06]

What is this? What was this supposed to be?

[heine71]

@Movie06 Maybe an unreleased animated movie or laser disc video game in the style of Dragon's Lair/Space Ace?

[ryoshockwave]

@heine71 Yeah, looks like it could have been.

[SailorTaurus]

"Find the tooth!"

"Who has it?"

"I do."

"WE HAVE IT!"

Fastest scavenger hunt ever.

[teqnoqueen]

It's too bad this was never released. :(

[Luffyrulz09]

Adventure Time, Regular Show, Yellow Submarine, Superjail, Rock-a-Doodle, Robot Chicken, Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, Across the Universe, and freakin We are the Strange...

are all SOBER compared to this. LOL

[ekf501]

aww poor little things,

as always Don Bluth's work is phenomenal, beautiful face and head movement

[SATURDAYateSUNDAY]

don bluth sure dose have a thing for dragons

[SATURDAYateSUNDAY]

find the tooth and you will find jaw breaker

who has this magical tooth!?

MUTHER FUCKER NO ONE SAID IT WAS MAGICAL JUST GET THE TOOTH

[etiscool1]

Why was this never released? The animation's kick ass and I like some of Bluth's work.

[wileyk209zback]

Boy, Don Bluth sure loved exaggerating characters' lip movements in his early stuff didn't he? (especially when the boy sticks his tongue out or when bigger characters let their mouths swing to the side)

[fuwwyfootpaws]

Everything happens so fast^^ I would have loved to see this released

[Deadboltt]

Wat.

[toadRayParkMaul]

this would of done well even if it could of been released straight to video????

[muchlyJord]

CLASSIC! You can see Bluth in every bit of animation here; especially Jaw Breaker kind of reminds me of Nicodemus (but a lot more hammy, of course) and the kid could be a humanized blond Fievel. Wish I knew what happened in the end...

Also;

Random Merlin Mouse: "Find the tooth and you will find Jaw Breakerrr."

Kid: "Who has his magical tooth?"

Random Pig Head: "Haha, I do! HAHA!"

Kid: "We have the tooth!"

Gosh, I love the randomness and the exaggeration.

[Robogabriel]

1:06 Wow, that kid learns fast, lol.

"JAW BREAKER! SEE IT!" Amazing, advertisers spend months coming up with movie taglines and here you are flat-out saying "see it." Give 'em a point for honesty.

Great animation! I can really feel the force and energy of the characters.

[MysteryAC]

.............

BIG LIPPED EVERYTHING MOMENT

[SplatUr789z]

I've been a big fan of Don Bluth throughout most of my life!

BTW, this looks awsome!

[idioticlisa]

:D I LOVE the way they animated the word "tooth"! :3 Mr.Bluth! Why not release this?

[pinkirishgoatz]

Bluth is awesome, even if this is strange lol

[Palmerholic]

The idea of a whole cartoon combining High Fantasy with Kiddie Adventure is very interesting, it's too bad this never got released in full.

[Gothichick3]

I really love how Don does the expressions of the characters such as the "th" thing with the tongue and how well the animation is. If only animations were only like this today

[cgsilverscreen2020]

@Gothichick3 I always stick my tounge out when I say Don Bluth. :P

[Dannyri101]

I am tempted to say that this is my favorite piece from Don Bluth... I don't know why- I really like that little boy and the idea of a character named Jaw Breaker searcher for a Tooth makes me happy!

It's really funny and random.. xD

[nhojproductions]

@Quidam Its a demonstration for a company to see if its worth purchasing without allowing others to steal the basic storyline

:)

[Guernicaman]

Is it me or does this use BGs from Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp? Or maybe Time Warp used BGs from this...Anyway, is there any animation from Don Bluth's other game Sea Beast?

[mario5733]

Wow, what the heck was all that, it is good animation for Don Bluth, but I was laughing consistently throughout, because this trailer (if that is what it is) made no sense, it was just so random. Whats the story??? lol

[SilverAquila]

Why on earth didn't they release the full movie? :O This isn't fair, I wanna see the whole thing!

