“Enough talking. Time for some screaming.”
The race was close; one of the closest it has possibly ever gotten for the number one spot atop the weekend box office. The much-debated Joker (yet ANOTHER spin on a classic comic book character) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, the latest in a series of sequels nobody asked for, both chased the top spot, with the latter beating the former by less than 200k. Since there’s been nothing else out recently worth seeking any kind of paring or alternative to, I thought I’d explore a title related to the return of Disney’s most wicked fairy and her sequel which, although totally irrelevant, is at least never boring.
If there’s one main reason Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is an entertaining mess rather than a lifeless one, it’s the presence of Michelle Pfeiffer as the movie’s villain. Draped in finery and delivering lines such as: “This is no fairy tale,” with a mix of camp and evilness, Pfeiffer has a ball as the ruthless Queen Ingrith, walking away with the movie in the process. Even if the character is a blend of the ones Pfeiffer played in both 2007’s Hairspray and Stardust, one would have to venture back even further to 2003’s animated romp Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas to find a character which allowed the actress to be at her absolute baddest.
Based on the classic tale, Sinbad; Legend of the Seven Seas sees the titular sea captain/notorious thief (Brad Pitt) embark on a mission against his will to the dangerous realm of Tartarus in an effort to save his best friend Prince Proteus (Joseph Finnes) from death. In order to do this, he must retrieve the valuable Book of Peace from an evil goddess named Eris (Pfeiffer), who is holding it hostage and setting traps for Sinbad along the way. Accompanying Sinbad on the sea adventure is the beautiful Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Together, the pair will journey to the ends of the earth in order to save Proteus and defeat one of the most nefarious goddesses to have ever existed.
One of the elements which was touted at the time, but is more appreciated today is how Sinbad represents the changing of times in the animation world. While Toy Story had already shown what computers could do for animated films and the following year’s Home on the Range stayed firmly in the tradition of hand-drawn cartoons, a select few movies opted to see what they could do with both. As Sinbad shows, the combination is a triumphant one. Characters constructed purely from hand-drawn designs contain that priceless feeling animated films of the past used to impart, while the worlds they find themselves in and the creatures they must battle all feel otherworldly thanks to the wondrous (and at the time, innovative) computer technology. The blended animation really comes to life in the various set pieces within Sinbad; and for a movie with such a short runtime, there sure are a few of them. Eris’s hand-drawn form is sketched with such allure, while the sea monsters who surround her are a testament to the kind of top computer animation of the day. Being a sea voyage, Sinbad and his gang encounter plenty of foes as they make their way towards Tartarus, where Eris is waiting with the Book of Peace. Huge birds, avalanches, sirens and an extremely large creature, which Sinbad and the rest of his crew confuse for an island, are all given the best of early 2000s computer animation. It’s in the creation of Tartarus, Eris’s domain where the innovation works best. The use of computer graphics during the penultimate showdown between hero and villain is made all the more captivating thanks to the desolate, shapeshifting wasteland that the technology has been able to conjure up.
The characters are almost always just as responsible for an animated film’s success as the animation itself. The makers of Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas know this and have crafted a trio of lead characters all dynamic enough to help the movie soar. Sinbad himself is as slick as they come; always plotting and as quick on his feet as he can possibly be. Yet in the midst of ego and self-preservation, there’s also a pure adventure streak within the character that makes him enough of a heroic figure for the audience watching. Marina was definitely written with a 21st century eye as she exudes an independence and a confidence most animated heroines were sorely lacking…even in the early 00s. When the two are together, their chemistry turns Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas into a buddy comedy/light rom-com of sorts; adding another layer to the whole affair. But it’s Eris who was given the best of everything; the best design, the best lines, the best entrances. The way the character revels in wreaking havoc on mortals for no other reason besides the fact that she can, instantly makes her the movie’s most attractive and delicious presence. As the Goddess of Discord, Eris wears her title well as she seeks power and inflicts malice on a daily basis. It’s Eris who hands down has the movie’s best lines. “Just look at them,” she tells her sea creature as she looks down onto earth. “I pull one tiny thread and their whole world unravels into chaos. Glorious chaos,” she coos. They say a character should always maintain a level of humanity, whether they’re good or bad. Still, a character like Eris, with her brand of dark mischief, proves that all bad ain’t THAT bad.
Voice acting will always give actors the freedom to be as outrageous and elaborate as possible, delivering their lines in a fashion that’s as animated as the movie they’re in. It’s an actor’s dream, as evidenced by the fun and heightened performances given by Pitt and Zeta-Jones, who are alternately cool and lively all the way through. Finnes and Dennis Haysbert (as Sinbad’s first mate) play their character’s straight, which is fine since Pfeiffer embodies more flamboyance than anyone else in the cast. Blessed with the movie’s flashiest character, the actress finds the perfect levels of playfulness and sinister to bring the intoxicating Eris to life.
Summer 2003 was both the most logical and absolute worst time for Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas to have been released. Not only was the movie competing with a flurry of sequels for previous hits such as Legally Blonde, Charlie’s Angels and Terminator, but the powerhouse force of Finding Nemo was still captivating family audiences with no signs of letting up. The final nail in the coffin came in the form of decidedly mixed reviews, which paled in comparison with the ones Finding Nemo received. None of the above did the movie any favors as Sinbad swiftly disappeared almost as quickly as it debuted.
There was probably a time when a movie like Sinbad could have been a gem that would have been discovered by legions of young fans, making it an eventual classic. But by July 2003, that time had long since passed. Even in the years since, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas continues to get lost in the shuffle of animated feature films, yet remains fondly remembered by a precious few. If the shifting of eras within animation and what it meant for feature releases going forward caused this movie to get caught in the crosshairs of time, it still managed all the aims an effort of its kind should. If anything else, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas stands as an admirable experiment which showed how two forms of stunning animation, at different stages of their lifespans, could be blended together to create pure movie magic.