So when I came across this movie by Tezuka, Osamu I was ecstatic.
Let me explain the story a little. Senya Ichiya Monogatari (SIM) tells the tale of Aladdin as he ventures into Baghdad as a water seller and falls in love with a slave girl. The girl is being sold in the market place and Aladdin, who fell in love with her at first sight, taking advantage of a sandstorm takes off with the girl and that is where our tale begins. I won’t dispense too many details here, because its very entertaining to watch the story unfold. Since the original 1001 nights is so vast the writers have chosen and used some elements of the different popular tales and infused them in telling the tale of Aladdin (like the bandits cave, the flying toy horse and the flying carpet). I loved seeing all the different elements come together to create a completely new tale of love, hate, power and insanity.
The characters are very entertaining to watch. There is just the right amount of comic relief in the dialogues and there are also scenes that will bring tears to your eyes. A few scenes sent a chill up my spine too but they were just as entertaining. By the end of the movie I felt that I had actually gone through a long journey because the time span covered in SIM is that of years but it doesn’t feel rushed at all.
The animation is old but surprisingly it complements the story very well adding to the majestic atmosphere. The scenes are very vivid and the imagery is very powerful. (I wouldn’t watch this after doing drugs :p)
Overall I loved SMI. It reminded me how much I enjoyed the Arabian Nights tales as a child and its motivated me to buy the 1001 nights compilation translated by Malcolm C. Lyons and Ursula Lyons.