[chickenwarrior]

This would definitely be a welcome comeback if redone. Strange it was never produced - it seems at least as solid and elaborate as Thumbelina and other later films.

[RedMetalSky]

Well I think if this did get produced it would have been like A Troll In Central Park though it does look a lot more interesting. It would be awesome though if this did get produced now, with Gake no Ue noPonyo, Coraline and The Princess And The Frog this would complete the late 80s early 90s animation revival for me.

[RedMetalSky]

Its cool though how this is kind of like watching all the Don Bluth movies chewed together and spit back out and not just the fact that you can see recycled sequences but how every part reminds me of a different movie.

[RedMetalSky]

The landscape is like The Land Before Time, The Dragon from Bartok The Magnificent, the pink things remind me of the mice from his movies, The blue guy is like Jenner a little bit, the kid reminds me of Edmond, and the floating scene reminds me of All Dogs Go to Heaven at the beginning with the Whippet Angel.

[Dragzilla66]

I wish Don Bluth makes another movie right now..

[TechnoHajikelist]

and if he did it should be a feature film version of "Dragon's Lair"

[Dragzilla66]

Yeah that would be awesome!

[Quidam]

I heard he's going too.

[batmous]

Classic Don Bluth

[namco003]

WTH!! I never even heard of this and it was 1 minute and 48 seconds of goodness!!

[slashermaster28]

Now I want him to actually release this film. This looks AWESOME!

[SmithyGCN]

I miss this animation style. <=/

It's so unique.

[mikecronis]

WOW wow wow wow! Amazingly great! So classic Don style! You can see Dragon's Lair influence here. My feeling is it was worked on around.. 1988? Don, you have a HUGE fan-base. Thank you for all your work!

[TheJediCharles]

I see a lot of Secret of Nimh as well. The running to the right at the beginning is nearly pulled directly from it (or vice versa). Go look at how Aunty Shrew is running through the farm warning the animals "the plow is here."

[jbrose40]

@TheJediCharles There is also a lot from 'An American Tail'. The end when the pier is on fire.

[TheJediCharles]

Yea, you're right. :)

[Opium1958]

I wish this had come out, I miss this kind of animation. Its almost like you have to take a step back in order to be inivative anymore

[MaveriKat]

Sir, I didn't realize you had a Youtube Channel. But to see this here, all I can say is, "Wow".

Darn, I miss the 80's...

[Draconis888]

This needs to be a new laserdisc game!!! Seriously!

[wersek]

brutal

[Dalen77]

Amazing animation, really good movement really polished.

[HorusRisen]

I am not one to say it "demands" any explanation, but that was fantastic. And deep.

[wolphintv]

(Jaw hits floor.)

Thank you so much for sharing this! But it demands elaboration. Can you tell us more about the story and origins of this project?

[AnonBskull]

Always good to see more of your work exposed to the public. You are a great cartoonist and I feel that the odds of finding another like yourself would probably be a long time.

[NotOrdinaryInGames]

Too bad... never released... what was it anyway... a movie???

[cgsilverscreen2020]

1:07 the old don bluth "th" tounge swing. :)

[Pennyadodumuss]

I couldn't find it on wikipedia.

[VinnyVanYiffy]

see it

I CAN'T

[iamsarahjo]

why not released? now i want to see it.:(

[Salukiara]

I really liked Don bulth as a kid, I still do like him. but I never hard of this video game of his.

[Jkgarrahan]

This is freaking awesome, reminds me of the Dragon's Lair and Space Ace games...Don, you are the best!

[TheAngelmisa]

wow!

this look awesome.^^

[MajorasFlask]

the enviorment had the dragons lair theme goin on

[HyperSonicSquall]

My mind has been blown away....

[memphiselle]

I love the character at 0:17!!!! But what is he supposed to be?

