Simsala Grimm - Die Märchen der Brüder Grimm Aladin und die Wunderlampe (1999–2010) watch online HD

Have a lifelong love of classic fairy tales and they have lent themselves well frequently to animation, which is very dear to my heart too. These stories have soul, imagination and joy and enchanting in their own way, if quite dark in some and at times gruesome, and with memorable and sometimes classic characters and relevant morals. Their fame, importance and the timelessness is more than justifiable and would see any adaptation work, animation or live-action.

'Simsala Grimm' is uneven, with some episodes being quite a bit better than others, but is a deserving-of-more-credit series and fits the bill of introducing one to these stories well. Even those familiar with the stories are likely to find the series and how it tells the stories featured interesting, if perhaps more children than others. It was great to see the famous and oft-adapted tales and also the not so familiar and not often adapted ones. In its own right, 'Simsala Grimm' is pleasant, though not one of my favourites, and those not familiar with the original stories may find themselves intrigued into checking them out.

It is sadly not immune to not particularly good episodes and 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' is one of those and less than wonderful. For me it's my least favourite of the series while having its redeeming merits.

'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' has a lot wrong. It is the worst written episode of the series, some of it is not just cheesy but also very stilted. The animation is not the best either, some nice backgrounds and colours but the drawing has been much smoother in other episodes before and since.

Doc Croc and Yoyo are still entertaining and likeable characters, Yoyo is amusing and adorable and Doc Croc's resourcefulness is always an asset. Didn't find them particularly necessary to the story and some parts felt like padding. The whole Aladdin story doesn't excite, while adhering to the basic structure of the Arabian Night story, and also felt rushed. Few of the story's characters engaged or endeared, with only the villain and genie being halfway interesting. The voice acting is not particularly good this time, especially for Aladdin. The exceptions being Doc Croc and Yoyo.

For all those faults, there are some nice backgrounds and colours. Love the once upon a time-like introduction and the charming music.

The genie is good fun and the villain is far less bland than the rest of the characters.

Concluding, less than wonderful. 4/10 Bethany Cox