Watchable, nicely animated fairytale with a commendable message about racial and religious tolerance but the script is perfunctory at best and the quest itself is disappointing.
Comment
10/18/08
Azur and Asmar - The Princes' Quest (2006)
85
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:22
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.2/10
Theatrical Release:08-02-2008
Synopsis: Once upon a time, there were two children who had the same nanny: Azur, blonde and blue-eyed, son of the lord of the castle, and Asmar, dark-skinned and black-eyed, the nurse's child. Brought up... [More]
Reviews for Azur and Asmar - The Princes' Quest
It has real charm: an old-fashioned looking movie, but with a heartfelt belief that, pace Kipling, east and west can and should meet.
10/18/08
Top CriticA visual masterpiece that makes the most of its Islamic art influences.
10/18/08
Top CriticIt's a humbler affair with a distinct visual style and a story that's quietly charming despite its flaws.
02/12/08
Top CriticClick to read the article
08/19/09
This is a unique effort that art film crowds and families will both be able to appreciate.
03/06/09
The result is not entirely seamless... but the filmmaker still uses plenty of long shots and landscapes that feature his traditional look and feel and movement.
03/06/09
Michel Ocelot's jewel-like fable unfolds in a once-upon-a-time version of medieval North Africa alive with vibrant colors and dazzling patterns.
03/02/09
Azur has the DNA of a captivating bedtime story, not a sugar-high Saturday cartoon.
02/19/09
The tale of two brothers from childhood to manhood, it is rife with timeless storybook themes and offers an inspiring vision of harmony between different cultures, different people.
02/12/09
The film is full of out-there artistic decisions that don't quite pay off, it makes you feel like you're taking medicine without a spoonful of sugar.
01/28/09
It's a simple tale with magical imagery and a worthy message, but it's also alive with offbeat humor and witty observations of childhood behavior and adult suspicion.
01/08/09
Gorgeous and mesmerizing, Azur & Asmar eschews computer-generated imagery to render a flat, storybook-style animation that never stops delighting with its ornamental detail, range of color and exotic story.
01/08/09
Is it too early to announce the most beautiful film of 2009? Two days into the new year, it's hard to imagine a more transporting cinematic experience coming our way than Azur & Asmar, an animated feature from the French writer-director Michel Ocel
01/02/09
a multicultural masterwork that is sure to delight viewers of all ages
01/01/09
Energy-wise, it would barely register a pulse in the world of Disney...but its straightforward storytelling and low-key humor are a relief from the reference-stuffed fever pitch that Hollywood animation delivers.
12/16/08
The first thing that will really capture your attention is its breathtaking animated style but beyond its dazzling appearance, the film also has an engaging story of a classic fairy tale.
12/15/08
Combining cutouts with 3-D digital animation, Ocelot turns every frame of his film into a beautiful, dynamic page out of a picture book.
12/12/08
The backdrops and settings are ornate and stunningly, vividly colored, while the people are depicted with a two-dimensionality like that of a historical tapestry.
12/12/08
Despite a stiffness of movement that suggests an upscale take on the cutout animation of “South Park,” the movie has a terrific flair for arabesque patterning, a gemlike luminosity of surface and a handsome, classical cast of mind.
10/17/08
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