Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4240 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-07-28
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Video Description
From acclaimed director Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress) comes a wondrous new animation for the whole family to enjoy.
Once upon a time there were two children brought up by the same woman. Azur, the son of a nobleman, and Asmar, the son of the nanny who tells them many enchanting stories. Their favourite is about the Djinn fairy waiting to be rescued by an heroic prince.
One dark day fate cruelly separates them. Some years later Azur sets out to rescue the fairy only to be reunited with Asmar. And so begins the Princes' Quest - a fantastic adventure across magical, mythical lands and seas.

Synopsis
This wonderful animated adventure tells the story of two boys brought up as brothers. Azur is the blonde, blued-eyed son of a noblewoman, and Asmar is the dark-haired, dark-eyed son of the nurse. The boys grow up to be rivals, and find themselves pitted against each other in a quest to rescue the Djinn fairy from one of the nurse's many stories. In a world of magic and fantasy, crossing land and sea, the pair embark on a epic journey in which only one can triumph.

Customer Reviews

Enchanting quest tale
I saw reviews for this, but it never came to my cinema so I grabbed the DVD when it became available, and was totally bowled over by it. I'll get my gripe over first in that some of the 3D animation is not that great. The two fairies at the beginning of the film who cast a spell over the two children are not well done at all, and I nearly gave up there, but I'm glad I continued. If you can accept that you are not going to get Shrek levels of computer animation, then there is much more to amaze and enjoy. The standard of the backrounds is extraordinary - the opening scenes in Azur's home are like medieval illuminations with the most beautiful colours and attention to detail. Jenane's house is a most beautiful creation of tiles and gardens, and Princess Chamsous Sabah's palace has to be seen to be believed.

Characterisations are very good, and the women are particularly strong especially Jenane, and Princess Chamsous Sabah - she is a total delight and virtually steals the film.

Where the animation does work at is best is at the most traditional which plays to Michel Ocelot's strengths. Azur and Chamsous Sabah climbing a tree to watch the city at night is truly beautiful. The quest at the end is well done with a great lion and bird, and the whole story has a great moral lesson to teach, but not in a preachy way. Watch and be dazzled!!!

Extraordinary and sublimely beautiful animated film
My husband picked this up at the grocery store the other day quite by chance without having heard of it, and our children haven't stopped watching it since.

It is an extraordinarily beautiful film in every way -- the visuals, the voices (we watch in the original French), the music, the story. The animation is exquisite. Colours are saturated and stunningly gorgeous, and there is much use of a richly patterned ground -- mosaic tiles, fields of flowers, tree trunks, a lion's mane... The drawing of the characters is very different from that in Hollywood animation, and so some viewers may need to adjust to it; I take issue with the previous reviewer who says that the 3D animation is "not that great" -- it is stylistically different, intentionally so. The animator is trying to achieve a different feeling and relationship between the viewer and the story; he is not trying to persuade the viewer that this is the real world, but rather, transports the viewer into a magical otherworldly realm. Figures are elongated, patterned grounds are flattened, but faces are delicately drawn and eyes are riveting.

The story is about the rivalry and love between two boys, brothers for all intents and purposes, and is elegantly told. This film is remarkable for the positive way in which it portrays the richness and beauty of Maghreb/North African culture.

This is a stunningly beautiful film for the whole family, and I am hard-pressed to think of a finer animated tale.

tale of poestry
tale of poestry to degreace race's prejudice: great for the education of children and a new mankind