Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

[2099net]

I think some people here don't appriciate how much input Katzenberg had in the Disney films of the late 80's/early 90's (especially early 90's) they love so much.

So Katzenberg is promoting his studio while making sly digs at his main competition. Of course he is. It's his job to for crying out loud. You can't hold that against him. Disney are just as pathetic by arranging to open "The Incredibles" (which it can be argued isn't even a Disney film, so it's success wouldn't really proove anything) against Sharkslayer.

As for Loomis' points. I agree 100%. All animation should be treated with respect, especially 'traditional' animation releases. Sinbad sinking will affect Disney's future releases just as much as Dreamworks (who may end up doing no further traditional animation films as a result). By biggest nightmare is Shrek 2 doing considerably more business than the first as it will send the totally wrong message to every studio lot in Hollywood. Not only with regards to CGI, but also with regards to placing as much emphasis on the voice talent than on the animators, which will be another nail in the coffin of animation as an art form. (The fees the voice artists are getting for a total of 10 days work or less is unbelievable!)

Utlimately Disney needs competition. It's the entire basis of the free market - competition is good. It encourages people to work harder and provide better value for money, while monopolies cause stagnation. Arguably one of the main reasons for Disney's reinvention in the late 80's was the threat of competition from ex-Disney animator Don Bluth (who sadly never lived up to his potential after the stunning Secret of NIMH, the film that scared Disney execs in the first place)

[jabroni76]

^^^

Cheap-o!

Hrm.... 50 cents... not bad actually. Now, I just need to get into college and I'm set.

[indianajdp]

Well stated, 2099.

Competition, especially successful competition, not only keeps you on your toes but ensures that you do not become complacent and let your own work slip down a notch or two.

And we all want a healthy animation genre

[jabroni76]

<< By biggest nightmare is Shrek 2 doing considerably more business than the first as it will send the totally wrong message to every studio lot in Hollywood. Not only with regards to CGI, but also with regards to placing as much emphasis on the voice talent than on the animators, which will be another nail in the coffin of animation as an art form. (The fees the voice artists are getting for a total of 10 days work or less is unbelievable!) >>

Yes, that is very sad. I'm not saying that having "famous" people's voices is a bad thing, but it is a bad thing when companies consider that more important than the animation. So, odds are Disney will follow the trend in voicing, and decrease the production value for the animation...

[Tascar]

My whole dig with Katzenburg is that no matter how much he now claims that he has no ax to grind with Disney, his words and actions from the earliest days at Dreamworks just don't show that.

Yes, I've heard all the stories about how much influence Katzenburg had on the 1990s Disney films. But if that was the case, then how come Dreamworks has yet to produce a traditionally animated film that has been as successful both financially and critically as a Disney film. Just because Antz and Chicken Run marginally succeeded and CGI Shrek succeeded, everyone seems to forget blunders like The Road to El Dorado, bombs like Spirit, and overbloated The Prince of Egypt. And when Shrek II cleans up the box office next year, people are going to forget the failure of Sinbad and herald Katzenburg as some animation savior.

Katzenburg takes potshots at Disney and insults their films (as if their animated repetoire were any better) and, when the studio first started, that they were going to revolutionize animation. Well, as far as I can tell, Dreamworks' animated films have all ended up ripping off and hopelessly adhering to the "Disney formula" they claim to hate so much, even as Disney already began to deviate away from their formula. Don't even get me started on Shrek, which was just one giant crack at Disney. I wouldn't mind it so much if it weren't for the fact that at the heart of it all, Shrek's plot and its elements were hopelessly reliant on the Disney formula.

As for Dreamworks' role in promoting CGI over traditional animation, I can't really blame Dreamworks as I feel that Dreamworks, Disney, and Pixar all have collective blame for this. But that is another story...

Incidentally, I am pretty sad to hear this as I did think that Sinbad was a pretty good film, certainly better than most of Dreamworks' other animated efforts.

[Prince Phillip]

You're luckey, the cheapest theatre we have around here is the $2.50 theatre! $2.50 I remember when it used to be the DOLLAR theatre, just 1 . I don't know about discount nights, don't think there are any . Oh well, $2.50 is better than $5 rental fee and I will get the movie experience ... well sorta

[Prince Phillip]

I don't care for Katzenburg one way of the other, but he does sound like a jerk, even if he did have some part in the success of disney films, 15 years ago...

I personally don't see why disney didn't or couldn't sue, for Shrek, as a lot of it's characters were taken from disney movies, and were original disney characters. Why couldn't that dim wit, come up with his own characters or character designsa without looking so much like disneys. I think he has a grudge with disney and non of might know the exact reason why....

[MickeyMouseboy]

SOME people here dont know the real Katzenberg story and how he sucks and it was him that influenced shit at disney. only made enemies and pushed the animators around.

[Prince Phillip]

SOME people here dont know the real Katzenberg story and how he sucks and it was him that influenced shit at disney. only made enemies and pushed the animators around.

Tell us how you really feel!

