him. Using his magic, Nekron forces the prince and his delegation to kill each other. Larn infiltrates the ice fortress, but fails to retrieve Teegra and is rescued by Darkwolf. They travel to Firekeep to inform Jarol, who decides to give them time to penetrate Icepeak and rescue his daughter until the glacier crosses the border to his realm, forcing him to release the lava from the volcano to destroy the advancing ice. With some help from Jarol's dragon hawk riders, they assault the fortress, but only Darkwolf manages to reach Nekron. Larn, stranded midway during the attack, finally finds and rescues Teegra from Juliana. Darkwolf slays Nekron, but Nekron's dying agony expands the glacier explosively, prompting Jarol to open the volcano's valves. The lava flow swiftly overcomes the glacier, obliterating Icepeak, Juliana, and the subhuman army. Larn and Teegra barely succeed in escaping the cataclysm. When they encounter a wounded subhuman, Larn prepares to kill him, but Teegra stops him and they embrace with a kiss. From atop a cliff, a smiling Darkwolf briefly watches the pair, then disappears. Cast Production By 1982, fantasy films had proven to be considerably successful at the box office, including The Beastmaster and Conan the Barbarian, and Bakshi had a desire to work with long-time friend and fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta. Bakshi received $1.2 million to finance Fire and Ice from some of the same investors as American Pop, and 20th Century-Fox agreed to distribute the film based upon the financial longevity of Wizards. Because Fire and Ice was the most action-oriented story Bakshi had directed up until that point, rotoscoping was again used, and the realism of the animation and design replicated Frazetta's artwork. Bakshi and Frazetta were heavily involved in the production of the live-action sequences, from casting sessions to the final shoot. The film's crew included background artists James Gurney and Thomas Kinkade, layout artist Peter Chung, and established Bakshi Productions artists Sparey, Steven E. Gordon, Bell and Banks. Chung strongly admired Bakshi and Frazetta's work, and animated his sequences on the film while simultaneously working for The Walt Disney Company. Reception Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "If you love comic books but can't bear the unnecessary bother of turning pages, 'Fire and Ice' [...] may be for you. It would help if you were a sex-obsessed 12-year old boy, but it isn't essential." Gene Siskel of