Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, an animated adventure from the DreamWorks studio, has little connection to the original fables from the Arabian Nights, but it's an entertaining romp nonetheless. Sinbad (voiced by the mid... more »west vowels of Brad Pitt) gets commissioned by the wicked goddess Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer) to steal a magical book called the Book of Peace from the city of Syracuse--but the prince of Syracuse turns out to be a childhood friend of Sinbad's. So Eris steals the book herself and frames Sinbad, making the hero sail to the edge of the world to get it back, accompanied by Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a woman he's secretly loved for years. The movie skillfully blends hand-drawn and computer images. The storyline is surprisingly well-constructed and actually has some thoughts about friendship and personal fiber, while providing all the swashbuckling, derring-do, and cliffhangers you could want. --Bret Fetzer« less
Tani B. from SAINT PAUL, MN Reviewed on 8/26/2010...
We really enjoyed this movie. It was full of action and adventure and had an interesting plot. Our 3-year-old son loved it!
Margaret S. (morgan2010) from GLENVIEW, IL Reviewed on 1/23/2010...
A great animation picture. I watched it more than once before I liked it, but now it is one of my favorites. When the ship if falling off the edge of the world and Sinbad makes it a flying ship is smart and creative animation.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Vicki A. from SEALY, TX Reviewed on 10/6/2009...
Great Movie my two year old loves it
great action great story great characters even me and my husband love to watch this movie
2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
Absolutely Fantastic!
Miriador | New York, New York USA | 06/26/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I had the good fortune to be invited to a premiere of this movie in New York, and it was FABULOUS! The audience was packed with people of all ages, and everyone had a great time. And how could they not? The movie has something for everyone! Fun, adventure, phenomenal graphic artistry, romance, humor, and a bouyant spirit! The characters are also brilliantly brought to life by the actors. I never would have thought of Brad Pitt as Sinbad, but he gives such a goregeous rough-voiced humor to this pirate that you can't help but love him. Catherine Zeta-Jones is perfect as the fiercely passionate Marina, Joseph Fiennes gives a heroic nobility to Prince Proteus, and Michelle Pheiffer is deliciously wicked as the goddess of chaos, Eris. The crew is also fantastically lovable and deserves high praise. Go see this film! You won't be disappointed! I can't wait to see it again!"
Spectacular Animation!
D. Mikels | Skunk Holler | 07/21/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a huge fan of any craft that demands exceptional talent and requires painstaking patience (neither trait exhibited by me, incidentally). Having said that, I don't care all that much for the computer-generated images of "Shrek" or "Nemo"; to me, it doesn't have the look of actual "animation." So you could have knocked me over with a feather when I stumbled across the little jewel SINBAD--LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS, a film that apparently disappointed during its theatrical release, yet a film that delivers jaw-dropping entertainment and crystal-clear, vivid animation.
Granted, the story itself is somewhat shallow and superficial, yet SINBAD succeeds through the skill and artistry of its makers. The film explodes with colorful images--some of them computer-animated, most of them drawn by human hands--that overwhelm the viewer; within seconds, the outside world exits stage left as the viewer is absorbed into delightful aesthetic imagery. Sure, this is a cartoon, and the characters gracefully defy gravity (and injury) while Nature and other nasty perils take on an even more ominous dimension, yet the film is so well crafted and beautiful that disbelief is willingly and permanently suspended.
SINBAD--LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS is still good, despite the voice lended by Brad Pitt in the lead role. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, Joseph Fiennes, and Dennis Haysbert make their characters come to life, but again, characters and story take a backseat to the animation. This is riveting, swashbuckling stuff; a cartoon that is highly recommended.
