This is a very beautiful and well done animation that captures the emotional resonance of the storyline through very simple drawings, yet the way the story unfolds still compels you to care about the characters and their journey despite the crudeness of the drawings. The drawings themselves are very beautiful and well done and that is quite remarkable as this is the first real animation film to happen.
The storyline is highly engaging with an amazing fable, fantasy Arabian Nights element to it. On a cultural note the film is very much in line with silent films as it is bold, direct, filled with action and adventure and has extremely clear cut gender roles. The men in this film are there to have sex with and rescue the women, who are just property basically to be earned and sold, although that may have more to do with the source material more than the time and place.
The execution and craftsmanship of the film is very great, creating the use of multi dimensional animation that Disney later employed in his films.
The fact that such simple silhouette animations could elicit compassion and empathy shows you how the concepts and storytelling are the base of any film and the medium by which it is made is just pure style and flourish but not the heart of the movie.