The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Blistering performances.

So I saw this film during the summer (not my decision, by the way)and I have to say, there is so much wrong with this film. I am completely and utterly incredulous of the people who said it was amazing.First of all, the animation is poor. Very poor. The characters are so stiff most of the time and there is no attention to detail. I feel like I'm watching corpses being dragged around. I think there was only one character that seemed alive at all and he was just some throw-away comedy relief character. Also, the timing is either way too slow or way too fast. The 3D modelling is boring as hell. Everything just looks so plastic and yucky. The lighting is boring - it's like they just used a single light in the scene and went "finished!".It also seems like the filmmaker's didn't know how to make storyboards or learn anything about composition because the mise en scene sucks. There are scenes where characters are standing perfectly still in profile view for several minutes at a time for no other reason than that they were too lazy to render out scenes from a different angle. I couldn't even see their facial expressions properly. Everything is framed so lazily and it feels like somebody just threw it together in the last minute. The music was nothing particularly exceptional. It felt really cheap, like some composer decided "Nevermind - I'll just download some stuff from incompetech" (Actually, I take that back because Incompetech does have some legitimately decent stuff). The voice acting was not the worst I've heard, but it was pretty bland (oh boy, is this movie bland). Oh, the subtitles - they only translated the parts in french. I don't know if it was intentional to leave out the bits in arabic, but there seemed to be entire scenes in that language. It left the audience pretty confused (except for the ones who knew arabic, of course).I don't even remember too much of the story to be honest. It was so boring and meandering that I just couldn't care. The characters were unengaging and the dialogue didn't help. Maybe if there were a more talented, more competent group of people to adapt this story, maybe it would work. However we got this and this sucks big time. I'm unashamed of my bias against this film. You need only watch the trailer and just see for yourself the nastiness of the quality.You know what saddens me even more? The budget for this film was roughly 2.5 million euros higher than 'The Secret of Kells' which is just so mindblowingly beautiful, especially compared to this garbage. I'm giving it 3 out of ten to be generous.

I recall the trailer of "Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest" was impressive, hence I made it a point to catch it when it's briefly showing at the local indie theaters. It was 99 minutes well-spent and more when writer-director Michel Ocelot appeared at the closing credits. We learned that he created the animation in Photoshop, it was a 6-year effort to have the feature length completed, distributed and first released in France in 2006. The drawings are beautifully detailed and in brilliant colors, depicting a thoughtful dramatic story that exudes fairytale adventure qualities and encompasses cultural diversity themes.Azur is fair-skinned and blue-eyed, and Asmar is dark-skinned and dark-eyed. Both are brought up by Asmar's mother who is also nurse-mother to Azur. When they grew up, together they became fascinated with the legend (as told by mother Jénane, voice of Hiam Abbass who's the mother in "The Visitor" 2007) and pursuit of the rescue to the Djinn Fairy. In their adventures, they met and gained the allied assistance of the agile, energetic little Princess Chamsous Sabah, and accompanied by the goggle-eyed opportunist Crapoux. The adventure segment reminds me of Tarsem Singh's "The Fall" (2006), its visually exotic elements and magical characters. The challenges they encounter and have to resolve one by one are reminiscent of the excitement and anticipation in "The Lord of the Rings" series. The conclusion is nothing short of the grandeur and sparkles of Disney-fare court finale as in "Beauty and the Beasts" or "Sleeping Beauty." Yes, definite an animation to enjoy (on the DVD, there is English version which is free from distraction of subtitle-reading.) Also available on DVD, do check out the other marvelously original and worthwhile writing & direction of Michel Ocelot's animation feature: "Kirikou and the Sorceress" (1998) - simply entertaining story & adventure with (tiny) little Kirikou, including intelligently instilled cultural diversity points of view, subtle or not. Aptly paced music again enhanced Ocelot's skillful storytelling, both enjoyable for children and adults as well.

'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 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!