[wolphintv]

No idea, but he reminds me a little of Mok from "Rock and Rule".

[Jal8919536]

Resembles Jenner from "The Secret of NIMH" - same coloring, moody eyes, floating eyebrows - by same animator, no doubt.

[brermeerkat]

wow Don Bluth is great!

[FURRYFOX27]

ahh the scen is dubed from dragons lair II

[BoogsterSU]

Bluth's movies from the 70s - 90s are WAY awesome than those shitty new cartoons that are airing on TV right now. -.-

[Paperclown]

Don Bluth has been my favorite animator of all time. I love the exaggerated facial expressions like in the swinging mouth/tongue, etc.

I recognized the cat in this video's laugh being Mordroc, the time machines windup sound when the wall breaks down.

[KayneArcheron]

me too -- his animations can be about absolutely nothing, but the exaggerated way he does his characters will always keep me coming back =D

[PolyBrow]

According to Gary Goldman on Don Bluth's official website:

"Jawbreaker was a contracted 2 minute animated show reel which was done for Phil Mendez productions funded a German broadcaster, designs by Phil Mendez. I believe it was to be a presentation for the introduction of a new animation series. We haven't shown this clip since 1984. We found it in the archive and re-mastered it to a DVD. Someone on Animation Nation talked about seeing this back in the '80s."

[269]

wow havent seen this since west olive ...in 1989 love this piece

[Guernicaman]

Awesome. I've been a fan of Don Bluth's for as long as I can remember and I had never seen this. When was this made? Seems to borrow a lot from Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp. I even recognize some of the voice work (Mordroc's laugh) and even some of the staging is very similar.

[diadexxus]

Yay for dragons! I DO miss Don Bluth's art!!

[dragonheadthing]

Freaking Awesome!

[beerbeastredux]

BIG LIPPED ALLIGATOR MOMENT!

I like it despite the bizarreness. Don Bluth rules.

[rori16h]

@beerbeastredux Nostalgia Chick (and Critic) rules!

[InuKingdomFan]

...i have NO idea what i just saw... but... I liked it =D

[totallynothere]

Woah.. :D I want this to be a full movie now! that blue guy is AWESOME.. I love bluth.. jawbreaker is an awesome name too.. i wonder what he looks like

[KayneArcheron]

I kinda figured that king guy was Jawbreaker, but if he's not... I don't think I want to know who's nasty enough to command that guy.

[Demeterkitty]

I see a lot of the ideas that ended up in Dragon's Lair II. Wow :)

[omaz1690]

I was thinking the exact same thing

[Dapperpomade]

Excellence as always. Hope to see more hidden gems soon! Cheers

[Neonpremesis2]

Bluth's animation is like magic. I love it all so much.

[baryldrummer]

Yes, please come back. D: Gosh, the facial expressions and pure detail are amazing. Honestly, companies like Disney have fallen a long way. You need to come back and give them some hard competition. xD

[tabbyandy2]

Full of the magic of your animations from "secret of nimh","american tail" and "land before time". Why don't you do such things nowadays? I miss your style soooo much. Please return,Don Bluth....

[BossReo]

...I'm officially Tripping Balls now.

[brermeerkat]

"they found the tooth!"

[brermeerkat]

"I DON"T CARE IF I HAVE TO DESTROY THE WHOLE TOWN! find that tooth..these are the commands of the jawbreaker himself!" man he's creepy!

[RagtimeFreak86]

I had know idea what was going on but

This is truly animation Gold.

The world needs more Don Bluth

[SPEEDROKE]

fantastic animation style..............don bluth the best all the world...

[takineko]

haha, that made no sense. I loved it.

[ForbiddenDouchebag]

Great early piece, Don.

What was the key conception for "Jawbreaker"? Was this supposed to be another laserdisc game concept?

[Jaimetud]

Animation is top notch as always. Story... needs work. I should probably say that this looks like a young animator's proposal for what could make an awesome family film, but it just never got made.

When did you make this one? The quality looks great.