Watch Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest For Free

Very disappointing...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

"Impossibly gorgeous" animated French film AZUR & ASMAR opens in San Francisco Friday! Film director Michel Ocelot will be attending both the 4:15 and 7pm shows on Friday at the Landmark Opera Plaza Cinema. The 4:15pm show is an audience Q&A, while the 7pm show is an introduction to the film.The film has received wonderful reviews for its remarkable visual beauty and timeless story of multicultural friendship and adventure.In English - Recommended for ages 6+ Set in the Middle Ages, Azur and Asmar is the story of two boys raised as brothers. Blonde, blue-eyed, white skinned Azur and black-haired, brown-eyed, dark-skinned Asmar are lovingly cared for by Asmar's gentle mother, who tells them magical stories of her faraway homeland and of beautiful, imprisoned Fairy Djinn waiting to be set free. Time passes, and one day. Azur's father, the master of the house, provokes a brutal separation. Azur is sent away to study, while Asmar and his mother are driven out, homeless and penniless.Years later, as a young adult, Azur remains haunted by memories of the sunny land of his nanny, and sets sail south across the high seas to find the country of his dreams. Arriving as an immigrant in a strange land, Azur is rejected by everyone he meets on account of his "unlucky" blue eyes, until finally he resolves never to open those eyes again. The once-beautiful child clad in gold is reduced to a blind beggar. Yet, blind though he is, little by little and step by step, he discovers a beautiful and mysterious country. Meanwhile, back in her homeland, Azur's nanny has become a wealthy merchant and Asmar has grown into a dashing horseman. Reunited but now as adversaries, the two brothers set off on a dangerous quest to find and free the Fairy of the Djinns.

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.

look, the movie is terrible. the voicing is awful, the animation is gaudy and unrealistic, the script was sub par and the characters were not even one-dimensional. this is worse than Kis Vuk. what a waste of money.This may seem like a comment from someone who has been blinded by the brilliant animation and tongue in cheek humour of Hollywood animation of recent years but this is not true.I do have time for independent movies (both animated and live action), I have seen a computer animated film made with a budget of $3000 (a lot less than this film) and it was fantastic. wonderful animation, solid story and fantastic action. this film looks like it was animated by a 2nd year d grade art student.

I saw the movie in Multivision channel three times. I could not understand that if the movie was about a Persian culture or Arabian, because they were speaking French/Arabic but they were using Persian symbols, colors, signs and so on. If the movie was the history of a Persian king, why they were speaking Arabic and if the movie was the history of an Arabian culture why they used the Persian symbols, colors and signs. I think the producer and writer were not familiar with Persian culture and this is really a weak point for the movie. I suggest them to read and see more about the middle east and specially Persian Gulf culture to prevent such a mistakes.