Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is the perfect example
of a children’s movie that couldn’t be more ineffective. While it
excels in providing us with lush imagery that will dazzle our eyes,
the plot is flat, and the way the action is designed is boring. We are
never excited when watching Sinbad, and there is no need
for us to be. For what it serves, this one sails along just
beautifully. We can definitely admire what we see onscreen, and take
pleasure in viewing it. But, I don’t think that anyone can deny that
an animated movie will come across as pretty pointless without a big,
booming, and comically relieved plot. May it be, Sinbad
still has the ability to entertain, and keeps us fairly captivated for
a short, but sweet, hour and twenty-five minute duration.
The animation in Sinbad is
beautiful, even though it never strikes us as particularly advanced or
groundbreaking. The method of sticking traditionally animated figures
onto backdrops, created with the help of CGI is now becoming commonly
used, except in this film, the style is a lot more interesting and
pleasing to view. The look of Sinbad is fresh. The
appearance resembles that of puzzle-pieces, glued onto a canvas with a
background, painted by watercolors. The wonderful sensation I received
when taking a first glance was so refreshing, I was prepared to
experience the rest of the film, in admiration. The visuals did stay
impressive for the entire running length, but the story and plot did
not suffice. If Sinbad’s action sequences had been more
inviting and enthralling, it would’ve been a perfectly enjoyable
animated experience, for all kids and adults. But, this result, is far
from that.
Despite the many attempts of Sinbad,
the so-called ‘action’ is never really very involving. It’s free of
energy and is never driven by emotion, which causes extreme problems.
While the little ones probably won’t even notice that it’s a tad bit
flat, the boring plot will leave most parents begging for their lives.
With beautiful animated features that are equally funny for children
and their parents, like Finding Nemo, around—Sinbad
just can’t measure up to the hungry expectations of audiences.
Another gigantic problem in the writing is the bad timing. When we’re
ready for an enormous fight scene or a jilt in the story, it never
comes. All of the semi-exciting moments are stacked, back-to-back,
which ends up giving us a headache. Boringness and migraines are two
elements that do not blend well together; spare yourself of a theatre
trip to this one.
The voices are done amazingly, but with
Michelle Pfeiffer, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Brad Pitt, Dennis Haysbert,
and Joseph Fiennes leading the cast, this should be expected. I never
felt emotionally involved in Sinbad because of the voices
of the characters, but they certainly were interesting to listen to.
The strongest vocal performance comes from Pfeiffer, who plays the
Greek goddess of chaos, Eris. Eris does not appear in any of Sinbad’s
seven original journeys, but Pfeiffer is so superb, she fits right in,
and makes this film appear to be as worthy as any of the previous
‘Sinbad’ legends. Also excellent is Zeta-Jones, who brings the
romantic aspect of the film to life, and noticeably tries to capture
the true feelings of her character, created by the script. Sadly, the
writing isn’t good enough, on the whole, to exercise the many talents
of the other members of the cast, and makes Sinbad
nothing more than a pleasant little diversion that we could easily
take or leave
Sinbad is definitely a worthy rental, or a
matinee for the kids, but doesn’t ever quite hit the spot. I was never
engaged in the material it brought to the table, but was always
intrigued by it. If you haven’t seen Finding Nemo yet,
you shouldn’t even contemplate going to see this one anytime soon.
Sinbad has its moments, and we can respect its efforts,
but it can’t quite allow me to lend it a positive recommendation. When
the DVD release of this film comes, I’ll be in full gear, to show a
ton people towards it, but for now—it’s just not worth the work.
