Another gorgeously animated work from Ankama, and a wonderful way to kick off their first feature length film! A company of animators and game designers, known mostly for their MMORPGs Dofus and Wakfu. They're some of the most passionate men and women in either industry, and have a considerable cult following.

Dofus - Book I: Julith tells the childhood story of Master Joris Jurgen, the hero of the city of Bonta, it continues off of the Dofus: Treasures of Kerubim animated series and ties in with the Wakfu series special episodes, but does not require any pre-existing knowledge of the franchise to appreciate. Whilst the animation, and the story is truly wonderful. The pacing of the film is a bit strange, part of this is due to the fact it's a movie and not a series. My biggest critiques would be the ending being rushed, and the wanton libido between two of the characters Khan and Bakara, they're a humorous duo, but I feel it gets in the way of Joris' story and some of the great scenery done by the artists. I did like the characters, but I did feel they substracted a bit much from our main protagonist. Despite the film being bright, and cutesy, make no mistake, this is not a film for children in some countries. What passes in France, may not pass elsewhere, nudity is present, albeit not frontal, and there is blood in relatively small amounts, so parents be advised.

The voice acting and audio is top notch, the animation is smooth, brimming with detail and subtle movements. If you do not come for the story, characters or universe they inhabit, you'll most likely be charmed by the lovable characters, and beautiful art by the end of it. Wakfu and Dofus have always had some of the best animation in the industry, this is most certainly no different. It is however, enjoyed much more when having been exposed to the Wakfu and Dofus series. So I would most certainly recommend watching those as well.

Pros
- Beautiful animation
-Vibrant colors
-Extreme amounts of detail
-Wonderful voice acting and soundtrack
-A welcome addition of lore to the franchise
- Every scene is a feast for the eyes, even those that last just a few seconds.

Parental Warning
- Abundance of risque humor that may not be enjoyed by some and partial nudity
-Blood and violence, not extremely gory however.

Cons
-Pacing of the film was spotty in some areas, but overall enjoyable.
-Ending scene was relatively anti-climatic, overly happy moment comes at the cost of preceeding a very emotional and important one.
-The subbed translation misses out on certain subtle pieces of dialogue. The opening preamble of French text is not accompanied by English subs.

Overall: 9/10
It oozes with the love and passion I've come to expect from Ankama, and it shows even more with a truly dedicated work of film. A perfect score is witheld from the cons I felt could have been easily avoided, but it is still a truly great film.

The French studio Ankama is widely known for their MMORPGs Dofus and its sequel Wakfu. The latter of which got its own TV series produced in-house in the late 2000's to allow the game's creators to retain creative control. This series is how I was eventually introduced to the franchise, as its Kickstarter-backed English dub was brought to Netflix in 2014. Despite the dub being hit or miss at times, I found it hard not to be fascinated by all of the creative ideas that fleshed-out the world. The world of Ankama's Dofus would later get a series as well, which this film is more or less a conclusion to, though its still set nearly 500 years prior to their Wakfu series.

THANKFULLY the film doesn't require the viewer to have brushed-up on their Wakfu history prior to watching it, as the first act moves fairly slowly to allow for the basics to be established. While it doesn't waste time explaining everything, it doesn't really have to when most things boil down to "a magical version of (blank)".

We follow Joris, an odd-looking youth happily enjoying his life as an assistant to his adoptive father Kerubim, who runs a shop full of magic items he has collected over his long life of adventuring. When it is revealed that Joris has a strong connection to a powerful artifact, its keeper pursues him, forcing Joris into an adventure to save everyone he loves.

A majority of the film's art is done in Flash and it is simply beautiful, with the feature-size budget allowing for some gorgeous cityscapes and scenery with loads of detail. While taking some ques from anime, the film's art style takes just as much influence from other European animation to give it a unique look with great potential for character expression.

Another element of the film that highlights the skill of the film's artists is its action sequences. Despite the film containing several of them, they are mostly kept short to prevent the film from becoming overwhelmed with them, allowing for the adventure to feel perilous but also letting slower moments develop characters. The animation bringing the action to life is beautiful and exhilarating, a real treat for fans of animation regardless of their opinions on the film's story.

What will likely keep this film from being a success in the western world is its French sensibilities. While clearly intended to appeal to all ages, there are a few aspects that will likely feel risque to the more conservative American audience, which is unfortunate, though it's nothing genuinely vulgar. Kids will likely enjoy the film for its bright and bouncy animation, quick pace and well-timed physical comedy (once they get past the subtitles).

While adults won't laugh as often as the kids, they'll still get a kick out of its creative world and surprising emotional depth. The story isn't the most surprising, but its well-paced and far from boring. Though the film does have one notable weakness: its ending. Once the final confrontation resolves itself the film fades to black and rolls credits, ending in such an abrupt manner that I doubt anyone will feel completely satisfied with it.

Despite that the Dofus movie surpasses the standards set by the creators' other work and manages to also serve as an easy entry into their world. Fans of the series and animation in general should definitely seek this out, while those looking for something lighthearted and fun won't be disappointed.

Decent to Strong 8, out of 10.

Wow, definitely worth watching

animation, voice, & action scenes were all fantastic

Charming, great background and character design, fluid and evocative animation, funny, and fun. Some of the plot points are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ridiculous especially juxtaposed against some of the serious moments they are put into but not a killer overall.

It has some similarities to your typical anime but I really just think it has more to do with similarities to your typical animated adventure than anything else.

It has a style all its own, emotional beats in the right places, and a nice dash of almost warner brothers-esq visual humor.

100% worth the rent. Would buy on DVD/ Blue-Ray (because I'm a dinosaur)
9/10

Edited: So after the problems getting it to Stream (Thanks Sean J), we did get our chance to watch the film. Super cute, worth the wait. We laughed a lot, Kahn was hilarious. If you're a fan of the game you'll enjoy the movie and even if you aren't the movie is worth the rental.

just finished the film and all i have to say is..... i loved it the characters themselves were fun and the story while simple was enjoyable i remember being introduced to the wakfu series when i came acrossed it on netflix and dofus is an excellent pre quel film to watch if you enjoy the series i give the film a 10/10.

ps so excted for the next dofus film woot woot.

I'm a simple guy so I don't ask for a lot from moves, mainly just explosions, action, and some sense of mortality(its hard to care for characters when you feel there life is never in danger). This movie has it all and an excellently well crafted story that flows incredibly well from start to finish, the production value in the wafu series is unbelievele. I never write reviews but since I throughly enjoyed this I though, why not? If your like me and enjoy the wakfu universe, charaters, story telling, and art or you just like a well crafted movie with action, explosions, and mortal danger, you'll enjoy this as much as I did.

I love this movie, and I'm wondering if there is going to be more "Book's'" sense this is Book I.
(and if there is, please tell me. I'm to oblivious to find it/them) I'm really fasinated by the universe they are in.
I honestly did not mind having to read the subtitles because it was a rich story and kept me attentive. Though I do wish it was a bit longer.
Some characters you could get a feel for but others not so much. Over all it was a good movie!
I would definatly recomend it for those who know this universe from Wakfu or Dofus. Or just those who are into this kind of genre and stuff.

(forgive me if I sound like a lop brain)

a bit of a warning the sub french and what is said is different on steam for this version of the movie which kind of take away the charm I came to know a bit but still great movie!

Absolutely incredibly well animated, loveable characters, and a fun story. i'll admit i was not very familiar with dofus beforehand, but now i just want anything and everything to do with it