Princes and Princesses (2000)

France does a pretty good job on the animated feature front, albeit with a rather quirky focus. I had previously known director Michel Ocelot only for Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest, which, while not my idea of impressive (the graphics evoke The Sims 2), at least expresses a whimsy that I value in my viewings. This other Princes movie offers more interesting visuals -- namely silhouettes, almost like a smoother version of The Adventures of Prince Achmed.

In just 62 minutes before the end credits, we see six fairy tales of a sort, mostly including at least one royal character. The unifying structure consists of two adolescents and a middle-aged man rapidly deciding what kind of stories they want to tell, assembling their costumes via retro-futuristic technology, and putting on plays on a peculiar stage.

There are far too many holes in the setup to take it seriously. How could they be ready so fast? Why would the machines work that way? Where do they get the actors for more than three parts at a time? And who's the audience, besides us? You'd best pay attention to the plays instead. And exercise a little patience at the "intermission," which seems to exist only for padding.

The stories, set anywhere from ancient Egypt to 19th-century Japan to the distant future, are more whimsical than romantic. While none are very familiar to me, they sometimes get predictable in their formulas. Some of them include strangely harsh characters, especially the women, leading me to wonder about the makers' values.

The results are never worse than moderately interesting. I'd be able and willing to recount any of the stories. I especially like the hilarious finale, in which an engaged prince and princess alternately transform into random animals every time they kiss.

Would American children go for it? I dunno. What's more, I didn't think to check for a dubbing option, and the subtitles are unprofessionally sloppy. But it shouldn't be too hard to follow along with its reliance on visuals. As long as you don't demand depth or a variety of colors at one time, you should find it a mentally relaxing treat. And if not, at least the runtime is short.