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Oh, great King Nod, have no fear. Zigzag, your Grand Vizier, is here.
~ Zigzag presenting himself to King Nod's presence.

Zigzag, also known as Zigzag the Grand Vizier, is the secondary antagonist of the 1993 animated fantasy film The Thief and the Cobbler.

He is King Nod's former Grand Vizier, and later King Mighty One-Eye's henchman, who usually speaks in rhymes in a manipulating fashion before allying himself with the notorious One-Eyes. He also has a pet vulture named Phido, whom he abuses and rarely feeds.

He was voiced by the late Vincent Price (in his final role), who also portrayed Cardinal Richelieu in the 1948 film adaptation of The Three Musketeers, Ivan Igor in the 1953 remake of House of Wax, Mr. Scratch in The Story of Mankind, King Richard III in the 1962 remake of The Tower of London, Prince Prospero in the 1964 adaptation of The Masque of the Red Death, Dr. Goldfoot in Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Egghead in the 1960s Batman TV series, Matthew Hopkins in Witchfinder General, Lord Edward Whitman in Cry of the Banshee, Anton Phibes in The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Edward Lionheart in Theater of Blood, one of the Sub-humans in Fire and Ice, Sinister Man in Bloodbath at the House of Death, himself in Escapes, Professor Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective and Phantom in the Disneyland Paris attraction Phantom Manor.

Biography[]

At the beginning of the film, Zigzag accidentally stepped on one of Tack's nails and had him taken to the palace, intending to have his head cut off. He was planning to marry Princess Yum-Yum, who he lusted after, while also allowing him to become king and take over the kingdom. When Tack (who was fixing Princess Yum-Yum's shoe) chases after the Thief (who stole it), he runs into Zigzag, who takes the opportunity to lock him in a cell. Later in the film (in the original workprint), he takes Phido into Tack's cell to have him eaten, but he had to leave due to being summoned by King Nod.

After the Thief stole the three golden balls that protected the Golden City and lost them, Zigzag sent his sycophants to retrieve them. He asked King Nod for Princess Yum-Yum's hand in marriage should he return the Golden Balls, but King Nod laughs him off and refuses, much to Zigzag's fury. Out of spite, Zigzag defects to the One-Eyes by heading to their camp, where he allied himself with King Mighty One-Eye by charming his alligators via promising them tasty food and giving him the Golden Balls. In return for Zigzag's help, King One-Eye was to leave the Princess alive and in Zigzag's hands.

With the Golden Balls under his grasp, Mighty One-Eye had his men formulate an attack by utilizing a giant war machine for the balls; he even forced Zigzag to ride in the front during the battle. However, Tack sets off a chain reaction that destroyed the war machine and killed many One-Eyes, much to both Mighty One-Eye and Zigzag's fury. Zigzag then attempted to kidnap Princess Yum-Yum, but Tack defeats him in combat by tying his robe to his hands while several Brigands (who were befriended by Tack and Yum-Yum) manage to defeat several One-Eye soldiers in combat.

Arabian Knight Pt 7 0002

Zigzag is eaten alive

Following the deaths of Mighty One-Eye and his men, Zigzag fell into a dark pit after stepping on another tack, meeting the hungry alligators (joined in by Phido), all angry about Zigzag not keeping his word to feed them. They start devouring Zigzag alive. Realizing now that he has finally lost, Zigzag then accepts his fate just as Phido finally eats his head off.

Script Differences[]

In the original cut, King Nod angrily refused Zigzag's request to marry Yum Yum and banished the sorcerer from the Kingdom. In the later cut, King Nod bursts into laughter and explains that never in a million years, would a practioneer of Black Magic be allowed to marry the Princess, intended to marry a man pure of heart.

Appearance[]

Zigzag is a skinny humanoid with light blue skin, baggy green eyes, a black beard, six fingers, and a thumb per hand with several colored rings on his fingers. He wears a large-sleeved black robe with gold trimming, and long shoes that extend as he walks.

Personality[]

Arabian Knight pt 4 0001

Zigzag asking for Yum Yum's hand in marriage.

