Sahara

Upon seeing this film back at 2017 when it came out on Netflix, I was expecting a very groundbreaking animated adventure that would rank to the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks. Unfortunately, what I got was an OK flick with some good visuals but a very underwhelming story. It's not a terrible film, don't get me wrong, but it could've been so much better.

Let's start with the problems. The story has a very nice idea, a movie that takes place in the Sahara desert with a Romeo and Juliet-esque twist. Execution-wise, however, it falls into predictable territory and has cliches we've seen before in other animated films. Not to mention that it does drag somewhat slowly in places. While it does have some bits of funny humor, the script includes some adult references that are way too inappropriate for some viewers. Also, the characters didn't leave an impact to the story and end up being shallow and underdeveloped.

That being said, there are some good things to admire about this film. The voice acting from everyone involved is fairly good especially the English dub (I might want to watch the film in french audio with subtitles someday since this was made by another animation studio in France), the music score fits the setting of the film very well, there are some moments where the action gets very interesting, and the best part is the animation. From the most unique animal designs of the characters to the nicely detailed look of the Sahara desert which makes the film worth watching because of it.

Overall, this film makes for passable entertainment. It doesn't offer much in terms of the story and characters, but it's beautiful animation and a good music score makes this a flawed, but interesting animated movie made from France. If you have kids, give this one a shot. For the adults though, they probably won't get anything out of this.