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Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest

April 11, 2024

Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest (French: Azur et Asmar) is a 2006 animated fairytale fantasy film[2] written and directed by Michel Ocelot and animated at the Paris animation and visual effects studio Mac Guff Ligne. It was released in theaters in North America as just Azur & Asmar.

Azur et Asmar
Original French theatrical film release poster
Directed byMichel Ocelot
Written byMichel Ocelot
Produced byChristophe Rossignon
StarringCyril Mourali
Karim M'Riba
Hiam Abbass
Patrick Timsit
Edited byMichèle Péju [1]
Music byGabriel Yared
Distributed byFrance:
Diaphana
Italy:
Lucky Red
Release dates
[1]
Running time
99 minutes
CountriesFrance
Belgium
Spain
Italy
LanguagesArabic
French[2]
Budget€9,000,000 (estimated)
Box office$11,939,023 [3]

It is Ocelot's fourth feature, though his first wholly original creation since Kirikou and the Sorceress, and his first use of 3D computer graphics, albeit an atypical employment of this medium with two-dimensional, painted backgrounds and non-photorealistic rendering. Like most of his films it is an original fairy tale, in this case inspired by the folklore (such as the One Thousand and One Nights) and decorative art of Maghreb, Algeria and especially Morocco [1] and with an increased degree of characterisation relative to his previous works which pushes it into the genre of fairytale fantasy.

The original-language version of the film has significant amounts of dialogue in both French and Arabic; however, the Arabic was not subtitled in the original French theatrical release and is not intended to be subtitled nor replaced for any other audiences.[2]

Plot edit

Once upon a time there were two children nursed by Jénane: Azur, a blond, blue-eyed son of a nobleman, and Asmar, the tan skinned and dark-eyed child of Jénane. The nurse tells them the story of the Djinn-fairy waiting to be freed from her prison by a good and heroic prince. Brought up together, the two boys are as close as brothers until the day Azur's father cruelly separates them, banishing his nurse and Asmar from his home and sending Azur away to receive schooling from a personal tutor. Years later, Azur is haunted by memories of the legendary Djinn-fairy, and takes it upon himself to journey all the way to Asmar's homeland to seek her out and marry her. Now reunited, he finds that Jénane has since become a successful and rich merchant, while Asmar is now a member of the Royal Guard. However, Asmar and Azur's separation has damaged their bond and Asmar also longs to find and marry the Djinn-fairy. They must learn to work together and get along again, but only one of the two princes can be successful in his quest.[1]

Cast edit

Production edit

Ocelot describes the visual style of Azur & Asmar, as distinct from his earlier works, as being influenced by French art and Early Netherlandish painting of the 15th century (in particular, Jean Fouquet, the Limbourg brothers and Jan van Eyck), Persian miniatures and Islamic civilization from the Middle Ages until the 15th century and 16th century Safavid art.[4]

Release edit

Azur & Asmar premièred on 21 May 2006 as part of the Directors' Fortnight of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival[1] and was released to French theatres nationwide on 25 October 2006.[5]

An English-subtitled version was shown at numerous film festivals including the Montreal Film Festival for Children and Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children – in both cases winning the festival's audience award. At the World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb - Animafest Zagreb the film won the Grand Prix - best feature film award in 2007.

The film was subsequently dubbed into English and distributed in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Soda Pictures (now known as Thunderbird Releasing) under the expanded title Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest, receiving a limited release which began on 8 February 2008[1] and lasted several months, most likely due to the small number of dubbed prints made (as of 27 June 2008, it was still showing at one cinema in Cleethorpes).[6] It was rated U by the British Board of Film Classification for "mild fantasy violence"[7]

North America edit

The film was licensed for distribution in the United States by the Weinstein Company on 13 February 2007, during European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival.[8] However, as of September 2008 – over a year later – no plans to release the film in the United States had been announced. Similarly, Seville Pictures announced that they would distribute the film to both English and French speakers in Canada, but as September 2008 they have only released a DVD with only the original French dialogue and no English subtitles.[9] Some commentators had theorised that a United States release would be impossible due to Jénane's nipples being visible during a breastfeeding scene early in the film (Kirikou and the Sorceress went unrated to avoid the PG-13 or higher rating it would have received from the Motion Picture Association of America despite the similarly non-sexual nature of the nudity in that film)[10] and the director's refusal to allow his films to be distributed in a censored version; the Weinsteins' apparent dropping of the title seemed attributable to this.[11] However, in early September 2008 it was revealed to have been submitted to the MPAA by Genius Products (a home media distributor then co-owned the Weinstein Company) and received only a PG rating for "thematic material, some mild action and peril," with no explicit reference made to the nudity.[12]

