Hey folks, Harry here... I loathe that first trailer for SINBAD, LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS. It feels like some sort of happy horse-shit version of the Sinbad legends and films that i love. The dog? Terrible. The sassy smartmouth female character? Yuck. Oh... a cute food fight, leg humping joke and puke joke. A weapon with a bone as the trigger, conveniently bringing the mutt into play. Like I said, I cried foul on the trailer. Now I get this review, which reads like someone is trying to sound informed by citing the 1936 George Pal SINBAD, but here's the thing... To the best of my knowledge, and I'm a George Pal super freak, this Puppetoon exists on NO COLLECTION of his work anywhere, but this guy's seen it. Someone that hasn't been following Dreamworks' Animation thus far? Someone that's comparing the action to SPIRIT, TARZAN and THE LION KING? And claims the creativity borders upon Miyazaki? But he has a "cultish admiration" for an obscure unavailable rarely, if ever seen today, puppetoon from 1936 by George Pal? I'm sorry, I'm not buying anybody's review on this film till I've seen it. The only Sinbad this thing reminds me of from the trailer is SINBAD: BEYOND THE VEIL OF MISTS with Brendan Fraser, though I wish this one all the best. I'd love to be swept away like I was with Fairbanks Jr or the Harryhausen chapters or hell... even the ol Colortoons of U.B. Iwerks, when they didn't have true red, cuz that was property of Technocolor, so it had an orangey feel to it.
Hey Harry,
First things first, I hope you take a read at this, as I've been a fan of the site for a hella long time now and nearly squealed with joy after happening upon a press/studio screening of the new Dreamworks animated feature "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas," to be released July 4th weekend. It's the first advance screening I've ever been to, and a funny one as well, as none of the studio people actually showed up for it (even after the crowd had waited an agitating 15 minutes for them to take their reserved seats). It was also unique because I haven't really been following Dreamworks' foray into the animated market (save "Prince of Egypt," and, duh, "Shrek") so I walked into "Sinbad" with virtually a blank slate, save a cultish admiration of George Pal's 1936 stab at the mythic hero.
Now I know "Sinbad" hasn't rallied a bunch of interest on AICN per say, but that's a shame because this film is actually worth a look. Brad Pitt handles the title role effortlessly as the semi-swashbuckling Sinbad (and for once his face isn't around to make us guys feel like the non-Brad Pitts we are), and Catherine Zeta-Jones is every bit as spirited as she was in "Chicago" as Sinbad's foil Marina. You see, Marina is engaged to Sinbad's former friend Proteus (handled nicely by Joseph Fiennes - apparently THIS is where he's been since "Shakespeare in Love") whom Sinbad, at the film's outset, is trying to steal the scared "Book of Peace" from, a book which bestows order and harmony upon the kingdom of Syracuse. Simple enough. But then Eris, the god of discord, voiced beautifully (and I mean beautifully) by Michelle Pfeiffer, decides to take the book herself while setting it up to look as though Sinbad himself has committed the theft. He's sentenced to death, yada yada yada, Proteus takes his place, and Sinbad must set out to retrieve the book and prove his innocence before his friend is executed.
Therein lies the setup. What follows is a bunch of goddamn fantastic action sequences - sequences which I won't reveal in detail, because half the fun is seeing the crew careen from one unexpected mission to the next. Some notables to look out for: The Siren scene. Creepy, atmospheric, covertly sexual - awesome. The "Big Fish" scene - it reminds you how cool it was to watch "The Perfect Storm" in a theater. The "Big Bird" scene - some of the best animated action I've seen to date, with the dynamics of "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," "Tarzan," and "The Lion King" all melded into one. And finally, the ending - the sand sea is just fucking brilliant. Creativity almost worthy of Miyazaki. Almost.
I say almost because "Sinbad" knows that it's nothing more than a rollicking little tale. Sure, it dashes in some character conflict and dramatic tension (particularly with a surprisingly affecting love triangle) but in the end it's just a bunch of mini adventures strung into one. And I like it that way - it's got a lovely little serial feel to it, just like Pal's film did. And just like Pal's film did way back in the day, this Sinbad provides some gorgeous eye candy, melding CGI and 2-D animation flawlessly. I can't express just how great some of this film looks. It's like new "Star Wars" but you care more. And it's less distracting.
I should also mention that the film contains a lot more "adult" targeted material than you might expect it to. There's a lot of underhanded (thought never distasteful) sexual references that had the older audience members like myself chuckling. This is all inoffensive stuff, but characters like the ultra-sultry Eris - my favorite character, slinking around the screen like a hot version of Ursula from "The Little Mermaid" - and the shapely sirens definitely seemed aimed beyond the PG set. No matter though. The kids will be too captivated by the eye popping action to give a moment's thought otherwise.
All in all, I really recommend this flick to anyone who digs the original or longs for some good old serialized fun. Everyone else I talked to seemed to really enjoy it, and doesn't it say something when a theater full of kids bursts into applause at a film's credits?
Sorry for rambling on, but I really was surprised by the quality of this film and I hope others will be too. Peace out Harry - if you post this, just call me Clockwork K (in honor of the late great Stanley)
Thanks a bunch - you rule.
