Rating: 
Summary: Give that guy a raise
Review: "The sailor of legend is framed by the goddess Eris for the theft of the Book of Peace, and must travel to her realm at the end of the world to retrieve it and save the life of his childhood friend Prince Proteus."
Patrick Gilmore (producer of The Lion King, Aladdin, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Pocahontas, and The Rocketeer) teams with Tim Johnson (Antz) to direct this marvelous, extremely underrated film. The story line was extremely fun though intense at times. I loved the different animated creatures that attacked our heroes. I truly wish this movie had turned out to be a blockbuster that provided sequels (only if the same cast could have been kept together).
Yes, Sinbad has an all-star cast featuring Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Michelle Pfeiffer. They work extremely well together, and their parts were pieced together nicely, like they were all in the same studio together. Their performances were very good, I mean it was a cartoon, so it's not Brad Pitt in Seven, I wouldn't call it brilliant, but it flowed nicely.
The action scene in the beginning was fabulous. I loved the animated fight scene concluding with a harpooned squid. That action sequence was amazing, disappointingly, there was not another fight scene with as much intensity in the film. That was my only qualm with the movie.
Spike, the animated dog in the film was my favorite character. He provided comic relief, direction, and displayed the feelings of the crew. Spike was a very well done character in Sinbad.
In the end, this is a must have in your DVD collection. I loved this film, and felt it was marketed incorrectly. This should have been a hit. Maybe not as big as Shrek, but at least in the same manner as "The Incredibles." I thought this cartoon was a delight, and loved the subject matter, characters, story, and plot.
Grade: A-
Rating: 
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: 4 seconds into the film and that Godess was already my favorite character. The characters have alot of personality, and I was happy to finally see an animated movie done in a more traditional way, without this "CGI" overload garbage (which I hate, by the way.) The scene with the Sirens was very nicely executed. Anyway, find it for a decent price and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: An Average Dreamworks Animated Feature
Review: Hey...even Disney doesn't hit a home run all the time. Sinbad (voiced by Brad Pitt) is a scheming thief roaming the seas for treasure to steal. When he comes across a ship headed back to shore carrying the all-powerful `Book Of Peace,' Sinbad, smelling the resale value, tries to steal the book away. His attempt is thwarted by his old friend Proteus (Joseph Fiennes), but the book is eventually stolen by the goddess Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer), who frames Sinbad for the crime, forcing the bandit to sail to the edges of the world on a search to retrieve the book, taking Proteus's fiancée, Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones) along for insurance.
Sinbad uses mostly traditional 2D animation blended with some 3D. While the animation is decent, it's certainly not on the par of Shrek, Shrek 2 or Finding Nemo. The detail and depth, shading, lighting, etc just doesn't quite do it.
`Sinbad' is in better hands when it comes to voice talent. At first, Brad Pitt comes off a little wooden as the world weary thief. His thick monotone is always a better match with his live action acting than his animated counterpart. As `Sinbad' sails by, Pitt's performance warms up along with the movie, though he gets tripped up here and there by the aforementioned ghastly dialog. In the female leads, Both Michelle Pfeiffer and Catherine Zeta-Jones don't really have as much to work with as Pitt, but they both provide silky smooth voice characterizations, with Pfeiffer hamming it up agreeably as the villain.
Sinbad is a decent movie. Not classic status by any means but a good enough movie to kids but won't have the same appeal to adults as movies like Shrek and Toy Story.
Rating:
Summary: A highly underrated animated adventure on DVD!
Review:
This is the story of the famed storybook sailor Sinbad who has a crew including a beautiful woman who sail from far oceans, battling many beasts, and have to get a magical sacred book from the super sexy but deadly goddess "Iris".
A wonderful and entertaining animated romp that unfortunately was a dud at the box-office but still is quite a delightful Dreamworks made animated fantasy romp with the voices of Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta Jones, Michelle Pfiefer and Joseph Fiennes and has some great artwork & CGI effects to blend in with it.