Zigzag is a cruel, scheming, manipulative, deceitful, and pompous sorcerer. A wicked and greedy individual, he grows determined to get whatever he wants and never takes no for an answer. He became very blasphemous, perfidious, calculating, hypocritical, and materialistic when he teamed up with King Mighty One-Eye to take over the Golden City by force.

Although he describes himself as a sorcerer, his magic is fairly delicate and weak, and he occasionally slips up on his tricks. He relies more on smooth-talking and manipulation to get what he wants, dazzling people with an impressive performance to convince them that he is more powerful than they think.

Interestingly, despite wanting to marry Princess Yum-Yum in order to become king of the Golden City, Zigzag is shown to have a genuine crush on the princess. He'd become so softhearted for her that he'll abide by whatever she requests, and while he did team up with One-Eye to destroy the Golden City, he humbly asked that Yum-Yum be spared.

Quotes[]

Have no fear, have no fear, Zigzag the Grand Vizier is here!
~ The lyrics to Zigzag's entrance song.
Oh, greatest king of all the Earth, this lowborn cobbler of no worth attacked me in the square today...shall we take his head away?
~ Zigzag plans to decapitate the Cobbler for a simple accident.
We'll see who wins at the end of the day, we'll see who ends up grieving! I'll go to the One-Eyes right away, I'm taking the balls and LEAVING!!
~ Zigzag angrily defecting to the One-Eyes after being denied of his request to marry Yum-Yum.
The camp of the One-Eyes... how very nice! Perhaps they'll be willing to pay my price! I'll have those barbarians kissing my feet! (to Phido who squawks begging for food) And maybe, we'll find you something to eat... eh, Phido? (The One-Eye's soldiers appear, putting their spears at his throat) Gentlemen, gentlemen, what a delight to meet you all here on such a fine night.
Oh, Mighty One-Eye… I, I, I am Zigzag the Great of the Golden Land!
~ Zigzag introducing himself to King Mighty One-Eye.
One little mistake will suffice! Don't treat me lightly twice! Take me to your master!
~ Zigzag to One-Eye's army after taming King Mighty One-Eye's alligators.
The greatest wizard has to know exactly when it's time to… AAAHHHHHH!!!!!
~ Zigzag before accidentally stepping on a nail, which causes him to fall into the crocodiles' lair.
My friends, my friends! Are you still here? I haven't fed you yet, I fear. Oh, my bottom, oh, my top! You greedies, don't you ever STOP?! (Phido arrives at the scene) You too, Phido? Man's best friend. For Zigzag, then, it is… the end.
~ Zizgag's final words after accepting his fate of being devoured by Phido and the alligators.

Trivia[]

  • He was the last character to be voiced by Vincent Price. The film was initially released in Australia on September 23, 1993 (one month before his death from Parkinson's disease on October 25 that same year at the age of 82), which would make this his final role.
  • In all three versions of the film, Zigzag's role, voice, and death are the same.
  • The reason why Zigzag only speaks in rhymes and verses is because of one of the earliest versions of the script, which featured all the dialogue written in verses. This aspect would be scrapped down the line, but it retained itself on Zigzag's lines.
  • Zigzag had likely inspired the villain Jafar from Disney's Aladdin. Both of them are evil magical advisers to the king, want to take his place as king, marry his beautiful daughter, have a talking bird as a right-hand man, and kill the hero.
    • Coincidentally, Zigzag's voice actor Vincent Price also voiced Ratigan from Disney's The Great Mouse Detective, which was previously directed by Ron Clements and John Musker (the directors of Aladdin).
  • During the development of The Majestic Fool, a scrapped animated movie from the 1960s that would eventually become The Thief and the Cobbler, Zigzag was originally known as "Anwar", who served as the Grand Vizier to the King of Persia, as well as the main antagonist.
  • According to the Richard Williams documentary "The Thief Who Never Gave Up", Williams said that he based Zigzag on two people he despised. Their names were not revealed by Williams but it is rumored they were Omar Ali Shah and Idries Shah, who were the producers of the film during the Nasrudin era of production.
  • In said documentary, Williams kept redesigning Zigzag to have larger shoulders, giving him a "vulture-like appearance".
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