DUBAI: Leave it to the two masterminds behind Saudi Arabia’s animation sensation “Masameer County” to create a Saudi film like no other. Yep, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz Almuzaini and Malik Nejer are set to release their first Netflix original film, “Ras B Ras,” this August, the first live-action feature film the two maverick cult cartoonists have concocted together. From the looks of it, and according to the inside buzz, this may be their best creation yet.
“Ras B Ras” (or “Head to Head” in English) is an offbeat, visually striking comedy set in the fictional world of Bathaikha, following a bumbling chauffeur named Darwish (Adel Redwan) who accidentally picks up a retired crime lord from the airport. When his passenger passes away, the driver teams up with his company’s new CEO Fayadh (Abdulaziz Alshehri) to trick the crime family into believing their old ‘godfather’ is still alive.
A still from ‘Ras B Ras.’ (Netflix)
While the film is the first effort from Abdulaziz Almuzaini’s new production studio, Sirb, it’s a continuation of what he and Nejer started with their company Mykott Animation Studio, which the two founded back in 2014. Indeed, the film’s colorful aesthetic and madcap plotting is reminiscent of the work that Nejer and Almuzaini started with “Masameer,” which began on YouTube in 2011 and grew into a successful theatrical film in 2020 before the team signed a five-year deal with Netflix to continue the series as well as develop new projects such as “Ras B Ras.”
“We think about this partnership beyond the production aspects,” Almuzaini said back when the Netflix deal was first announced. “Working with Netflix, we inspire Saudi and Arab talents to dream big and support an ecosystem that recognizes equal opportunity, talent and creativity; these are the values that fueled Myrkott in its pursuit of excellence throughout the years.”
For Nejer, the goal is bit simpler than that: Make good movies.
“What we focus on is trying to create films and TV shows that are good, and that people actually want to watch. That’s it for us. If we can achieve that, we’re happy. Sure, if you do something important, you are bound to have some serious influence, but cultural influence is not what we think about all the time — though we do hope it’s positive. We just want to create great stuff,” Nejer told Arab News.
“Ras B Ras” launches August 3 on Netflix.