--D. Mikels"
Top-Notch Family Entertainment
R. M. Fisher | New Zealand = Middle Earth! | 07/03/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The name of Sinbad is as well known as the likes of Jason and the Argonauts, The Oddessy, and the Arabian Nights when in comes to heroic sea voyages and trickster thieves, and he has been made into several movies and television shows (most of which weren't particularly good). Gradually the name of Sinbad became stale, unfortunate for one of the few Persian/Middle Eastern heroes known to modern Western civilisation. But now Dreamworks pictures reinvents and breathes new life into the legend with "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" in a fresh new story and amazing animation.Sinbad the sailor, captain and thief is about to begin his last robbery: steal the Book of Peace and retire to Fiji, but during the mission two vital things stop him. One is a run-in with his old best friend Prince Proteus, who demands that the book (on its way to his kingdom Syracuse) be left in his charge, the other is an attack from a vicious sea serpent sent from the goddess of chaos, Eris, who is also after the book. By saving Sinbad's life, Eris cuts him a deal: Sinbad must steal the book, bringing chaos to the seven seas, and she will reward him with plenty of riches. But Sinbad's having second thoughts, especially when he is introduced to Proteus' beautiful fiancee, the Ambassador Marina. So Eris takes things into her own hands, stealing the book and framing Sinbad. Now sentenced to death, Sinbad is horrified when Proteus steps up to take his place under the executioner's axe if Sinbad cannot return the Book of Peace within ten days. Grappling with his own desire to simply make a dash to Fiji, Sinbad reluctantly heads off, with an unwelcome stowaway aboard - Marina, who's there to make sure the job is done. Needless to say, conflict (and a certain degree of flirtation) begins between the two.It is the voyage itself that is the centrepiece of the movie: the ship travels under glorious sunsets, night skies full of stars, through ghostly shipwrecks where watery Sirens sing their luring songs, across an island that is more than what it seems, through ancient ruins encapsulated in ice and snow, and finally to the edge of the world, and Tartarus that lies beyond: a place where forever moving sands rise up and sink down to reveal the structures hidden beneath... All scenes are exquisitely rendered, and computer effects meld perfectly with hand-drawn figures. The artistry itself is reason enough to go and see.Voice talents are well-cast, with Brad Pitt as Sinbad and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marina leading the charge as our two main heroes. The animation is quite similar to previous Dreamworks productions such as "The Road to El Dorado" and "The Prince of Eygpt", so it seems only fitting that two voice talents from the latter should be involved here - Joseph Fiennes as Proteus, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Eris. It is this goddess of Discord that really steals the show, and the animation done to create her is incredible - she curls and twines around in the air, she dissipates and reforms from black smoke, and Michelle Pfeiffer brings such a cat-like, almost purring sound to her voice that she is amazing to watch. It's always interesting to see how figures like the gods are brought to life in movies, and "Sinbad" imagined and created her perfectly.Though the story is predominantly centred around Syracuse and the main nemesis is a Greek goddess, the melding all several old cultures actually didn't bother me that much - the movie successfully combines Grecian, Oriental, and Middle Eastern components into the look and feel of the movie, which I suppose in those days of sailing and trade, was not such an extrodinary thing. The creators have made a widespread, colourful tapestry of ancient cities and different ethnic flavours, and it works well. The action sequences are energetic and fast, with camera angles moving at 360 degrees in order to push the viewer into the action, whether it be swordfighting, swinging from the rigging of the ship or facing off yet another terrifying monster. Its pefectly kid-friendly, with a couple of adult jokes that should be way over their heads (pickle and eggs, anyone?) but with enough action and excitement to keep them seated throughout the running time. The final romance was a little abrupt, and I disliked the modern day language of some parts ("I'm bad. *Sin*bad." and "You're cute. But not that cute.") but those would be my only real complaints. Basically, this is a great family movie that all should enjoy whether child or adult."
Sinbad as in Bad movie
Miriador | 12/05/2003
(2 out of 5 stars)
"There was one memorable scene in the movie, where Sinbad was jokingly introducing himself as Sin bad because he "sin"'s and is "bad" as in good. I started laughing because all I could think of was SinBad as in a really bad, terrible movie. This picture is plagued with many problems. First of all, while the animation is generally top notch, the animator's mixed in glaringly poor computer animation. This gave the movie a cheesy, inconsistent look. Secondly, the characters were cardboard cutouts. The movie didn't develop any characters. Instead, it just relied on cliche's and gave a fake feel of development. Thirdly, the whole story and "adventure" was extremely dull. There were scenes after scenes of action, but rather than being a delight, they just seemed like space fillers for the lame story. I would generally like to get into much deeper details, but seeing how I wasted enough time with this movie, I will just say a few more words. I bought this title because I loved both Prince of Egypt and Joseph, two previous titles from Dreamworks. I'm not a religious nut... but am a cartoon nut (owning most Disney classics). I saw the reviews on amazon and thought that people were being too harsh and purchased the movie anyways. I now realize that people were being too nice."
Very underrated movie
R. M. Fisher | 01/03/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love 2D animation movies and this one is a very good one. Too bad, traditional animation doesn't do well in the box office these days. People are now more into 3D animation like Monster Inc., Shrek and Finding Nemo. It doesn't mean that they are not good. I personally prefer this one over most recent Disney movies such Treasure Planet, Atlantis and even Lilo and Stitch. This one is by far the most technically advanced animation movie I have seen lately. The character animations are superb, the 3D CGI effects are well combine with the 2D elements and the story is good enough. Sinbad is a very popular character and the kids love him. The action never stops. The voice acting is excellent in my opinion. If you love 2D animation from Disney or DreamWorks you should definitely buy this movie. Personally, I think that DreamWorks has now surpassed Disney in 2D animation. The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Sinbad are way better then most Disney movies such as The Emperor's new Groove, Treasure Planet, Atlantis, Lilo & Stitch and Brother Bear. Overall, I really enjoy this movie. I give it a 5 stars."