The DVD is quite good with good picture, commentary by the filmmakers, behind the scenes featurettes, a fun game, and art gallery, this is a must have movie if you love animation.
Rating:
Summary: Adenike from Bermuda loved this movie
Review: Excellent animation, great action and lessons found in the story line that did not go over my seven year old's head.
Rating: 
Summary: Exhilirating Thrill Ride
Review: Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas bombed at the box office. That is unfortunate, as this film is a dazzling adventure. Dreamworks spared no expense or talent on Sinbad. The voice cast includes Brad Pitt as Sinbad, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marina, Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in "Shakespeare in Love") as Prince Proteus, Michelle Pfeiffer as Eris, the Goddess of Chaos, and Dennis Haybert (President Palmer in FOX's television drama "24") as Sinbad's first mate Kale.
The story revolves loosely around the Arabian Nights Sinbad. Except for lots of huge monsters, including the Roc and Sea Monster, and Sinbad sailing a pirate ship on the wild seas, this version draws heavily on Greek mythology as well. There are sirens in the film, and the Cyclops is mentioned. Eris was a Greek goddess. The story is good, if not somewhat predictable. Sinbad is a self-centered pirate who wants one last big score so he can retire to Fiji with his crew. The Book of Peace, a mystical object that keeps the Twelve Cities safe, is on it's way to Syracuse for safekeeping. Sinbad wants to hold the book for ransom. The Goddess Eris also wants the book, so she can achieve her goal of worldwide chaos. Unbeknownst to Sinbad, the book is being transported by Prince Proteus, Sinbad's former childhood friend. A monster, sent by Eris, interrupts Sinbad's theft, and the two temporarily reunite to fight the beast. In Syracuse, Sinbad is framed by Eris. Proteus takes Sinbad's place awaiting the chopping block. Sinbad has ten days to recover the book or his friend will die. Proteus' fiancee from a politically arranged marriage sails with Sinbad so he won't run away.
The story seems to play second fiddle to the effects, which are enchanting and enthralling. At one point, (thank God I was watching at home) I actually screamed "WOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" after one intense scene. Some of the effects in this film broke new ground in animation. The watery sirens and the dissapating form of Eris were effects that had never been used before. The background of the city of Syracuse, and the living celestial map of the Book of Peace are so superbly done.
Proteus is so gorgeous and so noble, and Sinbad is so rakish and bold: you get TWO animated leading hunks for the price of one. I also like the fact that Marina has short hair in this movie. The movie contains some mild sensuality, but it is not at the heroine's expense. She is treated with great love and respect by Sinbad's crew. There are many laugh-out-loud moments.
Everyone who is interested in the preservation of hand-drawn animation should rent or purchase this film. Many triumphantly say that hand-drawn animation is "dead," and should give way to computerized films like Finding Nemo and Shrek." These naysayers and negativists do not mention that the film is a combination of computer digital effects AND hand-drawn characters.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular Animation!
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous effects can't salvage a waterlogged script!
Review: An exciting battle at sea with a monstrous "crab-octopus", an awesome excursion through siren-infested waters, and a rollicking (if overlong) encounter with a snow eagle are three of the major scenes involving the melding of traditional animation with CGI effects. These are marvelously executed and show the technicians' craft to the best of their abilities.That said, the script isn't very thrilling, concerning a voyage to retrieve a valued book and restore Sinbad's credibility, as well as save his friend from execution. Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Michelle Pfieffer do as best to be expected with the lines that they must deliver. And poor Dennis Haysbert gets to voice the stereotypical "bulging muscled black" crewman. When I saw that character, I could only think of how often he appears in film from Michael Clarke Duncan in "Armageddon" to the "doctor" in Disney's animated "Atlantis, the Lost Continent" to Isaac Singleton in last year's hit "Pirates of the Caribbean". Maybe this is more than a younger audience can detect, but, to an experienced filmgoer like myself, it's getting rather old.
