For a TV production, this rendition of "The Arabian Nights" is far above the average in almost every respect. The CGI is magnificent, the acting is superior - particularly by the versatile and underutilized John Leguizamo as a bad-tempered genie and his overweight, barely competent supernatural rival, and the Peter Barnes's narrative structure is unusually sophisticated for Hollywood.
So the problems with this production are especially regrettable. The various threads of the story are confusingly presented, with needlessly abrupt and disorienting cuts from one to another. This certainly interefered with my enjoyment. The other problem, which may not bother others, is the very frequent use of modern allusions (like a comic monkey-wrench in the hands of a genie) and ironic attitudes. This sort of thing can be amusing in moderation, or in an animated cartoon like Disney's "Aladdin" where no level of realism is expected. But here it clashes with the gorgeous imagery and the generally "realistic" style of storytelling. As somebody else has mentioned, there's also a problem with pacing. Events, while never boring, often lose their momentum in magnificent visuals and trivial dialogue.
Altogether, though, "The Arabian Nights" is well worth seeing, though some of the bizarre images may disturb very young children. Otherwise it really is a show "for the entire family."
