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Our First Review Of Dreamworks
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
It seems like it’s been forever since Dreamworks released an animated film, although I think it’s only been since last summer’s SPIRIT. I’m curious about SINBAD because it’s a full-fledged adventure film, and this story in particular seems well-suited for animation. Let’s see what today’s spy thought of a recent screening of the unfinished movie:
Hey Harry... Hey Moriarty...
I can’t believe I finally have a legitimate reason for contributing to AICN, so forgive me if I ramble. Several weeks ago, I was invited to watch an early cut (only 50% of the coloring was complete, the score was synthesized, and the CG needed some cleaning up) of DreamWorks’ next animated feature, SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS.
My feelings about SINBAD up until today could best be described as “wary optimism”. A pure animated adventure movie, its scope and wonder unrestricted by such annoyances as money, physics, safety, or reality, could be a film lover’s dream. Yet the three previous attempts at this dream (you know who you are, TITAN A.E., ATLANTIS, and TREASURE PLANET) have all disappointed in one way or another.
Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first. If you’ve been waiting for an animated STAR WARS or RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK... keep waiting. SINBAD does not entirely escape “cartoon” conventions. It contains the requisite wise-cracking hero, the lovable animal sidekick, the sappy storybook romance, and the eccentric slapstick-providing crew. The good news? SINBAD manages to rise above these clichés and provide a very entertaining, sometimes enchanting, adventure that should appeal to both children and adults.
The story follows Sinbad (Brad Pitt) and Proteus, once childhood friends who longed for excitement and heroics on the open sea. As adults, they have grown apart. Sinbad has fulfilled his wish, but at the cost of his honor—he is a pirate and a thief. Proteus, the prince of Syracuse, has opted for a civilized life on shore. They are reunited when Sinbad attempts to steal the MacGuffin (excuse me, the Book of Peace) from Proteus’ ship. They fight, they save each others’ lives, and Sinbad decides to let the Book go when he realizes Proteus is dating an animated Catherine Zeta-Jones. Enter Eris, an evil goddess of some sort, who wants to use the Book to, you know, destroy the world. She frames Sinbad. Sinbad is sentenced to death. Proteus, trusting his old friend, puts his life on the line instead. Sinbad is given the chance to redeem himself by stealing the Book back. Catherine Zeta-Jones stows aboard his ship to make sure that he does. Fantastical voyage and burgeoning romance ensue.
The visuals, for the most part, are stunning. The characters share the same design as those in PRINCE OF EGYPT and ROAD TO EL DORADO, but they have been transplanted to a world that is far more lush, colorful, and diverse. The city of Syracuse is intricately beautiful, with garden terraces and white towers rising in hills above the sea. The Sirens’ Lair is genuinely creepy, with glowing skulls and decaying ship hulls. Everything else looks alternatively ancient, mythical, or swashbuckling. The CG ships also stand out—the way characters zip up and down the masts and swing behind and
around the sails gives the sense that these boats are tangible spaces to be inhabited, not just 3D objects to be moved around with a mouse click. The water is CG as well, but well done enough that I didn’t think about it being CG while watching the film.
I enjoyed the (temporary) score as well. The music matched the mood of each scene nicely, especially the sinister themes accompanying Eris and the Sirens. More than anything, though, I appreciated the lack of pop tracks and/or character duets. As of now, there is absolutely no singing in SINBAD. I pray DreamWorks doesn’t chicken out and graft on the Goo Goo Dolls.
As for the voice work... it’s good enough. I found Brad Pitt’s voice very distracting at first, but he eventually grew into the character (or vice versa). Sinbad is not the serious dashing hero I was hoping for... as I hinted at above, he likes to throw a lot of one-liners around. Once I accepted this fact, I was able to accept Pitt’s charming class clown delivery. Catherine Zeta-Jones creates a strong sexy heroine without sounding too much like Catherine Zeta-Jones. Dennis Haysbert (as Sinbad’s cohort) and Joseph Fiennes (as Proteus) both disappear into their roles. I would have loved to see more of each. The weak chain in the cast is, without a doubt, Michelle Pfeiffer as the villainess. Her voice is too wispy and girlish to make Eris sufficiently menacing. She sort of works as a seductive, playful nemesis... but I almost wish they had given the role to CZJ instead.