The British-dubbed version had its American première at IFC Center in New York City on 17 October 2008, and was distributed in theatres by GKIDS in collaboration with the Weinstein Company and under the shorter title of just Azur & Asmar. It was originally planned to run for one week in New York, before touring to other cities. However, due to the success of the first week (all screenings were sold out)[13] its residency was extended for a second week of screenings. When these too sold out, a "third and final" week was announced.[14] Cities it had toured to included Chicago, Columbus, Tucson, Hartford, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.[13] The film screened at the San Joaquin Children's Film Festival, in Stockton, California from January 16 to 18, 2009.[15]

Home media edit

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Soda Pictures followed their theatrical release with a region 2 DVD-Video release on 28 July 2008. Unlike the theatrical release, this DVD includes the French- and Arabic-language version with English subtitles for the French as well as the English dub.Azur and Asmar - The Princes Quest

The Japanese region 2 DVD and region A Blu-ray Disc was released on 19 December 2007, the South Korean region 3 DVD released on 17 July 2008 and all regional Blu-ray Discs released on January 29, 2014 all include English subtitles.

As of February 2019, the film is not available in high definition with English subtitles or the English dub on Blu-ray Disc, download or streaming in the United Kingdom, Ireland or United States. However, it can be seen with English subtitles with either of the Japanese or South Korean Blu-ray Disc releases.[2][3][4][16]

Video game edit

A platform game was released for the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows, and was developed by OUAT Entertainment and Wizarbox SARL, and published by EMME Interactive.

Soundtrack edit

Music is by Lebanese-born composer Gabriel Yared with the exception of one short song composed and performed by Afida Tahri; Souad Massi an Algerian singer of kabylian ethnicity contributes vocals and lyrics to the Yared-composed ending theme "La Chanson d'Azur et Asmar."[17] The score was nominated for the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film at the César Awards 2007.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e (PDF) (Press release). Soda Pictures. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 20, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c "Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest". Soda Pictures. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  3. ^ "Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest (2006)". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Leroy, Elodie (January 9, 2008). "Interview : Michel Ocelot (Azur et Asmar)". DVDrama. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  5. ^ "Azur et Asmar : un film de Michel OCELOT". Azur et Asmar official French Web site. 2006. from the original on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  6. ^ "None". Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  7. ^ . British Board of Film Classification. July 30, 2008. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  8. ^ . Twitch. February 14, 2007. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  9. ^ . Archived from the original on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
  10. ^ James, Alison (December 25, 2005). "Some nix Kirikou pix due to nudity". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  11. ^ Amidi, Amid (February 15, 2007). . Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  12. ^ "MPAA ratings: Sept. 3, 2008". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Company. September 3, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  13. ^ a b Jesteadt, Dave (October 21, 2008). . harvey @ deneroff.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  14. ^ . GKIDS.tv. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  15. ^ . Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  16. ^ "Azur & Asmar (Blu-ray) (Korea Version)". YesAsia.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  17. ^ Azur et Asmar (CD liner). Gabriel Yared. Naïve. 2006. U 318125.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links edit

  • official United States webpage with dates and locations for nationwide tour
  • official United Kingdom and Ireland website
  • Azur et Asmar at Le Palais des dessins animés
  • Financial Times and interviews
  • , stills and original trailer March 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  • Azur et Asmar at AllMovie
  • Azur et Asmar at IMDb  
  • Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest at Rotten Tomatoes

