Animated flicks are a rarity in Pakistan with Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor being the third such project in the country. Uzair Zaheer Khan’s attempt was directed mostly at kids and they would love it considering, as they will get to witness animals talk in Urdu for the first time and also watch them sing, dance and fight, all in a Pakistani style. Yes, the constant blackening out of the screen came out as a concern but for elders, the kids would not even consider it as something out of the ordinary.

Allahyar (Anum Zaidi) is a kid who lives with his father in the northern areas of Pakistan; he hates bullies and loves animals so when he encounters an encaged Markhor, he brings her home only to find out that the men behind her abduction want it back at every cost. They kidnap Allahyar and abduct the animal only but the former may be down, not out. The two embark on a journey to Markhor’s home away from the abductors and make new friends on the way. In this battle of humans and animals, the good triumphs – to know how, we must take the kids to cinemas.

The animation quality of the movie is quite good and can be termed as a step in the right direction. The runtime of 90 minutes is acceptable for kids who would be able to relate to the characters more than the voice-over artists – only Ali Noor (villain) and Natasha Humera Ejaz (Markhor) are the known people here with guest voice-overs from Arshad Mehmood, Hareem Farooq and Ali Rehman Khan. The film belongs to Azfar Jafri who voices three different characters, Hero – the parrot – being the finest of ‘em all. Overall, it’s a good experience for kids and would have done better had the language been a little easy on the ears. •