The absolute best feature of SINBAD is the action, which is pretty much non-stop. The film starts off with Sinbad’s crew battling Proteus’ crew across both ships with surprisingly well choreographed sword, dagger, and cannon fights. Just when you’re getting bored with that, a giant sea squid shows up to elevate the combat to a more epic, outlandish scale. And the squid is just the first in a long series of huge CG monsters. Each is unique and, even
better, so are the methods by which they are defeated. Remember how cool the magic carpet ride was the first time you saw ALADDIN? Or how the only memorable thing about ICE AGE was the ice sliding scene? Well, I’d say SINBAD has at least three or four sequences of that pace and quality. I
loved all of them. Plus, due to the clean lines and precise timing of animation, the action is always easy (sometimes a joy) to follow. After the headache DAREDEVIL’s editing gave me, SINBAD was refreshing.
Unfortunately, the film is not perfect. While most of the CGI blends perfectly with the 2D animation, some of the monsters stood out glaringly. I assume this will be fixed. What will not be fixed, however, is the film’s principal weakness—its over reliance on humor. Sinbad turns practically everything into a joke. Sometimes this gives him a Han Solo aura, and his lines are well written. But in more important, climactic scenes, I just wanted him to shut up and remain in awe. Truly dramatic moments in the story are often undermined by the screenplay’s preference for comedy. Worse is the physical humor. Yes, SINBAD is full of gross-out sight gags. Vomit, saliva, and plenty of anatomy references. There’s even some unexpected nudity. The biggest offender is the ship’s dog, Spike. I was hoping DreamWorks had gotten the juvenile stuff out of their system with SHREK but, much to my chagrin, they’re adding several more dog scenes. The children will laugh their heads off now, but what about when they grow up?
Still, if you go in expecting a slapstick adventure, you’ll probably appreciate the balance between comedy, drama, and action. In my opinion, SINBAD is superior to TITAN A.E., ATLANTIS, and TREASURE PLANET (the last of which I actually enjoyed quite a bit). I guess I was just wishing for more. An animated PRINCESS BRIDE. An American PRINCESS MONONOKE. What I got instead is simply a fun fun movie and the best of its currently limited genre. I look forward to seeing it completed in a theater (except for the dog).
Moogle the XExcellent reportage, Moogle, and I appreciate you taking the time to drop us a line.
"Moriarty" out.
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Mar 11, 2003 7:59:51 AM CST
The children will laugh their heads off now, but what about when
by earthworm
What about when they grow up? Its a fucking cartoon! I know that the best cartoons appeal to adults and children alike or work on two levels or whatever, but criticising a Dreamworks cartoon for not appealing to kids *once they've grown up* is pretty fucked up, even for this site.
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I am still unconvinced when studios try to merge CGI and 2D. I thought it failed totally in Atlantis, and stood out even in Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (though in fairness to a MUCH lesser extent in the latter two). However, Dreamworks generally don't screw up, and they've obviously put some effort in to this one, judging by the voice cast and the tibits here about the animation. And may I second the reviewer's call for an animated Princess Bride style movie. I suspect that's what they think Shrek was, but it fell short.
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Inconceivable
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Mar 11, 2003 9:08:49 AM CST
"criticising a Dreamworks cartoon for not appealing to kids *onc
by minderbinder
It means that it's going to be too childish for *adults*, idiot. Figure it out. Are you actually defending Dreamworks for wrecking what sounds like an otherwise good movie with toilet jokes?
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Dreamworks animated flicks always have a certain look to the characters and humor that isn't always found in their Disney counterparts, which has kind of become their trademark. I can already see this one being rated PG for action violence and some gross humor, but I needs to see a trailer or some clips before I makes up me mind.
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Its a CHILDRENS FUCKING MOVIE dickhead. Criticising it for appealing to its demographic is like bemoaning all the gratuitous nudity in Basic Instinct. I don't believe in appealing to the lowest common denominator, especially in kids as they're smarter than you think, but they do love toilet gags. This sounds like there's plenty for kids and adults, so saying there's not enough for the parents is just fucking dumb. Other than that this is a good review. You on the other hand are an asshole.
