There's something beautifully simple about "Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest," an animated film showing at the Doris Duke Theatre through March 25.

It's so engaging that I watched it almost by accident. I'd meant to watch a couple minutes just to see if it would hold my 5-year-old's interest in a theater that doesn't have popcorn. I'm sure it would have, but she didn't want to wait. As soon as she noticed I had a cartoon playing on my laptop, she scooched over to watch.

And as I watched with her, I decided to ignore her bedtime creeping up on us, then passing us by, because I didn't want to break the spell.

These days, everything aimed at kids teaches some sort of lesson, but most of it is also trying to sell you something: a line of toys, a soundtrack, a new wardrobe. "Azur and Asmar" trades in ideas, taking on complex issues like race, culture and religion and boiling them down to a 5-year-old level, layering the lessons on so gradually that my daughter might not have realized that it was more than just a fairy tale.

After it was over, though, she asked questions. She's never been to the Middle East or even out of the country, but of course she's noticed that people have different eye colors and skin tones, or they might speak a foreign language or eat unfamiliar food. She's very curious about differences between people, and the movie provides a nonthreatening launchpad for exploration of skin colors, ethnic food, foreign languages and class relations without getting it all tangled up with more complex issues that a 5-year-old couldn't be expected to understand.

That will come later. And when she's ready to discuss Middle Eastern relations, I'd just as soon her baseline come from a movie that teaches kids to be intrigued by differences, rather than be afraid of them. What the alternative? Putting on Disney's "Aladdin" so she learns that she can overcome anything — as long as she has a magic lamp, a genie, a magic carpet, a clever monkey and a hot fiance?