By Michaele Jordan: Friends, I usually write to tell you about a current book I’ve just read, or a current movie I’ve just seen. And I am writing now about a movie I’ve just seen. I watched it just last night. But it’s not current. It’s almost twenty years old. But trust me, this film is a delight – well worth the trouble of hunting it up in the archives.

As always, we start with the credits. Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest is a 2006 animated fairytale/fantasy film, written and directed by Michel Ocelot and animated at Mac Guff Ligne, the Parisian animation and visual effects studio.  It was Ocelot’s fourth feature, following  Kirikou and the Sorceress, and his first use of 3D computer graphics, although he did not use them to produce lifelike imagery, but rather to enhance the texture and mood of a fairy tale.

It stars: Hiam Abbass as Jénane, Cyril Mourali as Azur and Rayan Mahjoub as young Azur, Karim M’Riba as Asmar, and Abdelsselem Ben Amar as young Asmar.

The story is simple. Azur and Asmar are raised as brothers by Jénane. But they’re not. Blond, blue-eyed Azur is the son of a nobleman, whom Jénane has been hired to care for. Dark-eyed Asmar is her son. But these petty distinctions make no difference to the happy trio.  She raises them lovingly, and fills their days with tales of the beautiful Djinn-fairy, imprisoned in a palace and awaiting rescue. Both boys vow to rescue her. Neither reflects that they can’t both marry her.

But the idyll can’t last. When the boys reach adolescence, Azur’s father appears. His son no longer needs a nanny, and is sent to a private tutor. Jénane and Asmar are kicked out of the house.

It is years before they meet again. But Azur is still haunted by memories of the Djinn-fairy and goes to seek her. He starts by travelling to Jénane and Asmar’s homeland. Jénane has become a rich and successful merchant. Asmar has joined the Royal Guard.

Their old friendship cannot fully resume as Asmar is also haunted by memories of the Djinn-fairy, and both boys are still determined to find her and marry her. But they must work together to find her. And then . . . one of them can marry her, and some other happy ending must be found for the other.

Like I said, it’s a simple story. But it is entirely engaging – almost hypnotically so, in fact – due to the animation. I cannot stress enough how beautiful this movie is. You will not be able to take your eyes off it. Need a sandwich or a bathroom break? You will be hard pressed to claim it. You will carefully run it back a few minutes before pausing it, so that you do not miss a single frame. Sometimes you’ll pause it for no reason except to admire the picture. The beauty of it embraces and enhances the tale. I promise you, you want to see this!