Azur et Asmar (2006)

Cast: Cyril Mourali, Karim M'Riba, Asmar Adulte, Hiam Abbass, Patrick Timsit, Fatma Ben Khell, Rayan Mahjoub, Abdelsselem Ben Amar, Thissa d'Avila Bensalah, Olivier Claverie

Director: Michel Ocelot

Writer: Michel Ocelot

Genre: Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Running Time: 99 min.

Advisory: for thematic material, some mild action and peril

Synopsis: Set in the Middle Ages, "Azur and Asmar" is the story of two boys raised as brothers. Blonde, blue-eyed, white skinned Azur and black-haired, brown-eyed, dark-skinned Asmar are lovingly cared for by Asmar's gentle mother, who tells them magical stories of her faraway homeland and of beautiful, imprisoned Fairy Djinn waiting to be set free. Time passes, and one day Azur's father, the master of the house, provokes a brutal separation. Azur is sent away to study, while Asmar and his mother are driven out, homeless and penniless. Years later, as a young adult, Azur remains haunted by memories of the sunny land of his nanny, and sets sail south across the high seas to find the country of his dreams. Arriving as an immigrant in a strange land, Azur is rejected by everyone he meets on account of his "unlucky" blue eyes, until finally he resolves never to open those eyes again. The once-beautiful child clad in gold is reduced to a blind beggar. Yet, blind though he is, little by little and step by step, he discovers a beautiful and mysterious country. Meanwhile, back in her homeland, Azur's nanny has become a wealthy merchant and Asmar has grown into a dashing horseman. Reunited but now as adversaries, the two brothers set off on a dangerous quest to find and free the Fairy of the Djinns.