Rating:
Summary: Outta Sight!
Review: This is not only one of the best recent animated films I've seen, but is actually an epic piece of cinema. The visuals are stunning, spectacular, highly imaginative, whatever adjectives one can drum up! It's the singlemost imaginative creative endeavor onscreen that I've seen in the past five years. If you're a fan of THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN or TIME BANDITS, you're going to love this movie. It's in the same spirit, but also employs all the state of the art CGI effects and pixel animation innovations that have brought new standards to the industry. The story is actually involving, and the voice overs are masterfully done. The animation is full '60s Trip level. Do yourself and your family a favor and make this one a part of your permanent collection! This is truly artful animation of the highest order. BEK
Rating:
Summary: A Good Animated Feature!
Review: "Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas" is an animated feature that was made by the studio that made "Shrek," and more recently "Shrek 2." This is hand drawn animation while the two Shrek movies are made by computers. Sometimes the hand drawn animation can be better, because there is more talent. They have to make so many smaller drawings. "Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas" does have a small share of computer animation, but it is mostly hand drawn. It has the voice talents of Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Michelle Pheiffer, and I feel that they all did their part for these characters. Only they were able to brings these characters from the paper to the big screen. The stories of all the different gods and goddess always interest me, and that's why I liked a recent historical epic "Troy." "Troy" is from Greece, and it's about the Trojan War. "Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas" is a little different, but it involves the same kinds of people, and the same time period. The story involves Sinbad, who is a sailer and a thief who is going on a quest to find the Book of Peace. The book protects twelve cities and the people that live in them. He gets the book, and sails his ship with the book, but the Prince of Syracuse, Proteus, and Sinbad's old friend wants the book back. But, they are not the only two people who want the book. Eris, the Goddess of Chaos wants the book so she could make the world a much more horrible place. She makes a deal with Sinbad to get her the book or he'll die. He agrees and goes to get the book, bit Eris takes it and his shape and everybody thinks that he stole the book. Sinbad is sentenced to death, but Proteus decides to take his place. Sinbad is giving ten days by the council to get the book back or his old friend is going to die. Sinbad doesn't want to do it, and he decides to go where he wants to go because he is guessing that the king is not going to kill his only son. Proteus' fiancee doesn't like what Sinbad is planning on doing and she decides to go with him to get the Book of Peace back. "Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas" is a fun little animation romp. I thought that it was better than "Shrek" and probably equal to "Shrek 2," but not as good as "Finding Nemo" or "The Triplets of Belleville." But the thing is, these are all different movies with different stories. This is an action and adventure animation, and I feel that it'll appeal to all audiences. It has a really good story as well, and those who are fans of myths and things related will like this. The animation is stunning, and art fans should give this a look. It also has great acting, even though it is animated. Without acting, the voice talents cannot bring emotions to these people. I thought that Brad Pitt did good as the voice of Sinbad. I don't really like him, and I felt that he ruined "Troy" and "Oceans 11." I couldn't really think of anybody else to provide the voice of Sinbad, because I could see alot of Pitt in this character. The stunning Catherine Zeta Jones provided the voice of Marina, and she was good for that character. Phiffer plays Eris, and she was the one who wasn't that great. Her voice didn't really match the character, and I didn't see the evilness based on her voice. A person that I could see voicing the character is Charlize Theron. She could make he voice sound evil as she proved in "Monster." "Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas" is not a perfect film, but it is a good one. It is perfect for fans of animation and people who enjoy watching action and adventure stories. It is a fun movie, and it has some moments that are funny, some moments that are touching, and some moments that could have people gripping onto the edge of their seats. I missed the movie in the theatres, but if I saw it there, I would have felt that it was well worth it. ENJOY! Rated PG for adventure action, some mild sensuality and brief language.
|
