The Knight and the Princess Parent Guide

As the first feature length animated film produced in Egypt, The Knight and the Princess occupies a unique place in cinematic history. It was made with a purpose: in the words of Alabbas Bin Alabbas, founder of Alsahar Animation, “Arab stories are better told from an Arab perspective by Arab talents…It is self expression of our history and culture and artistic point of view.” The goals are lofty. If only the film were fun to watch.

Don’t get me wrong, I love watching (and reading) tales from other countries, and if any culture needs to be better understood by the rest of the world, it’s that of the Arab world. Sharing the stories, heroes and world views of the Middle East – all of this could be accomplished (at least in part) by movies that are able to engage a mass audience. But The Knight and the Princess is unlikely to break out of the cultural silo in which it was created to engage with the broader world.

This feature is based on the true story of Muhammad Bin Al Qasim, a 7^th century hero from what is now southern Iraq, who fought off pirates and helped conquer part of Pakistan for the Muslims. In the film, Al Qasim is an idealistic fifteen year old who begins his life of derring-do by heading off to rescue Muslim women and children who are being held hostage. In the process, he buries a martyred friend, becomes a skilled military strategist, and falls in love with a princess. But personal happiness can’t get in the way of a man’s duty, and Al Qasim is soon trying to evade another royal marriage while also preparing to defend the kingdom against the evil King Daher the Great and his even more evil priest.

There is the seed of a watchable film here, but it’s smothered by the production’s many flaws. The most egregious is the lack of character development, even amongst principal figures in the story. Al Qasim might be the most boring protagonist ever to grace the big screen: he’s honorable, upright, devout, clever, and dutiful. And that’s it. He doesn’t change or grow or overcome any weaknesses over the course of the story. Oddly enough, the only characters who experience personal growth are the two demons (or jinn) controlled by the wicked priest. They alone crack jokes, examine their lives, and consider alternate destinies. They’re not very funny but at least they provide a bit of tension in the story. Nobody else does.

Also distracting from the adventure tale is the animation. I appreciate that this movie is a real achievement, representing twenty years spent building a studio from ground zero in an area with no tradition of animation. But the results still aren’t good. The characters don’t sit or walk naturally and watching Princess Lola Benny sit and pose with her chest thrust forward makes me want to send her to a chiropractor. I’ve seen Saturday morning cartoons with more realistic character motion. (Bugs Bunny, for instance…) I understand that the animation studio was determined to create an all-Arab film, but there’s no shame in partnering with a foreign studio that has the necessary technical skill to create a more polished product.

If you’re willing to crawl through the boring runtime and are considering this film for family viewing, I must warn you that there is no English dub for the movie. There are subtitles but those don’t usually appeal to kids. There is also a lot of military violence, some quite disturbing, including scenes of men on fire. Religious parents might also be unhappy with repeated scenes of a dark ritual that calls upon an unseen demon god. But none of these issues are as serious as the movie’s biggest flaw: it’s excruciatingly dull.