Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
A 2003 animated fantasy adventure featuring Sinbad.
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, also known simply as Sinbad, is a 2003 American animated fantasy adventure film. Tim Johnson and Patrick Gilmore directed it, with a screenplay by John Logan. The film stars Brad Pitt as the voice of Sinbad, alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, Joseph Fiennes, and Dennis Haysbert. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures, the story follows Sinbad, a pirate who sails with his dog and loyal crew. He must recover the stolen Book of Peace from the goddess Eris (voiced by Pfeiffer) to save his childhood friend Prince Proteus (voiced by Fiennes) from being executed in Sinbad's place. Marina (voiced by Zeta-Jones), Proteus's fiancée, accompanies him.
The project began when Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio developed a story based on the Damon and Pythias legend, later settling on a love triangle. It was canceled in 1993, but Jeffrey Katzenberg revived some ideas after leaving Disney and co-founding DreamWorks Pictures in 1994, during the production of *The Prince of Egypt* (1998). Johnson, who had tried to direct a CGI film called *Tusker* after *Antz* (1998) before it was scrapped, was brought on to direct *Sinbad* alongside Gilmore. Like the studio's previous film, *Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron* (2002), this movie blends traditional animation with computer animation. It draws from *One Thousand and One Nights* and classical mythology. Stardust Pictures and Bardel Entertainment provided the traditional animation and final line work, while PDI/DreamWorks handled the computer animation technology and CG character animation. Harry Gregson-Williams composed the score.
Released on July 2, 2003, *Sinbad* received mixed reviews. Critics praised the animation, action sequences, and voice performances but criticized the storyline, the polarizing CGI, and the film's departure from its Arab origins. It grossed $80 million against a $60 million budget, and analysts considered it a box-office failure. DreamWorks suffered a $125 million loss on a string of films, and *Sinbad* is listed as one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time, nearly bankrupting the studio. It was the final DreamWorks Animation film to use traditional animation; the studio discontinued the technique in favor of computer animation. DreamWorks brought 2D animation back for the 5-minute short *Bird Karma* in 2018. Until *Rise
- release_year
- 2003
- directors
- Tim Johnson and Patrick Gilmore
- writer
- John Logan
- production_company
- DreamWorks Animation
- distributor
- DreamWorks Pictures
- budget
- $60 million
- box_office
- $80 million
Lore & Background
Development began when Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio developed the story of Sinbad in the vein of the story of Damon and Pythias before settling on a love triangle. The project was canceled in 1993, though Jeffrey Katzenberg decided to restart some ideas when he left the Walt Disney Company and co-founded DreamWorks Pictures in 1994 during the production of The Prince of Egypt (1998). Tim Johnson, who attempted to direct his follow-up CGI animated film Tusker following Antz (1998) before eventually scrapping the project, was recruited to direct Sinbad and teamed with Gilmore. Like the studio's previous film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), the film combines traditional animation and computer animation. The film's traditional animation and its final line services were provided by Stardust Pictures and Bardel Entertainment, with PDI/DreamWorks handling its computer animation technology and CG character animation. The score for the film was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams.
Reader's Guide
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas was released on July 2, 2003, and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation, action sequences, and voice performances, but criticized the storyline, polarizing CGI, and the film's departure from its Arab origin. Grossing $80 million on a $60 million budget, Sinbad was considered by analysts to be a box-office failure, causing DreamWorks to suffer a $125 million loss on a string of films. The film is also listed as one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time, which nearly bankrupted the studio. To date, this was the final DreamWorks Animation film to use traditional animation as the studio discontinued it in favor of computer animation. DreamWorks, however, brought 2D animation back for the 5-minute short film Bird Karma in 2018. Until the releases of Rise of the Guardians and Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken in 2012 and 2023 respectively, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas was DreamWorks Animation's biggest box office failure.
Did You Know?
- The film stars Brad Pitt as Sinbad, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Lady Marina, Michelle Pfeiffer as Eris, Joseph Fiennes as Prince Proteus, and Dennis Haysbert as Kale.
- The project was originally canceled in 1993 at Disney before being restarted at DreamWorks Pictures in 1994.
- The film combines traditional animation and computer animation, similar to Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002).
- Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas was DreamWorks Animation's biggest box office failure until the releases of Rise of the Guardians (2012) and Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023).
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