Zarafa, Blu-ray (2015)

by | Nov 17, 2015 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Zarafa, Blu-ray (2015)

Voice-overs: Max Renaudin Pratt, Simon Abkarian, Francois-Zavier Demaison
Directors: Remi Bezancon, Jean-Christophe Lie
Studio: Universal/ Cinedigm [11/10/15]
Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 1080p color
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.0 & DD 5.0, Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1 & DD 5.0, French DTS-HD MA 5.0 & DD 5.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
Extras: “The Making of Zarafa,” “The Giraffe of Paris,” Giraffe Mania, Original French audio track, US trailer, More animation previews
Length: 78 min.
Rating: *****

A wonderful family animation film, beautifully animated, and a stirring tale of friendship against a background of parched desert, mountains, African villages, and Paris of the time of King Charles X – based on actual events. Many viewers consider it a masterpiece. It opens with a grandfather telling his grandkids the story of Maki, the young boy who escapes from slave traders, befriends a giraffe, and vows to protect the young animal when its mother is slain by the slave traders. The boy is befriended by a Bedouin prince, Hassan, who is on a mission for the Pasha of Egypt. Maki and the prince take the baby giraffe as a gift to the king of France.

The giraffe, Zarafa, travels with them 2000 miles down the Nile, and then they use a hot-air balloon to travel across the Mediterranean. They walk the giraffe 550 miles to Paris and present her to the king, who does not receive a positive portrayal in the film. The Parisians fall in love with everything represented by the giraffe – the first they have ever seen – and are soon wearing clothing with giraffe patterns. Maki continues to struggle to find a way to return Zarafa to her original home but is finally unsuccessful, because Zarafa has grown so much in the zoo that he cannot travel by the hot balloon anymore.

—John Sunier

Related Reviews
Logo Pure Pleasure
Logo Crystal Records Sidebar 300 ms
Logo Jazz Detective Deep Digs Animated 01