Sinbad - Der Herr der sieben Meere

I realise that it may be premature to call this film overlooked, but with both Disney and DreamWorks sounding the death knell for cel animation, this film has yet to receive its due.

First off, this is a gorgeous film to look at. The CG work may not be quite seamless, but this seems to be an intentional decision on the part of the directors, and it wasn't jarring in any way. The colour palette is well chosen, and the characters are well-drawn and stylised.

Second, the voice performances are great. Brad Pitt has always been an underrated actor in my opinion, so his performance here was, no surprise, excellent, as were those of Joseph Fiennes, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Third, the pacing is great. This is a film that breezes by with plenty of action and a welcome lack of potty humour. There are scenes where vomit and bare bottoms are used, but not nearly to the same tasteless effect as most children's films these days.

Finally, my kids loved it. They had a lot of fun, and so did my wife. This is not a crowd easily pleased by movies, so this is really saying something.

Sinbad the Sailor, probably the greatest anti-hero of the Arabian Knights, has seen many incarnations over the years. This time a new animated film from DreamWorks delves into the myth with some celebrity voices in tow.

Sinbad (Brad Pitt) is a happy pirate bent on retiring to Fiji after stealing the legendary Book of Peace. The only problem is that his childhood friend Proteus (Joseph Fiennes) stands in his way. Sinbad finds himself in a conundrum when he fails to obtain the book and ends up following his friend back to his palace where he is introduced to Proteus's future wife Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

When Sinbad is eventually framed by Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer), the Goddess of Chaos for stealing the Book of Peace, Proteus defends his friend for the crime. Proteus puts his life on the line so that Sinbad can sail into uncharted territory and retrieve the book. Unbeknownst to Sinbad, Marina tags along. Can Sinbad wrestle with a goddess and get through uncharted territory in time to save his friend?

Sinbad has always been an epic character and one of my favorites from classic literature and myth. He has inspired so many other multi-layered adventure characters over the years. I was first exposed to his adventures when I was a child and obsessed with seeing more movies from legendary creature creator, Ray Harryhausen. The Sinbad trilogy from Harryhausen still has a soft spot in my plethora of movie favorites. I loved the magic and vastness of worlds that inhabited Sinbad as a character.

It was that knowledge and foundation that made me so excited about seeing a new incarnation of a classic character. I had the same reaction when Disney re-invented `Tarzan' in their animated film. I was half-hoping that there would be a great musical score like that of Disney's `Tarzan' or `Aladdin' but what I did end up seeing wasn't your typical animated cartoon. That was a whole new blessing unto itself.

DreamWorks's Sinbad was definitely a whole re-envisioning of the character but also quite a bold project on its own. I loved how the film seamlessly melded standard animation and computer graphics. There hasn't been an animated film yet that has been able to make such a successful fusion. The backgrounds were utter eye-candy. I also really enjoyed how smart and delectable the dialogue was between these characters. The humor and drama were very involving and extremely enjoyable. As with every Sinbad movie, you always want to see more far off lands and more creatures. That allure and mystery is alive and well in this version.

What was probably the most interesting was that this was the first time an animated film had a character fall in love with his best friend's future wife or that an executioner is ready with a giant axe to slice off a character's head. Even some of the tongue-in-cheek humor was more aimed at adults than children. I liked that because it acknowledged that you don't have to be under 12 years old to enjoy animated films.

My only wish for Sinbad would be that it had a grander score or a memorable song. I wanted some epic music for such a grand character. A bolder score would have made the animated film feel big enough to encompass what Sinbad is. I liked how DreamWorks used music in both `Spirit' and `Road to El Dorado' but seemed to have dropped the ball for this one.

Sinbad is a charming animated film with the DreamWorks edge but it needed to be bolder and bigger to do justice to such a legendary character. I just wanted more. (4 out of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.

"Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" is a wonderful animated feature by Dreamworks. This under-rated movie was very well done with eye-catching visuals and an intriguing story. The scenes of the battle against the sea monster, and the visit to Eris' realm in Tartarus are particularly artistic. Granted, the legend of Sinbad may have been taken far from its "Arabian Nights" roots to go more towards Greek mythology. But all the mythic elements make the story a thing of wonder. Personally, I think every mythology and folklore canon in the world has some connections with each other, so who's to say that Middle Eastern folklore doesn't share any similarities with Greek mythology? Anyway, "Sinbad" truly deserves to be seen and enjoyed!

I know and love all the movies with the famous "Sinbad" (from the Ray Harryhausen time). But I find the recent remakes (TV production) are always boring because off the lack of imagination from the directors.

So I hesitated a long time before watching this one. (above all with a "DISNEY" movie ! I feared to fall asleep.)

But I love this one ! The story is absolutely new, surprising and imaginative. The runtime's movie is short, so no time to bore. The charactere way of talking is really fun and modern, with hilarious quotes. My favourite one is when the Sinbad's ship arrives at the end of the sea, and someone says : "Well, at least, that proves earth is flat !" (LOL !)

Not a masterpiece, but a really good entertainment !

9/10

I personally don't mind Dreamworks. They are either hit(How to Train Your Dragon, Prince of Egypt) or miss(Shark Tale, Bee Movie), but when they are good, they are good. Sinbad:Legend of the Seven Seas was surprisingly good and a thoroughly enjoyable animated film. It could have been longer though, and one or two parts could have done with more excitement. That said, the traditional animation is excellent, very colourful and vibrant, and the score is energetic and has a sense of adventure. The story mostly is engaging, with a sequence with seductive sirens standing out as well as the exciting escape from a bird of prey, and the script is smart and witty particularly the banter between Sinbad and Marina. The characters are likable and very well voiced. I am not the biggest fan of Brad Pitt, but he does a solid job as a somewhat flawed yet likable Sinbad, while Catherine Zeta-Jones is fine as the sassy Marina. Eris is quite sinister and fabulously voiced by Michelle Pfeiffer. In conclusion, a thoroughly enjoyable movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox