Allahyar is back and this time, saving the world with his side-kick Chakor. Four years after he befriended us with his Markhor saving act, Allahyar is again on a mission in Allahyar and the 100 Flowers of God but is a bit more mature than the last time. Chakor, also known as Hero, may be Pakistan’s national bird, but he hasn’t changed. The last time he spent his energy on saving animals, in the sequel he is saving a barren world with clean renewable energy.

With Hero (voiced by Azfar Jafri) by his side, Allahyar ’s sequel is equally entertaining as the first. Allahyar (voiced by Anum Zaidi) faces a bigger threat this time with the trees in his area being cut down to provide energy to an alien planet, and Allahyar informs his father. When his ‘Ba’, tries to prevent the cutting, he is abducted by robots and taken to the other world.

Allahyar is joined by a rebel robot Aira (voiced by Iqra Aziz) and with her help reaches the world where his father is held captive. A giant tree, Munchkins, that had consumed all energy from this planet and is now feeding on trees from Earth, is the source of all mischief. The energy produced is being sold at a huge price, and those who can’t afford it are left to die and if Allahyar doesn’t do anything, the same fate will befall his world.

Minister, the villain (voiced by Ali Zafar), is a mix of Thanos and Darth Vader, ruling a futuristic country. Visually, the setting is appreciable. As we don’t usually get 3D animated films, the effort must be commended. However, cameos from Humayun Saeed, Bushra Ansari, and Meera were marketed as full-blown roles, but are sadly, never materialised.

For animation, like its prequel, the ground-breaking Unreal Engine was used. The hover-bike chase, the atta­ck by the unknown creatures and the fight scenes were simply out-of-Pakistan, if not the world. Directed by Uzair Zaheer Khan, it becomes Pakistan’s first 3D animated movie, which teaches us about clean renewable energy.

If wildlife preservation was the idea behind the first film of Allahyar, then the alarming global crisis and shortage of trees are behind the sequel. Allahyar truly rises to the occasion as Muhafiz and saves again with his heroics.

Published in Dawn, Young World, Aug 19th, 2023