Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done (1975)

Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done is a 1975 British animated film musical, based on the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.

The comically convoluted plot is a pastiche of many in the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, particularly Trial by Jury, The Sorcerer, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe and The Mikado, in which the principal character, Able Seaman Dick Deadeye, is sent by Queen Victoria on a quest to recover the "Ultimate Secret" from the Sorcerer, who has stolen it. The music is borrowed from many Savoy operas, with the orchestrations being updated in a contemporary (for 1975) popular style.

Animation was by Bill Melendez, who produced the Charlie Brown television cartoons, based on character drawings by veteran cartoonist Ronald Searle. The film's release was accompanied by the original release of a deluxe-jacketed LP soundtrack recording and a colourful storybook by Jeremy Hornsby, with colourful Searle-inspired art.

Synopsis

Queen Victoria sends Dick Deadeye (Victor Spinetti), a sailor, to recover the "Ultimate Secret" from two thieves, the Sorcerer (Peter Reeves) and his reptilian henchman, the Shameleon. They are trying to sell it to the Pirate King (George Cooper, sung Ian Samwell). At a military parade ("Entrance of the Peers"), Dick sees the Sorcerer speaking with the Pirate King. There, Nanki (John Newton, sung Casey Kelly) sees his evil twin brother Poo (same), who is picking pockets. Dick goes for backup to headquarters, the Hexagon ("Here's a how-dee-do"), finding the Captain (Peter Reeves) and the Major-General (Francis Ghent, sung John Baldry; "I am the very model of a modern major general").

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