SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

milosprole9 I'll write a short review about this movie here.It has amazing animation, the colors and lights. But it's not super enjoyable until you're not a fan of a story about Aladdin (kinda similar stories), but it's quite interesting and I enough liked it. If you loved Aladdin, you will love it! I'll recommend for these people who considers themselves an animation fan. I would give it a 7.5/10.

Quizzical-Panda What was the first animated feature length film? Most people wouldn't have a clue. The second largest answer would probably be Snow White. And you may think it's Prince Achmed, but no, it was the Argentine film El Apóstol, which is tragically lost, leaving us with Prince Achmed being the film to be given the honour of the oldest SURVIVING Animated Film.This is a film that doesn't deserve to be remembered for it's milestone, but rather on it's artistic merits. In the chaotic 1920s, German cinema was the one film industry that challenged Hollywood, before something happened which killed that which could not be killed by War, Depression, Insurrection, and Hyperinflation; Nazism. German cinema at the time is a magnificent peephole into the opening steps of an alternate reality, of a thriving Industry in the centre of Europe. You had Metropolis, likely the greatest Silent film of all time, you had The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, the great inventor of film Experimentalism, and you had Prince Achmed.You really cannot name many films to compare with Prince Achmed, not in quality, but style. It possesses a unique blend of (literally) Cardboard Cut-out characters placed against an illuminated background, from which we fill in the blanks in our heads. This may sound absurdly cheap, but it allows us to visualise everything we need see, and allow us to consciously fill those gaps. Highlights include whenever the Lamp Spirits make an appearance, and the screen is illuminated in a swirling ball of light. Also one particular scene where the Sorcerer contorts a ball of strings into a portal from which to see Achmed. The constantly changing backgrounds constantly refresh the palate, and we never cease our wonderment with the scenery. It feels like you're watching something that should never have been made, in the sense that it is so unlike all else, that it feels like an unexplored route at a fork in the road. Every frame feels like something special is happening.Thankfully, the Director, one of the first ever female Directors (though Germany seemed more accepting of them, like a fairly notorious one who would gain fame a decade later) remembered to add plot. This was the fatal ingredient in Heaven and Earth Magic, which had no plot at all, and the wonderment was dead inside of five minutes. The story comes from an amalgamation of the Legends of the 1001 Arabian Nights. She couldn't have picked a better source, for it's sheer scale and imagination, and she effortlessly weaves these Legends together, of Aladdin, Achmed, flying horses, the fight between Sorcerers. It feels like a story in that collection of Legends, and feels like pure imagination itself when combined with the backgrounds.Of course, there are going to be some drawbacks, notably the confusing chronology when trying to square Alladin and Achmed's stories, which seem to happen too quickly. Then there's the initial scene on the Wak-Wak islands, which seems there just to titillate viewers, though the more adult vibe is appreciated as an escape from the Disney Ghetto. But when it boils down, the majority of the film feels like a great stream of imaginative Nirvana. I wouldn't be surprised if kids loved this today, it they could overcome the need for the Silent cue-cards.These are the films that only those who care about cinema even know exist. For this reason, they feel like our own ancient treasures, tucked away in the belly of the Earth.

gavin6942 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).

rdjeffers Friday, January 25, 8:00 p.m., Northwest Film ForumCelestial Patience and Running with Scissors: Weimar animator Lotte Reiniger.Her friend Jean Renoir claimed that premiere German animator Lotte Reiniger was "… born with magic hands." From childhood, Reiniger possessed an unusual talent for fashioning detailed shapes with paper and scissors. As a young woman, she worked with Paul Wegener, Fritz Lang and legendary stage director Max Reinhardt. Animation was, as Reiniger described, "… still walking in its infant shoes." With a small group of dedicated artists and technicians, Reinger began producing short stop action films in 1919, followed by three years devoted to her masterpiece, considered the oldest surviving animated feature, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926). Reiniger's delicate and magical telling of The Arabian Nights was considered by the German theater establishment as wholly unworthy of exhibition. After nine months in Paris and a successful world tour, Berlin relented. Reiniger endured, and went on to delight audiences with her beautiful and unique artform for half a century.