Wow, this is a REALLY bad movie!

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

You might think that the world's oldest existing animated feature would be primitive and crude, but Reiniger's Prince Achmed is stunning and ageless.The stills do not do it justice, you have to watch it in motion to see how much work and love Reiniger & co. put into it. The film is immaculately detailed, touching, and wonderfully brought to life with delicate movements that say so much using so little. If you see this with a good score, it is a very pleasurable experience indeed.This is not just for scholars of animation, it stands on its own two feet as a work of real beauty, even in the modern world. Its mature and stylised visuals make it still feel fresh today, in the same way that good classical music does. It stands outside time, moments of wonder captured forever.Highly recommended.

"Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed" or "Wak-Wak, ein Märchenzauber" is a German animated movie from the 1920s. Next year, it will have its 90th anniversary actually. The director is Lotte Reiniger and she made this one together with Walter Ruttmann and her husband Carl Koch. This film is, to me, an example of how first does not necessarily have to mean one of the best as this film here is one of the very first full feature animated movies. Current restored versions run for roughly 66 minutes. Sadly, I must say that this silhouette style is not exactly my preferred choice when it comes to the wonderful genre of animation. And as Reiniger basically only made films like these, I have never been that big on her. This film here is still fairly early from her extremely long career, she wasn't even 30 and made films basically until her death at the age of 82. The story is pretty fantastic in terms of princes, princesses, demons, witches, mythology etc. and I am sure that, if you like the style more than I did, you will have a fairly good time watching this. Maybe go check out one of Reiniger's many short films first and then decide if you like it and if you want to check out "The Adventures of Prince Achmed".

What was the first animated feature length film? Most people wouldn't have a clue. The second largest answer would probably be Snow White. And you may think it's Prince Achmed, but no, it was the Argentine film El Apóstol, which is tragically lost, leaving us with Prince Achmed being the film to be given the honour of the oldest SURVIVING Animated Film.This is a film that doesn't deserve to be remembered for it's milestone, but rather on it's artistic merits. In the chaotic 1920s, German cinema was the one film industry that challenged Hollywood, before something happened which killed that which could not be killed by War, Depression, Insurrection, and Hyperinflation; Nazism. German cinema at the time is a magnificent peephole into the opening steps of an alternate reality, of a thriving Industry in the centre of Europe. You had Metropolis, likely the greatest Silent film of all time, you had The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, the great inventor of film Experimentalism, and you had Prince Achmed.You really cannot name many films to compare with Prince Achmed, not in quality, but style. It possesses a unique blend of (literally) Cardboard Cut-out characters placed against an illuminated background, from which we fill in the blanks in our heads. This may sound absurdly cheap, but it allows us to visualise everything we need see, and allow us to consciously fill those gaps. Highlights include whenever the Lamp Spirits make an appearance, and the screen is illuminated in a swirling ball of light. Also one particular scene where the Sorcerer contorts a ball of strings into a portal from which to see Achmed. The constantly changing backgrounds constantly refresh the palate, and we never cease our wonderment with the scenery. It feels like you're watching something that should never have been made, in the sense that it is so unlike all else, that it feels like an unexplored route at a fork in the road. Every frame feels like something special is happening.Thankfully, the Director, one of the first ever female Directors (though Germany seemed more accepting of them, like a fairly notorious one who would gain fame a decade later) remembered to add plot. This was the fatal ingredient in Heaven and Earth Magic, which had no plot at all, and the wonderment was dead inside of five minutes. The story comes from an amalgamation of the Legends of the 1001 Arabian Nights. She couldn't have picked a better source, for it's sheer scale and imagination, and she effortlessly weaves these Legends together, of Aladdin, Achmed, flying horses, the fight between Sorcerers. It feels like a story in that collection of Legends, and feels like pure imagination itself when combined with the backgrounds.Of course, there are going to be some drawbacks, notably the confusing chronology when trying to square Alladin and Achmed's stories, which seem to happen too quickly. Then there's the initial scene on the Wak-Wak islands, which seems there just to titillate viewers, though the more adult vibe is appreciated as an escape from the Disney Ghetto. But when it boils down, the majority of the film feels like a great stream of imaginative Nirvana. I wouldn't be surprised if kids loved this today, it they could overcome the need for the Silent cue-cards.These are the films that only those who care about cinema even know exist. For this reason, they feel like our own ancient treasures, tucked away in the belly of the Earth.

The ancient tales of the 1,001 Arabian nights come to life in what as known as the first animated film, this is an historical film, a museum piece in every sense of the word. The magical, enchanting adventures of Prince Achmed are brought to life by little more than paper cutouts, filmed in silhouette, on film treated with blazing colors! the viewer is swept away into magical Middle and Far Eastern lands, and is taken on an adventure with Prince Achmed and his great friend Aladdin. The Prince, looking beautiful and majestic in his Armour and scimitar sword, battles the evil African magician who has imprisoned his sister, the beautiful Dinar Sade. Swept away by a magic flying horse created by the magician, our Prince finds himself in a mysterious land, where he encounters the delicate and enchanting Paru Banu, the princess of a land inhabited by evil demons. The two fall in love, but his Princess is taken away by the demons of her own land. This is where he meets the boy Aladdin, who reveals to him a tale of an evil African magician, who stole away his beloved, who turns out to be Prince Achmed's own sister, Dinar Sade! Side by side, the two fight to save their Princesses from danger and death! This film is pure magic and should be seen by anyone with an interest in animation or classic cinema. The workmanship and detail of these paper cutouts must be seen to be appreciated; figures wearing lace and feathers so intricate you would not believe that this was simply paper. This project was many years in the making and the original film has been lost, due to age, but a wonderful copy exists today on DVD, to dazzle a new generation of film lovers. With the exception of Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Arabian Nights," the tales from these poetic books has never been presented in a more glorious way than in this 1926 German production, "The Adventures of Prince Achmed." Absolute highest rating.