Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest
| Azur et Asmar | |
 Original French film poster |
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| Directed by | Michel Ocelot |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Christophe Rossignon |
| Written by | Michel Ocelot |
| Starring | Cyril Mourali Karim M'Riba Hiam Abbass Patrick Timsit |
| Music by | Gabriel Yared Afida Tahri |
| Editing by | Michèle Péju[1] |
| Distributed by | France: Diaphana Italy: Lucky Red Japan: Ghibli Museum Library Singapore: Cathay Organisation UK and Ireland: Soda Pictures United States: GKIDS[1] India: Alliance Media & Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | Première: 21 May 2006 France: 25 October 2006 Singapore: 13 September 2007 UK and Ireland: 8 February 2008 United States: 17 October 2008[1] |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | Belgium France Italy Spain |
| Language | Classical Arabic French |
| Budget | €9000000 (estimated) |
| Followed by | Les Noces d'Azur et Asmar (2008)[2] |
Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest (French: Azur et Asmar) is a 2006 French animated fairytale fantasy feature film[2] written and directed by Michel Ocelot. It is his fourth feature, though his first wholly original creation since Kirikou and the Sorceress, and his first 3D computer animation, 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 (including, but not limited to, the One Thousand and One Nights) and decorative art of North Africa and the Middle East[3] and with an increased degree of characterisation relative to his previous works which pushes it over into the genre of fairytale fantasy.
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Synopsis
Once upon a time there were two children nursed by same woman. Azur, a blond, blue-eyed son of a noblewoman and Asmar, the dark skinned and dark-eyed child of the nurse. The nurse tells them the story of the Djinn-fairy waiting to be released from her chamber by a good and heroic prince. Brought up together they are as close as brothers until the day Azur's father cruelly separates them, banishing the nurse and Asmar from his home and sending Azur away to the city 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 it out. Now reunited, he finds that she has since become a successful merchant, while Asmar is now a member of the Royal Guard. However, Asmar also longs to find the Djinn-fairy, and only one of the two youths can be successful in their quest.[3]
Production
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
Azur & Asmar premièred on 21 May 2006 as part of the Directors' Fortnight of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival[3] and was released to French movie 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 – and at The Cathay in Singapore. The film was subsequently dubbed into English and distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland by Soda Pictures, receiving a limited release which began on 8 February 2008[3] and nevertheless 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).[3] It was rated U by the British Board of Film Classification for "mild fantasy violence"[6] and an English-subtitled, region 2 DVD-Video release followed on 28 July 2008.[4] The Japanese DVD[5] and region A Blu-ray Disc[6] released on 19 December 2007 and the Korean region 3 DVD released on 17 July 2008[7] also include English subtitles.
North America
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.[7] However, as September 2008 – over a year later – no plans to release the film in the United States have 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.[8]
Many suspected that a United States release would have proved impossible due to Jénane's nipples being visible during a breastfeeding scene early on in the film (Kirikou and the Sorceress went unrated in order to avoid the PG-13 or higher rating it would received from the Motion Picture Association of America despite the similarly non-sexual nature of the nudity in that film)[9] 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.[10] However, in early September 2008 it was revealed to been submitted to the MPAA by Genius Products (home video distributor for 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.[11]
The British-dubbed version had its American première at IFC Center in New York City on 17 October 2008. 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)[12] its residency was extended for a second week of screenings. When these too sold out, a "third and final" week was announced.[13] Cities it will tour to are expected to include Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Tucson, Hartford, Connecticut, Seattle and Washington, D.C..[12] The film will screen at the San Joaquin Children's Film Festival, in Stockton, California from January 16 to 18, 2009.[14]
Alternative titles
Brazil: As Aventuras de Azur e Asmar
France: Azur et Asmar
Greece: Azur kai Asmar (Αζούρ και Ασμάρ)[8]
Japan: Azūru to Asumāru (アズールとアスマール?)
Spain: Azur y Asmar
United Kingdom: Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest
Soundtrack
Music is by Lebanese-born composer Gabriel Yared with the exception of one short song composed and performed by Afida Tahri; Souad Massi contributes vocals and lyrics to the Yared-composed ending theme "La Chanson d'Azur et Asmar."[15]
References
- ^ a b "GKIDS – Home". http://www.gkids.tv/index2.cfm. Retrieved on 2008-10-22.
- ^ "Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest". Soda Pictures. http://www.sodapictures.com/cinema/7. Retrieved on 2008-09-12.
- ^ a b c d Soda Pictures. Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest press pack. Press release. http://stage.outsideline.co.uk/sodapictures/phase_two/dev_v0002/uploads/07a70d16a5d34bb37636b6db2e2b8877.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ Leroy, Elodie (2008-01-09). "Interview : Michel Ocelot (Azur et Asmar)". DVDrama. DVDrama. http://www.dvdrama.com/news2.php?id=19910&page=3. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ "Azur et Asmar : un film de Michel OCELOT". Azur et Asmar official French Web site. 2006. http://www.azuretasmar-lefilm.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ "Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest rated U by the BBFC". British Board of Film Classification. 2008-07-30. http://www.bbfc.org/website/Classified.nsf/c2fb077ba3f9b33980256b4f002da32c/2aa7827bf659c57e802573d0005f8954. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ "Azur and Asmar bought by TWC". Twitch. 2007-02-14. http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/009087.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-12.
- ^ "Seville Pictures". http://www.sevillepictures.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-12.
- ^ James, Alison (2005-12-25). "Some nix Kirikou pix due to nudity". Variety. Reed Business Information. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117935160.html?cs=1. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ Amidi, Amid (2007-02-15). "Azur and Asmar Picked Up By Weinstein Co.". Cartoon Brew. http://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/azur-and-asmar-picked-up-by-weinstein-co. Retrieved on 2008-09-12.
- ^ "MPAA ratings: Sept. 3, 2008". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Company. 2008-09-03. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i666fc0408ab465aaa7bebe9befbe19dd. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ a b Jesteadt, Dave (2008-10-21). "Comment on Azur et Asmar". harvey @ deneroff.com. http://deneroff.com/blog/2008/08/04/azur-et-asmar/#comments. Retrieved on 2008-11-01.
- ^ "GKIDS - In Theaters". GKIDS.tv. http://www.gkids.tv/inTheaters.cfm?s_movie=29&viewType=movie. Retrieved on 2008-11-01.
- ^ "San Joaquin Children's Film Festival". http://www.sjiff.org/sjcff09. Retrieved on 2008-11-17.
- ^ (2006) Album notes for Azur et Asmar by Gabriel Yared [CD liner]. Naïve (U 318125).
External links
- Azur & Asmar official USA Web page with dates and locations for nationwide tour
- Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest official UK Web site
- Azur et Asmar at Le Palais des dessins animés
- Financial Times and GhibliWorld.com interviews
- Production sketches, stills and original trailer
- Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest at Rotten Tomatoes
- Azur et Asmar at the Internet Movie Database
- Azur et Asmar at Allmovie
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