Azur et Asmar (2006) Reviews

• le Fabulocelot

  kwongthye2006-11-18

  I saw this today as part of the London Children's Film Festival 2006 at the Barbican Centre and found it completely and utterly satisfying. Every second of screen time is mind-blowingly beautiful to the point of being painful - from the wild flowers on the field where the title characters played as boys, to the starlit silhouette of Azur and the Princess on a treetop. But don't let the sumptuous visuals make you think this film is just eye candy. The story is engaging and yet profound, the characters vivid, and the message (yes, it has a message, but what's wrong with that?) is inspirational; a quality that the English-language animated films of the last decade has completely eschewed. Ocelot's early 'Princes et Princesses' was enchanting and promising, and both his Kirikou films were endearing. But with 'Azur' he has totally ascended to a different level. It is admirable how he consistently refuses to dumb down his characters, and the delightful ending is wonderfully faux conventional in Ocelot's trade mark style. Difficult to see how popular this would be with today's kids, but a generation growing up inspired by 'Azur' would no doubt be more pacifist and tolerant.

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• Fantastic - a visual and intellectual tour de force

  etchevers2006-12-21

  This movie has it all for all ages - eye-popping visuals, perfect subject independence, gorgeous music and it is chock-full of wonderful messages and story-telling for everyone. The richness in the images is equaled by the richness of the subject matter: a story rewarding curiosity, fidelity and bravery deals with the excitement of discovering little-known cultures, eras, religions, foods, habits of dress, languages, music and the other sex... The trailer and the brief description by the distributor hardly do this piece of magic justice. A must-see as soon as it becomes available near you.

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• It captivates adults.

  agfcarrara2006-10-22

  In Valladolid, Spain, the serious movie-goers with extremely high standards when they evaluate movies applauded the film in the Fifty-First International Film Week (SEMINCI 2006). It is impossible to exceed in every way: The theme and story, the incredible cartoon drawings, the luscious colors and their combinations, the endearing characters, the creativity, the stunning difficulty of the sketching and the music and sounds of the languages involved all combine to offer us a memorable film. It may seem curious but the word that I voiced when it ended was DELICIOUS. There are so many impacting images that linger even now in my mind's eye.

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• beautiful fairytale

  bigmomma_christine2006-11-03

  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!

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• Beautiful feast for the eyes and the ears

  mr-neil-thorne2009-01-30

  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.

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