Azur et Asmar

'Azur & Asmar' is a beautifully told story of two young boys, one French,the other Arab,growing up in North Africa years ago,with the same dream of finding the Princess Djinn. When the two boys grow older, the Father of the young French boy takes his young son away from his life long friend. The young Frenchman finds himself on a desert island (or so he thinks),where he acts the part of a blind wandering beggar. Along the way,he befriends a rather crass Englishman (also a beggar),and manages to re-connect with his past (I won't spoil the rest of the plot for you). This is yet,another fine example of 3D CGI animation,done to perfection. Michel Ocelot writes & directs this charming little fairy tale,which also teaches young children about just how evil racism really is & how we should,as a people,live as one. Tagged a PG rating by the MPAA,this film does contain a few scary moments that could be a bit frightening to very young children,as well as some unpleasant moments of racism

I have seen many great animated tales - from Wall-E, Cars, Ratatouille, Curse of the Were Rabbit, Spirited Away, Belleville Rendezvous, Princess Mononoke, to Ghost in the Shell, Aladdin, Waking Life, The Lord of the Rings and Peter and the Wolf.

This is film has some great qualities of all the above. Firstly the story telling is charming, and time is spent on the characters from the beginning. The animation is more Belleville Rendezvous than Wall-E but it is an exquisitely unique experience as a result.

In this film the intensity always took me by surprise. The incredible contrast of blue eyes, a silhouette frame against the night sky. The intricate detailing of eastern architectures. The vivid saturation of colours. The use of light and dark and colour in particular is possibly the most beautiful of any animation I have ever seen. It had a wonderfully natural quality to the character animation - like the older Disney films, but with striking backgrounds and detailing.

Also interesting is the constant interplay between western and eastern cultures. The dialogue is at times both beautiful, quirky and thoughtful.

I'd recommend this if you have an interest in other cultures, beautiful drawing and quirky storytelling.

The story and setting for this French animated film, in which two childhood friends travel through a semi-mythical land on a quest to find the Djinn fairy, reminded me strongly of The Alchemist, a story written by Paolo Coelho. The tale is not quite as timeless as Coelho's novel but the film conjures a similar magic. This is in large part due to the jaw-dropping visual style, which is quite unlike anything else I have seen.

The characters look superb, with luscious colours applied uniformly across clothing and intricate jewellery glinting marvellously. The range of settings is more dazzling still, ranging from green fields jam-packed with flowers and seedpods to bustling market towns to breathtakingly ornate palaces. There are innumerable wondrous images to recount and many clever visual touches such as the exaggerated proportions bestowed upon wildlife, including an enormous horse and a tiny cat.

Unfortunately, I think that the translation of the film for English audiences has diluted some of the original message. This is most notable in the character of Crapoux, whose snobbery is used partly to propagate the film's message of cultural understanding. The scene where Crapoux derides foreign cookery next to that of his native country might be plausible when he is speaking in French. However, an English-speaking character deriding foreign foods against traditional English fare such as apple sauce seems rather surreal and amusing in way that the writers surely did not intend. (This is not to say that the English are strangers to cultural snobbery.) A further problem I had with the film was the ending, which was fairly predictable and therefore suffered from being so drawn-out. Nevertheless, I was greatly relieved to be spared the song-and-dance ending that typifies so many modern animations. The absence of any pop culture references was also refreshing (Pixar take note).

I was moved to tears by this simple yet so aesthetically pleasing fairy tale. The moral of the story is not layered too thickly on top, but still there's no way round it: this is about respect, tolerance, prejudice and open-mindedness.

The oriental influence in style, music,language........is wonderfully inspiring and is a very much needed anti-dote for the negative light in which the Mediterranean cultures are usually presented.

Beautiful music (and silence!); splashes of color; a very tactile movie.

Absolutely a favorite for me and my children!

I remember watching it years ago with my class and I thought the movie is interesting.

But then looking back at it, it is still good.

Sure the animation is kinda poor, even if it was made in a low-budget. But it still has some great visuals and beautiful shots.

I enjoy the characters and the story as well.

So yeah, it was a nice to come back to this movie after years.