Simply Perfect

Brilliant and touching

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

An old one but a very good one, this : one of the oldest, if not THE oldest, full-length animation films yet in existence. Entirely executed in "silhouette" technique, the movie demanded several years of exquisitely difficult and precise work. "Die Abenteuer" tells a story based on tales from "1001 Nights". It is an enormously charming work, which breathes wit, refinement and imagination. It also breathes technical prowess. The silhouettes are so precise, so vivid, that they can express or reproduce anything : feathers, tresses, flowers, rocks, armour, delicate veils and semi-translucent fabrics. Far from static, the movie is full of life and movement. It allows for wondrous transformations : birds turn into women, while trees turn into monsters, witches or spirits. One of the high points consists of a duel between two powerful magicians, who change form and shape constantly. (I would not be surprised to learn that this is where Disney got the inspiration for the fight between Merlin and the evil witch.) If you like the movie (and it is very hard to see how anyone could dislike it) you might want to take a look at the work of illustrator Kay Nielsen, who created a stunning series on the "1001 Nights" theme. The medium is different, but the atmosphere is very similar.

a magic film. and the masterpiece of Lotte Reiniger. a kind of embroidery who resurrect not only the childhood memories but a form of delicate humanity. a film like a spell. music, animation, the small pieces of black paper and the romanticism in precise manner to introduce you in the story spirit. an Arabian fairy tale. fascinating for the hard and high work. for the beauty. and for the real gift who represents its root. the story of Prince Achmed and Aladdin has the each ingredient of cinema from period - passion for exoticism, the difficulties of love story, the brave heroes, the splendid maids. but something is unique in its case. it is not easy to define it. but it is the motif for who, after almost a century, the film is not seems be old. maybe, the universal message. or the admirable/amazing art. in fact, maybe, only the magic of an extraordinary work.

A handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which include befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling in love with a princess.While this is not quite German expressionism, it has that same sensibility of contrast between darkness and light. The use of dark silhouettes to be the characters (no features beyond their outlines) gives a very distinct look that is rarely seen anywhere else.This is apparently the earliest known animated feature film still in existence. What I find curious is that it was not drawn or painted, but rather features cut out pieces of cardboard. In this way, it anticipated and possibly inspired something completely different decades later -- "South Park", which uses construction paper (or at least did originally).

Adventures of Prince Achmed, The (1926) *** (out of 4) Considered to be the first animated film, we see the adventures of Prince Achmed who jumps on a magical horse who flies him around to various times including Aladdin and his magic lamp. The actual story isn't too interested but the "silhouette" animation is something truly beautiful. This type of animation was done using paper cutouts placed on glass, which was then lit by lights behind the glass. The images created are something incredible to look out especially the stuff with Aladdin. It took three years to do this film yet the hard work was certainly worth it.