A Wish for Wings That Work
Encyclopedia
On December 13, 1991, an animated special was released. It was directed by Skip Jones and was produced by Steven Spielberg
's Amblimation
animation studio for Universal Cartoon Studios. It was then given a DVD
release for the first time on November 6, 2007.
gave the special a positive review, saying that it "crams a lot of action and intelligence into its half-hour". She also praised the animation and vocal performances.
Breathed, who was credited as the writer and executive producer
of the special, was disappointed with the overall results. His displeasure with the special was shown in a 2003 Washington Post interview where someone asked where a copy of the special can be found on VHS or DVD. Breathed's response was:
Hopefully in the rubbish pail. We can do better than that and we will with an eventual Opus film.. but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I presume your family was on speed when they watched it. I would imagine it helps.
In a later 2007 interview, Breathed claims that the reason he dislikes the special was simply "unspectacular ratings" and his humour "wasn't meant for television, even if it was done right." Another reason was his "lack of writing experience" and the director was way over his head. He stated that he wanted Sterling Holloway
to provide the voice for Opus.
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Amblimation
Amblimation
Amblimation was the animation production arm of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and was active from 1989 until about 1997.The feature animation studio was located in London, England, UK...
animation studio for Universal Cartoon Studios. It was then given a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release for the first time on November 6, 2007.
Critical reception
Lisa Horowitz of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
gave the special a positive review, saying that it "crams a lot of action and intelligence into its half-hour". She also praised the animation and vocal performances.
Breathed, who was credited as the writer and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
of the special, was disappointed with the overall results. His displeasure with the special was shown in a 2003 Washington Post interview where someone asked where a copy of the special can be found on VHS or DVD. Breathed's response was:
Hopefully in the rubbish pail. We can do better than that and we will with an eventual Opus film.. but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I presume your family was on speed when they watched it. I would imagine it helps.
In a later 2007 interview, Breathed claims that the reason he dislikes the special was simply "unspectacular ratings" and his humour "wasn't meant for television, even if it was done right." Another reason was his "lack of writing experience" and the director was way over his head. He stated that he wanted Sterling Holloway
Sterling Holloway
Sterling Price Holloway, Jr. was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television programs. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company...
to provide the voice for Opus.