Blue Underground: New 4K Restoration of Ralph Bakshi’s Fire and Ice

From the director of the original animated The Lord of the Rings and the legendary illustrator behind Conan the Barbarian comes a creative lineage unlike anything else in animation history. Blue Underground has released a new promotional video for its exclusive 4K restoration of Ralph Bakshi’s Fire and Ice (1983), ahead of its highly anticipated release on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray this Spring. For fans of classic fantasy, adult animation, and cult cinema, this restoration marks a major event.

That same creative audacity fueled what became a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between two towering figures of fantasy art and animation. Bakshi, already known for pushing boundaries with Fritz the Cat, Wizards, and The Lord of the Rings, joined forces with Frank Frazetta, the definitive illustrator of Conan the Barbarian, Vampirella, and the iconic Edgar Rice Burroughs book covers. Together, they created Fire and Ice, a film that did not simply blur the line between animation and illustration but completely shattered it.

Ralph Bakshi fundamentally changed the animation landscape in the 1970s and 80s by breaking free from the Disney-dominated model and proving that animation could tackle gritty, mature, and socially relevant themes. As a pioneer of adult animation, Bakshi embraced controversy, realism, and raw emotion, often drawing from urban life and darker fantasy traditions. His innovative use of rotoscoping, experimental visuals, and unpolished intensity challenged artistic norms and inspired generations of animators to view animation as a serious storytelling medium rather than children’s entertainment.

Bakshi’s fearless approach was also evident during his tenure as producer and director on seasons two and three of the iconic 1967 Spider-Man animated series. Those episodes remain infamous and endlessly fascinating for their surreal, psychedelic, and frequently darker atmosphere. Working under extreme budget constraints, Bakshi reused animation, artwork, and even full plot structures from his earlier series, Rocket Robin Hood. The result was some of the most unconventional and occasionally bizarre visual choices ever seen in a mainstream superhero cartoon, helping to cement Spider-Man’s late 1960s run as a cult favorite.

Fire and Ice remains one of the most visually striking and unforgettable animated fantasy epics ever produced. The film plunges viewers into a raw, primal world where savage warriors, horrific monsters, and powerful, sensual heroines battle for the survival of an entire civilization. This is fantasy stripped of gloss and drenched in atmosphere, defined by stark contrasts of good and evil, pleasure and pain, and the eternal clash between ice and flame. Every frame pulses with Frazetta’s unmistakable artistic power, animated through Bakshi’s bold and experimental techniques.

The film also boasts an impressive voice cast, including William Ostrander from Christine, Maggie Roswell of The Simpsons, Steve Sandor from Stryker, Stephen Mendel of Jack Frost, and the unforgettable Susan Tyrrell from Cry-Baby. Now, Blue Underground presents Fire and Ice in a stunning new restoration, scanned in 4K 16-bit from the original camera negative. This definitive release features Dolby Vision HDR and a newly created Dolby Atmos audio mix, allowing audiences to experience this dark fantasy classic with unprecedented clarity, depth, and cinematic impact.