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Frankly, despite Dreamworks' "cool" outsider status, Disney has been making superior product for years. I was glad to hear this guy say he liked "Treasure Planet" (vastly underrated movie), but I have a hard time buying a Dreamworks movie as superior. Dreamworks is still mired in formulaic and very stiff storytelling, whereas Disney is able to lighten up and produce genuinely likeable characters and funny gags. Compare the delightful "Lilo & Stitch" to the joyless (but gorgeous) "Road to El Dorado" or the leaden (and ugly) "Shrek". Even Ice Age--which this reviewer bashes unfairly--is superior to just about anything Dreamworks has done. If they're adding knee-jerk "hip" humour like Disney, they're blowing their only big advantage over other studios (It was nice to see a consistant tone and a complex relationship between the hero and the villain in "Prince of Egypt", even if the flick was overbearingly self-important). Anyway, I remain skeptical, but here's hoping Dreamworks will finally produce something with a soul...
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If only they had elaborated on the Atlanteans history and just where the hell the crystal came from.
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Okay, probably just picking nits here, but the Sirens were in the Odyssey....no where in Sinbad that I remember. Just another example of Disney/Dreamworks taking a dump in the original source works.....
(I'm gonna be irritated if Sinbad ties himself to the mast so he is the only man to live and hear te Sirens song...something that Ulysses already did)
Is it just my imagination or do studio exec's get really confused with mythology? Hell, there're plenty of FREE books in the library folks.... -
No one will ever get near Harryhausen's Sinbad. It's not even worth trying.
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I'm sick of people throwing that in with unfortunate efforts like Titan AE and Atlantis. It didn't make money, on that score at least it was a disappointment, but I think we all know that's not what we care about here, right? We're talking about quality entertainment, and Treasure Planet had heart, it had pathos, it did not indulge in horrible songs, and the FX while numerous never overpowered the story. STOP saying it was just another souless animated mess, because it was not!
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....cos of that delicious picture of Kiera Knightly keeps distracting me!
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"I don't think a movie with Arab heroes is going to do well in the United States at about this time." Rolling Stone -- -- -- That's why this Sinbad movie continues in the tradition of other Sinbad movies by having absolutley no Middle Eastern actors in starring roles. Because we all know that deep down everybody wants to be white.
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There's something inescapably stupid about saying "sure the kids will laugh their heads off, but what about when they grow up?" Well, when they grow up they'll probably go and see grown-up movies. I can't really seeking this one back out, rewatching it in say ten years and then saying to themselves, "Well I'm kind of let down by the puerile nature of the comedy on display here. If only I had the sense not to laugh the first time round."
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on my desk right now I have about two weeks left of work. It'a a very cool Proteus scene. Next friday when the scene is shipped that's it, it's all over. I am out of work. and at this point there doesn't seem to be any more dreamworks animation heading my way for a while. WATCH THIS MOVIE! LET IT MAKE 200 MILLION! save my job!!!
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Mar 11, 2003 1:25:39 PM CST
There's a difference between a KIDS FILM and a FAMILY FILM
by wesley snipes
Those fucking basketball-playing dog movies are kids films. They're only for kids and drive anyone with pubes crazy. Most $60 million+ animated film are actually family films and designed to appeal to EVERYBODY, not just kids. It's a fine balance to make a film that both adults and kids can watch and be entertained by. Perhaps this reviewer is saying the balance is shifted a bit too much to the kid side this time.. Or maybe his expectation of the amount of kiddie stuff is unrealistic. But the point is, it was a valid complaint.
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Mar 11, 2003 1:26:05 PM CST
"Criticising it for appealing to its demographic" But the demo
by minderbinder
When DW, disney, or ANY studio makes a movie like this, they're not aiming it at kids, they want it to play to all audiences. WHY? Because they have to, these movies are too fucking expensive to cater to a niche. Now Jungle Book 2, Thornberies, Hey Arthur or any other schlocky cartoon made for under $10M? Sure, they're aiming at kids. But the $80-100M features like this one are aimed at ALL AGES. (example: McDonalds lost the Lion King promotion to BK because McD wanted to only put it on happy meals...Disney wanted to pitch to all ages, BK agreed to it and got the account...the last thing one of these studios wants is for one of their big animated flicks to get branded "just a kids movie") So yes, it's a perfectly valid complaint to say that it doesn't work for adults.