April 11, 2024
azur, asmar, princes, quest, french, azur, asmar, 2006, animated, fairytale, fantasy, film, written, directed, michel, ocelot, animated, paris, animation, visual, effects, studio, guff, ligne, released, theaters, north, america, just, azur, asmar, azur, asmaro. Azur amp Asmar The Princes Quest French Azur et Asmar is a 2006 animated fairytale fantasy film 2 written and directed by Michel Ocelot and animated at the Paris animation and visual effects studio Mac Guff Ligne It was released in theaters in North America as just Azur amp Asmar Azur et AsmarOriginal French theatrical film release posterDirected byMichel OcelotWritten byMichel OcelotProduced byChristophe RossignonStarringCyril MouraliKarim M RibaHiam AbbassPatrick TimsitEdited byMichele Peju 1 Music byGabriel YaredDistributed byFrance DiaphanaItaly Lucky RedRelease datesMay 21 2006 2006 05 21 Directors Fortnight October 25 2006 2006 10 25 France 1 Running time99 minutesCountriesFranceBelgiumSpainItalyLanguagesArabicFrench 2 Budget 9 000 000 estimated Box office 11 939 023 3 It is Ocelot s fourth feature though his first wholly original creation since Kirikou and the Sorceress and his first use of 3D computer graphics albeit an atypical employment of this medium with two dimensional painted backgrounds and non photorealistic rendering Like most of his films it is an original fairy tale in this case inspired by the folklore such as the One Thousand and One Nights and decorative art of Maghreb Algeria and especially Morocco 1 and with an increased degree of characterisation relative to his previous works which pushes it into the genre of fairytale fantasy The original language version of the film has significant amounts of dialogue in both French and Arabic however the Arabic was not subtitled in the original French theatrical release and is not intended to be subtitled nor replaced for any other audiences 2 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 4 1 North America 4 2 Home media 5 Video game 6 Soundtrack 7 References 8 External linksPlot editOnce upon a time there were two children nursed by Jenane Azur a blond blue eyed son of a nobleman and Asmar the tan skinned and dark eyed child of Jenane The nurse tells them the story of the Djinn fairy waiting to be freed from her prison by a good and heroic prince Brought up together the two boys are as close as brothers until the day Azur s father cruelly separates them banishing his nurse and Asmar from his home and sending Azur away to receive schooling from a personal tutor Years later Azur is haunted by memories of the legendary Djinn fairy and takes it upon himself to journey all the way to Asmar s homeland to seek her out and marry her Now reunited he finds that Jenane has since become a successful and rich merchant while Asmar is now a member of the Royal Guard However Asmar and Azur s separation has damaged their bond and Asmar also longs to find and marry the Djinn fairy They must learn to work together and get along again but only one of the two princes can be successful in his quest 1 Cast editCyril Mourali Karim M Riba Hiam Abbass Patrick Timsit Rayan Mahjoub Abdelsselem Ben Amar Fatma Ben Khell Thissa d Avila Bensalah Sofia Boutella Olivier Claverie Jacques Pater Tayeb Belmihoub Franck Olivier Bonnet Carlos Chahine Mohamed Damraoui Michel Elias Bouchra En Nasser Nicolas Lormeau Tassadit Mandi Sonia Mankai Hamid Nasser Mohamed Ourdache Albert Pariente Lahcen Razzougui Hichem Rostom Mahmoud Said Myriam Tekaia Djemal Touidjine Hichem Yacoubi Omar Yami Imogen Bailey Sean Barrett Freddie Benedict Leopold Benedict Suzanne David Steven Kynman Nigel Lambert Suzanna Nour Nigel Pilkington Emma Tate Keith WickhamProduction editOcelot describes the visual style of Azur amp Asmar as distinct from his earlier works as being influenced by French art and Early Netherlandish painting of the 15th century in particular Jean Fouquet the Limbourg brothers and Jan van Eyck Persian miniatures and Islamic civilization from the Middle Ages until the 15th century and 16th century Safavid art 4 Release editAzur amp Asmar premiered on 21 May 2006 as part of the Directors Fortnight of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival 1 and was released to French theatres nationwide on 25 October 2006 5 An English subtitled version was shown at numerous film festivals including the Montreal Film Festival for Children and Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children in both cases winning the festival s audience award At the World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb Animafest Zagreb the film won the Grand Prix best feature film award in 2007 The film was subsequently dubbed into English and distributed in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Soda Pictures now known as Thunderbird Releasing under the expanded title Azur amp Asmar The Princes Quest receiving a limited release which began on 8 February 2008 1 and lasted several months most likely due to the small number of dubbed prints made as of 27 June 2008 it was still showing at one cinema in Cleethorpes 6 It was rated U by the British Board of Film Classification for mild fantasy violence 7 North America edit The film was licensed for distribution in the United States by the Weinstein Company on 13 February 2007 during European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival 8 However as of September 2008 over a year later no plans to release the film in the United States had been announced Similarly Seville Pictures announced that they would distribute the film to both English and French speakers in Canada but as September 2008 they have only released a DVD with only the original French dialogue and no English subtitles 9 Some