Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest

Azur and Asmar grow up together in the same household, raised by Asmar's mother, who works as a nurse in the home of Azur's wealthy father. The two boys are as close as brothers, sharing the stories she tells them of a djinn fairy waiting to be freed in a faraway land. That childhood is cut short when Azur's father sends Asmar and his mother away, separating the boys without warning.

Years later, the memory of those tales pulls both young men toward the same distant country. Azur, blond and blue-eyed, sets out across the sea in search of the fairy he heard about as a child, and Asmar, dark-eyed and equally determined, travels there with the same goal. They meet again as grown rivals competing for the same prize, each confident he is the one meant to find her, and their shared past resurfaces as they face the dangers and enchantments of the strange land together.

Michel Ocelot wrote and directed this French, Belgian, Spanish and Italian animated feature, which followed his two Kirikou films. Cyril Mourali and Karim M'Ribah voice the adult leads, with Hiam Abbass as the nurse and Patrick Timsit as Crapoux. Ratings are strong on IMDb at 7.4 from around 4,200 votes and on TMDB at 7.7 from roughly 675 votes, while critics give it 7.5 from 30 reviews, placing audience and critical response closely in line.