Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas



Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is a 2003 animated film produced by DreamWorks Pictures with voices of characters from Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Joseph Fiennes. It uses traditional 2D animation with some 3D. The film received mixed reviews. Also, the abandonment of the story's Arabic roots in favor of a Greek setting was brought up as a matter of discussion.

This is the last film to be hand-drawn animation produced by DreamWorks Pictures, due to being considered a commercial disaster and Dreamworks' decision that the American public would be more interested in computer animation. However, the film retains a cult following.

Plot
A pirate named Sinbad and his crew are chasing after a ship carrying the legendary Book of Peace, a mysterious artifact that protects the land from chaos, to Syracuse, which he plans to steal and hold for ransom. He runs into his old friend Prince Proteus who is guarding it, despite this he still plans to steal the book, until Cetus attacks the ship. Sinbad kills the monster, but is dragged under water by one of its tentacles. He is saved by Eris, the Greek goddess of discord (chaos, disharmony, bad luck, evil, despair, unhappiness...), who makes a deal with him: in exchange for stealing and giving her the Book of Peace, she will give him whatever he wants if he comes to Tartarus, her realm of chaos, saying "follow that star beyond the horizon." Sinbad and his crew arrive at the palace and plan to steal the book, but Sinbad calls it off after he meets Proteus' fiancée Marina. Knowing that Sinbad himself won't do it, Eris disguises herself as him and steals the book, leaving his knife as evidence. Sinbad is imprisoned; he tries to explain that Eris framed him after he decided not to steal the book, but they don't believe him and he is sentenced to death. Proteus, however, does believe him and makes an offer, allowing Sinbad to go to Tartarus and get the book back, but if Sinbad doesn't return within 10 days, Proteus will be executed in his place. The court accepts and Sinbad is freed. Knowing that the king won't let his only son die, Sinbad decides to head for Fiji. However, Marina, Proteus' fiancée, has stowed away to make sure that Sinbad goes after the book. She convinces him and he changes course for Tartarus.

Sinbad is at first annoyed by Marina's presence, saying that a ship is no place for a woman, and constantly having to argue with her. Eris sends sirens to stop Sinbad, and the men of the crew fall under their spell. Marina and the ship's dog Spike keep their senses and save everyone. This wins Marina the trust of the rest of the crew, while Sinbad, not wanting to admit that he's wrong, only pays attention to the damage to his ship. The crew looks for wood on an island, only to find that the island is actually an impossibly gigantic angler fish-like creature. After narrowly escaping, they hitch a ride on the fish's tail, but cut it loose after a day, as almost everyone is sick from the ride. As the crew passes through the ruins of an ancient city, their ship and the water are frozen in place by Eris; when they try to break up the ice they are attacked by another impossibly enormous creature, this time a huge white bird; the Roc. While trying to rescue a crewman, Marina is captured by it and taken to the top of a frozen tower. Sinbad climbs up the side of the tower to rescue her. Sinbad gets to the top but he and Marina are found by the Roc and have to slide down a slope on Sinbad's shield. They are chased by the Roc through the ruins, causing the buildings to topple over. The Roc is crushed by the falling ice and stone. Sinbad and Marina get back to the ship, landing on the ship's sails. The falling ruins break the ice as well, allowing them to move further.

As times goes on, Sinbad starts to accept Marina and they both start to have feelings for each other. The crew makes it to the entrance of Tartarus, but they are stopped short by "The edge of the World", a huge gap where the world ends leaving the gate floating in mid air. Sinbad has his crew set the sails so that they will catch the wind flowing up from the rift and fly; it works and the ship flies to Tartarus. Marina and Sinbad go through the gates alone and enter Tartarus, there they meet Eris, who reveals that her real plan wasn't to steal the book but rather to rob Syracuse of Proteus, its next true Heir to the throne causing mass chaos once his father dies. Eris agrees to surrender the Book if Sinbad truthfully answers this question: 'if he cannot gain possession of the Book, will he fulfill his promise and return to die in his friend's place?'. Sinbad says he will return, but Eris accuses him of lying and sends him and Marina back to Earth without the Book. Sinbad admits to Marina that he was lying, and that he did not intend to keep his word and die, even to save the life of his friend. Marina begs him to flee, hoping to return by herself to Syracuse and somehow save both Proteus and Sinbad. Sinbad nevertheless travels back to Syracuse, just as Proteus is about to be executed. Having fulfilled his promise, Sinbad has saved Proteus from the brink of death, but since he failed to bring back the book, must face the death penalty himself. Before the executioner can kill him, Eris intervenes, furious at Sinbad for his decision. Sinbad quickly realizes that, despite doubting himself earlier, he has indeed kept his word to return to Syracuse and surrender his life for Proteus. He now fully understands that this was Eris's test of honesty for him, and that by returning as he had said he would, he had passed the test. Eris is furious, but she is an honorable goddess, so she keeps her promise by giving him the Book. Then she disappears, promising to find other places to destroy, whereupon Sinbad opens the Book, returning Syracuse to peace. Proteus turns to Sinbad, saying "For what it's worth, I think the Council believes you now." Later Sinbad leaves Syracuse to embark on another voyage, leaving Marina behind despite their burgeoning romance. Proteus realizes that Sinbad and Marina have fallen in love and bids Marina to go with Sinbad. She and Sinbad sail away, presumably to have more "adventures."

This story takes the name Sinbad, the presence of a Roc, and the incident wherein Sinbad and his crew encounter an island that turns out to be the back of a gigantic sea-beast from the One Thousand and One Nights; however, much of the setting is derived from Greek mythology, including the presence of monsters that also appear as constellations, a trip to Tartarus (to recover the Book), and an encounter with the Sirens. The plot scenario of Proteus taking Sinbad's place is similar to the legend of Damon and Pythias. Throughout the film, Eris appears as a sadistic femme fatale who is constantly in sinuous motion. During the quest, Marina and Sinbad fall in love with each other.