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Miyazaki and Harryhausen. That's the shit. If you want to see lots of rabbit violence, check out "Watership Down" (the movie not the lame TV show) - not for little kids! http://lavender.fortunecity.com/eraserhead/359/wd26.jpg
I hear "Plague Dogs", adapted from a novel by the author of "Watership Down", was even more disturbing. Two dogs go on the lam from an animal testing facility. Apparently the dogs eat part of a human corpse, although this scene was cut out of some video versions. Anyone out there seen "Plague Dogs?" -
I heard about Plague Dogs a while back, and I've been looking out for it on video or on TV ever since, but it's never turned up. I know what you mean about Watership Down, though. Very violent, but do you know, my parents took me to see that when I was very young, not more than three or four I should think, and the violence made no impression on me at all. I was more startled by it when I saw the film again when I was in my teens. What did have an effect was the end, when Hazel dies. My parents tell me that I was inconsolable, in floods of tears all the way out of the cinema and in the car on the way home. Still brings a tear to my eye when I think about it *sniff*.
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"Bright eyes, how can you know such pain? How can the eyes that burned so brightly, suddenly burn so pale? Bright eyes. . ." Damn you Art Garfunkle, that still makes me cry! I believe Plague Dogs is available on the UK Amazon.com website. However, what's available may be missing the corpse-devouring scene. Don't bother with American Amazon, where it'll cost you $80.
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Mar 11, 2003 3:58:38 PM CST
If people confuse this movie with Sinbad the black comedian, a l
by cooldan989
But still, this looks like typical Dreamworks animated fare. Even though all Dreamworks's cel animation films have different plots, I find they're all the same. I'm probably just going to skip this one.
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...furthering the stereotype that all adult fans of animation are homosexual men. Titan A.E. and Road to El Dorado both had bare male buttox on full display as have various episodes of King of the Hill. Why can they show nude male toon buttox yet not female toon buttox? Yeah, I know we had Heavy Metal but that was over 20 years ago! These animated babes are hot. Why can't you make our nerd fantasies come true Dreamworks?
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Male nudity in films is humourous, whereas female nudity is sexual. Don't know why, but that's kind of how people perceive it...go figure.
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I live near Syracuse! I can't believe it! A movie that takes place in Syracuse! Hot Dog! What?...oh. sorry.
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Proteus is a bitch to draw.
Your job is doomed.
Oh, and since you have my effects unit, could you grab my guitar? It's by Marilyn's desk. I'll be in next week. Thanks. You're a doll.
(ps: tell Ian I have his 5 bux) -
What the hell? Dreamworks is not copying Pixar. Both movies just happened to be in development at the same time and Dreamworks beat them to the punch anyway. No one copied each other. And other than the fact that they make animated movies, and that they both happened to have a bug movie at the same time...what else has their been? Friggin crack addict.
It's good to have a competing animation company. Disney was getting a little too high and mighty their for awhile. -
Mar 12, 2003 10:43:29 AM CST
An animated Cathy Zeta-Jones? I hope she's as chubby-inducing as
by osmosis jones
As for the film, I'm hoping for the best. Only Spirit was a disappointment thus far in the hand-drawn Dreamworks 'toon stable, so I'm optimistic until I can see some trailers. Another thing: Is anyone else unable to access the main page?
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Mar 12, 2003 7:58:28 PM CST
It has characters "transplanted" from ROAD TO EL DORADO? Do any
by kiyone
Chel was the first non-Japanese cartoon character to "arouse" me in the cinema in quite a while, quite an impressive feat.
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Didn't read "Osmosis Jones"'s Talkback post.
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Mar 13, 2003 8:27:01 AM CST
"Why can they show nude male toon buttox yet not female toon but
by minderbinder
And they have, on Futurama and the Simpsons. (don't know how they get away with it)
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If it doesn't win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars there is no justice. Should be up for the Oscar for Best Picture too. Made me smile for days afterwards.
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