commentators had theorised that a United States release would be impossible due to Jenane s nipples being visible during a breastfeeding scene early in the film Kirikou and the Sorceress went unrated to avoid the PG 13 or higher rating it would have received from the Motion Picture Association of America despite the similarly non sexual nature of the nudity in that film 10 and the director s refusal to allow his films to be distributed in a censored version the Weinsteins apparent dropping of the title seemed attributable to this 11 However in early September 2008 it was revealed to have been submitted to the MPAA by Genius Products a home media distributor then co owned the Weinstein Company and received only a PG rating for thematic material some mild action and peril with no explicit reference made to the nudity 12 The British dubbed version had its American premiere at IFC Center in New York City on 17 October 2008 and was distributed in theatres by GKIDS in collaboration with the Weinstein Company and under the shorter title of just Azur amp Asmar It was originally planned to run for one week in New York before touring to other cities However due to the success of the first week all screenings were sold out 13 its residency was extended for a second week of screenings When these too sold out a third and final week was announced 14 Cities it had toured to included Chicago Columbus Tucson Hartford Seattle and Washington D C 13 The film screened at the San Joaquin Children s Film Festival in Stockton California from January 16 to 18 2009 15 Home media edit In the United Kingdom and Ireland Soda Pictures followed their theatrical release with a region 2 DVD Video release on 28 July 2008 Unlike the theatrical release this DVD includes the French and Arabic language version with English subtitles for the French as well as the English dub Azur and Asmar The Princes QuestThe Japanese region 2 DVD and region A Blu ray Disc was released on 19 December 2007 the South Korean region 3 DVD released on 17 July 2008 and all regional Blu ray Discs released on January 29 2014 all include English subtitles As of February 2019 the film is not available in high definition with English subtitles or the English dub on Blu ray Disc download or streaming in the United Kingdom Ireland or United States However it can be seen with English subtitles with either of the Japanese or South Korean Blu ray Disc releases 2 3 4 16 Video game editA platform game was released for the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows and was developed by OUAT Entertainment and Wizarbox SARL and published by EMME Interactive Soundtrack editMusic is by Lebanese born composer Gabriel Yared with the exception of one short song composed and performed by Afida Tahri Souad Massi an Algerian singer of kabylian ethnicity contributes vocals and lyrics to the Yared composed ending theme La Chanson d Azur et Asmar 17 The score was nominated for the Cesar Award for Best Music Written for a Film at the Cesar Awards 2007 References edit a b c d e Azur amp Asmar The Princes Quest press pack PDF Press release Soda Pictures Archived from the original PDF on January 20 2022 Retrieved October 5 2008 a b c Azur amp Asmar The Princes Quest Soda Pictures Archived from the original on September 15 2012 Retrieved September 12 2008 Azur amp Asmar The Princes Quest 2006 boxofficemojo com Retrieved October 3 2023 Leroy Elodie January 9 2008 Interview Michel Ocelot Azur et Asmar DVDrama Retrieved October 5 2008 Azur et Asmar un film de Michel OCELOT Azur et Asmar official French Web site 2006 Archived from the original on 11 September 2008 Retrieved 5 October 2008 None Retrieved August 27 2023 Azur amp Asmar The Princes Quest rated U by the BBFC British Board of Film Classification July 30 2008 Archived from the original on July 25 2011 Retrieved October 5 2008 Azur and Asmar bought by TWC Twitch February 14 2007 Archived from the original on December 1 2008 Retrieved September 12 2008 Seville Pictures Archived from the original on 11 September 2008 Retrieved 12 September 2008 James Alison December 25 2005 Some nix Kirikou pix due to nudity Variety Reed Business Information Retrieved October 5 2008 Amidi Amid February 15 2007 Azur and Asmar Picked Up By Weinstein Co Cartoon Brew Archived from the original on February 20 2007 Retrieved September 12 2008 MPAA ratings Sept 3 2008 The Hollywood Reporter Nielsen Company September 3 2008 Retrieved October 5 2008 a b Jesteadt Dave October 21 2008 Comment on Azur et Asmar harvey deneroff com Archived from the original on December 1 2008 Retrieved November 1 2008 GKIDS In Theaters GKIDS tv Archived from the original on October 5 2008 Retrieved November 1 2008 San Joaquin Children s Film Festival Archived from the original on January 3 2009 Retrieved November 17 2008 Azur amp Asmar Blu ray Korea Version YesAsia com Retrieved February 27 2019 Azur et Asmar CD liner Gabriel Yared Naive 2006 U 318125 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link External links editAzur amp Asmar official United States webpage with dates and locations for nationwide tour Azur amp Asmar The Princes Quest official United Kingdom and Ireland website Azur et Asmar at Le Palais des dessins animes Financial Times and GhibliWorld com interviews Production sketches stills and original trailer Archived March 3 2008 at the Wayback Machine Azur et Asmar at AllMovie Azur et Asmar at IMDb nbsp Azur amp Asmar The Princes Quest at Rotten Tomatoes Portals nbsp Animation nbsp Film Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Azur 26 Asmar The Princes 27 Quest amp oldid 1208771664, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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