TV Reviews : Robin Williams Shines in Showtime’s ‘Tales’

The kick-off of Showtime’s new animated children’s series, “We All Have Tales: The Fool and the Flying Ship” (tonight at 7:30), is delectable viewing--for any age.

In “The Fool and the Flying Ship,” comic genius Robin Williams does full justice to the Russian folk tale, a sublimely ridiculous saga of a foolish peasant boy who sets out to win the czar’s daughter by accomplishing impossible tasks.

Williams’ absurdities are surpassed only by Henrik Drescher’s out-of-this-world illustrations. The award-winning children’s book artist has created anatomy and landscapes not to be found on this Earth, where noses defy description, everything defies gravity and snaggle-toothed grins and grimaces cleave faces almost in two.

That sense of the bizarre is highlighted by limited, cross-dissolve animation techniques. The rest of the prime ingredients include writer Eric Mataxas’ colorful adaptation of the tale and the musical romp provided by the Klezmer Conservatory Band.