[MickeyMouseboy]

you really dont want that

[Loomis]

SOME people here dont know the real Katzenberg story and how he sucks and it was him that influenced shit at disney. only made enemies and pushed the animators around.

I suppose this will all be in your autobiography, 'My Life With Kaztzenberg', where you will reveal what he is really like based on personal experience.

Just back to what 2099 and indiana said, I have to agree with that as well. Healthy competition is really what this industry needs. In fact, a good kick in the pants every now and then makes for good films. As 2099 has already said, Secret of NIMH (one of my fave books & films) gave such a kick to Disney. Animation is my first love, and Disney and Pixar just happen to be the best at the moment

And lay of Katzenberg As everyone points out here from time to time, Eisner is just as big an arsehole, which will be revealed in my autobiography 'My Life with Eisner'

[MickeyMouseboy]

Eisner did something positive for the Walt Disney Company as a whole back in the days now is different. Katzenberg did shit, nothing, zippppp.......a. only made alot of people angry, making other people stop trusting disney, other stop working for disney, he was disloyal and didnt keep contracts. he was the cause for robbie williams not wanting to work for disney after the first aladdin! buy my book Life in the Walt Disney Company 83-03 -Special Edition- comes with pictures and is autographed by me!

[JohnDMoore]

I still agree. While yes, I have absolutely NO interest in this film whatsoever, the fact that "Kangaroo Jack" did infinitely better is depressing and a major blow to traditional animation.

[Loomis]

he was the cause for robbie williams not wanting to work for disney after the first aladdin!

That is a bad thing?

Oh, did you mean Robin Williams?

Two very different beasts.

The former is an absolute tosser from the UK, the latter is a very funny man.

[MickeyMouseboy]

sorry i wrote robin williams at first but then i was thinking about robin been a girl's name and i changed it to robbie but i know what you mean.....

[Starion]

Here are the DVD details from DVDToons.net http://www.dvdtoons.com/news/470 and dvdanswers.com: http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?r=0 ... &n=1&burl=:

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is scheduled for release on 11/18/2003, with a retail tag of $26.99

* 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer
* English DTS 5.1 Surround Track
* English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track
* French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track
* Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track
* English Dolby Surround Track

* Cyclops Island- All New Animated Adventure
* Making Of
* Filmmakers' Commentary
* Easter Eggs
* "The Voice of Spike" Featurette
* Games
* Production Notes
* Cast & Crew Bios
* Dreamworks Kids' Section with More Games and Activities - including exclusive level of play for Infogram PC Game (DVD ROM)
* Character Bios

[Mermaid Kelly]

I don't know about Sinbad, but Shrek is great! Also I agree with the person that said something about Disney's "magic" kinda fading out. I think that the best Disney movies were made from Little Mermaid to Pocahontas. After that, they just didn't capture my interest that much....Lilo and Stich was ok though.

[Starion]

Sinbad to Set Sail on DVD

October 02, 2003

SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS (DreamWorks Home Entertainment, $19.95), DreamWorks' last traditionally animated feature for the foreseeable future, bows on DVD Nov. 18, 2003. In keeping with DreamWorks' tradition of offering innovative DVD programming, the loaded SINBAD disc features "Cyclops Island," an all-new interactive animated program that enables viewers to use their remote control to choose one of their favorite characters from the film - Sinbad (Brad Pitt), Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones) or Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer) -- and follow them on a different path within an action-packed story. The new six-minute program was made exclusively for the SINBAD DVD release by the same feature filmmakers and animators, and also includes the movie's voice talent. Further extending the entertainment experience, the DVD also includes a treasure trove of creative activities, printables and DVD-ROM and set-top games based on "Cyclops Island," as well as an exclusive demo of Atari's SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS game, filmmakers' commentary and more.

http://news.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=to ... em_no=9316

The DVD will have DTS Stereo sound. Why not 5.1 sound. The DVD should at least have a Dolby Digital 5.1 sountrack.

The six minute program sounds interesting. I wish more Disney DVDs would have special programs like this and more DVD-ROM features.

I think I'll pass on the DVD on November 18. I'm saving my money for some other DVDs and some radio equipment.

[2099net]

Finally seen the film on DVD and... well it's not good.

But the animation on the goddess Eris was outstanding.

But if this is to be Dreamworks' last "traditionally" animated film, you wont be missing much. The film was virtually CGI anyway. Only the character were traditional animation - all the backgrounds and creatures were CGI. And like my complaint about the environments in Treasure Planet no attempt was made to make them match the look and feel of the characters. Again, almost as if Dreamworks wanted to say "Hey, Kids, look CGI!".

Oh well, bad story (how the heck do you muck up a Sinbad story anyway? Why rewite a story that's survived for thousands of years? I suppose only Hollywood would be so vain as to think that they could improve it ), dull script, inappropriate voice casting (but again thumbs up for Eris - Michelle Pfeiffer was superb), overuse of CGI in a "traditional" animated film. "Move along, nothing to see here."

A shame. If Dreamworks was producing quality films, it would raise the bar for both Disney and Dreamworks.