Monday, February 13, 2006

Michel Ocelot

Well here is another feature that we put under the microscope to view the cultural growth on the other side of the petri dish, i.e. France. Michel Ocelot's new feature film Azur and Asmar which is close on the heels of his last feature Kirikou And The Wild Beasts. It is a nice segway from Lotte Reininger to Michel Ocelot as his Princes and Princesses (2000) is a beautiful ode to Lotte's silhouette technique of Prince Achmed (1926). Ocelot is another director that is defining and refining his skill and visual language that we rarely get to see over here. Original stories combined with a dynamic graphic style that holds it's own against the onslaught of Hollywood films. Sadly, this distinctive voice falls on distributions deaf ears. Although, Azur and Asmar is set in medieval times it's cultural relevance could not have come at more of an apt time. Ocelot is a major player in today's animation arena and hopefully we will be able to see more of his stuff on this side of the bacterial pond.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We are honored to announce that the enchanting adventure “Azur and Asmar: The Princes’ Quest” will open the 1st San Joaquin Children’s Film Festival, January 16 to 18, 2009, in Stockton, California. Presented by the San Joaquin Film Society.

http://www.sjiff.org/sjcff09

andrew said...

this movie is absolutly fantastic.