Bilal: A New Breed of Completely Underrated!

Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (2015)
Synopsis: During times where the underprivileged were enslaved, when greed and injustice ruled all, child captives Bilal and his sister Ghufaira are sold as slaves to Umayya, the wealthiest merchant in all of Arabia. But Bilal never gave up and remembered his mother's advice that in order to be a great man and a great warrior, he must find the courage to choose his own destiny and break free of his chains... the ones inside, and use his voice to bring unity and for the first time prayer to the people.

Initial Impression:

N - Despite being the first full-length feature film from Barajoun Entertainment, this movie looks incredible! The premise of a brother and sister being sold into slavery and fighting for their freedom as adults is such a great and inspiring premise. The characters are well animated, the scenery is beautiful, the textures are on par with that of Pixar, and the music is empowering and lively. I've never even heard of this film until now and I'm really looking forward to seeing if the movie matches the magic and majesty of the trailer.

J - The trailer instantly grabs your attention and refuses to let go as it brings you into a beautifully rendered world with beautiful characters. The graphics remind me of a Tells Tales game as the graphics are not quite Disney, but it doesn't matter because they are so stylistic and lovely that it adds to the movie instead of taking away from it. The soundtrack paired with the trailer is perfect; it's epic, moving, and full of heart. The voice acting appears to be spot on with the character designs. There is nothing that I would change from the trailer.

Final Review:

N - Bilal is an absolute treat for the eyes, ears, mind, and heart! A love-child between Lord of the Rings and The Prince of Egypt, Bilal completely blew me away with it's incredible story, phenomenal music score, incredible special effects, and superior cast. The fight choreography and dynamic camera shots easily make this relatively unheard of and underrated film a visual feast.
Bilal contains incredibly deep messages about racism, prejudice, courage, strength, standing for what's right and what it truly means to be enslaved. While the movie has an incredibly generous PG-13 rating, there's no language, no nudity, and no crass humor indicating the film's rating must be for the violent imagery, despite the incredibly minuscule amount of blood. This is easily a family-friendly film that anyone of nearly any age can take a powerful message from.
My only grievances are small and mostly innocuous. The animation of a lot of hair and mouth movements where a little sloppy, underwhelming, and almost unfinished compared to the incredible depth of the eyes, textures, the sand-dream, and literally any scene with the falcon in it.
Also, the song in the credits roughly jars you awake from this lovely dream with a bizarre choice in an Akon pop song. While the lyrics echo the film's primary message, it's a choice that could have easily been dropped in lieu of the original score, which would have continued to add to the film, instead of taking away from it and leaving you mildly confused and annoyed. Regardless, this film is definitely a must see and should be in every family's personal collection.

J - Wow! Absolutely stunning! This movie has a very complex and in depth story that brings about so many emotions and so much awe. Bilal is a compelling character who goes through so much growth throughout the movie. He constantly defends and protects his sister even though it brings about much abuse to him from his masters. He's able to grow into a respectable man and fight for his freedom and for the freedom of his people. This movie is truly an inspiring and breathtaking adventure. There is so much ease in how the characters interact with each other and the fighting scenes are choreographed carefully and with liveliness, it seems so realistic. The animals are beautifully modeled and animated, and appear as if they are real in the way they look and the way they move. They even act like how they should act, unlike Disney where they seem to make every horse (or reindeer) act like a dog instead of the animal that they are (sometimes it's cute, sometimes it's annoying). The emotions and themes are displayed in a mature and non-condescending that many children movies tend to do. The creators clearly had respect for the culture, the story, the characters, and even the viewers.   

The textures are beautiful, the designs are beautiful, and the story is enriching and empowering. I love that the movie doesn't gloss over the abuse the slaves received or the violence that the fight for freedom had. The graphics still reminded me of more of a video game with very cinematic camera shots and pans. The score fits the movie and action seamlessly although the credits song is a bit strange. The credit song is a pop song, and although the lyrics make sense, the tone of the song and the genre of the song doesn't really fit.

This movie clearly took a lot of time, effort, and passion to make. Movies like this are the reason why I search out animated movies from no-name-brands or different countries, because they can be just as lovely if not better than something you can get in America from one of our top animation companies.

Grade:

N - 9.5/10 With an amazing score, rich textures and animation, incredible choreography, and special effects that will awe and inspire you, Bilal is a cinematic masterpiece. Even more than a pretty face, this film is incredibly deep, introspective, moving, complicated giving it a near perfect score.

J - 9.5/10 This movie is absolutely stunning! The way the characters move and interact is so life like and  so respectful of the culture and real life man that the movie was based off of. It teaches a great lesson to not allow yourself to be chained or enslaved to anything; greed, addictions, or even doubt. I am very pleased with my purchase of this movie and will definitely recommend everyone to watch it.