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Staring The Voices Of: Brad Pitt,
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Joseph Fiennes
Writer: John Logan
Directors: Tim Johnson and Patrick
Gilmore
Feature length: 86 minutes
Extras: Cyclops Island Interactive
Short, Making Of Featurette, Filmmaker’s Commentary, Set-Top and DVD-ROM Games
Languages: English DTS Digital 5.1
Theatrical Surround Sound and English, French, and Spanish Language Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles: English Captions and
French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging: Amaray Keep Case
Chapter Stops: 24
Sound: DTS Digital 5.1Theatrical
Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year of Theatrical Release: 2003/DVD
Release: 2003
Theatrical Distributor: DreamWorks
Pictures
Home Video Distributor: DreamWorks
Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Age will definitely be the
determining factor as to whether or not you will enjoy “Sinbad: Legend Of The
Seven Seas.” I grew up on watching Ray Harryhausen’s “Sinbad” epics and
while I know that for various reasons those films strayed away from the source
materials too, at least they seem to have a sense of legitimacy to them that
DreamWorks animated feature loses a bit by mixing and matching various cultural
references in order to make it more acceptable for a wider audience. It just did
not feel like a “Sinbad” movie to me. I found myself thinking of
“Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” more than I did about “Sinbad” while
watching the film. The animation is top notch, making DreamWorks still the only
studio that can produce animated features that can compete with Disney, but like
recent Disney animated features, “Sinbad” lacks heart. At least there are no
songs in the film. I can’t stand animated cartoon show tunes. Some of the CGI
monsters don’t match well at all with the traditional cell animation.
Specifically, the sea monster attack sequence in the film’s first act sticks
out like a sore thumb. Ironically the exclusive interactive animated short
entitled “Cyclops Island” was more entertaining than the feature itself.
As a DVD though, “Sinbad: Legend
Of The Seven Seas: Widescreen” ranks with last year’s DreamWorks DVD release
of “Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron” as one of the best single-disc
combinations of enhanced animated features that truly deepen the movie viewing
experience on DVD. So while I was not crazy about the animated film, I thought
the DVD itself rocked for what it was. The feature is presented in a flawless
anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio. A (1.33:1) version is also
available on DVD, but sold separately. Both the English DTS Digital 5.1
Theatrical Surround Soundtrack and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack were
about equal in quality. They both take full advantage of the 5.1 Surround
channels to create a truly discrete and ambient if not sometimes rambunctious
listening experience. A French and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack as well as English Captions for the hearing impaired and French and
Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto the dual layered DVD as options.
There is also an optional filmmaker’s commentary track with Directors Patrick
Gilmore and Tim Johnson, Producer Mirelle Soria as well as other team members
sharing their insights on how this animated adventure was brought to life.
The “Cyclops Island”
interactive short (4:25) is also presented in a widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio
and can be viewed linearly or you can see the short with segments from the
points of view of Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Rat, or Spike the dog. Brad
Pitt also provides his voice for “Sinbad” in this short, which is presented
in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DWK Kids features include the
set-top games Save The 12 Cities, Sinbad’s Sailing Challenge in 3D as well as
a three dimensional tour of Sinbad’s ship the Chimera. Windows based
DVD-ROM users will have access to the “Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas” PC
game demonstration, and at least four more additional DVD-ROM games and
printable activities that include mazes, masks, a calendar, coloring pages, a
mobile, and board game. Children can also navigate through the DVD on set-top
players or with their computers to enjoy their favorite character scenes and
whatnot.
There is a short EPK making of
featurette (16:52), a featurette on the real canine voice for “Spike”
(2:56), and art galleries of characters, creatures, the Chimera, journey
to Tartarus, and Syracuse concepts. Character bios, Cast and Filmmaker bios, and
onscreen text production notes wrap up the extra value features directed related
to the movie. Bonus trailers for “Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat” (1:30)
and a DreamWorks animation on DVD promo (1:53) are also included. The
interactive menus on this DVD are beautifully animated with full motion scene
selections and animated transitions and all are easy to navigate. “Sinbad:
Legend Of The Seven Seas: Widescreen” is available on DVD-Video now at
retailers on and offline from DreamWorks Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2003 By Mark A.
Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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