Sinbad

Up until now I was convinced this was a Disney movie, but it’s really a DreamWorks production from 2003.  It’s in 2D, which is probably what threw me off since that studio usually works with digital animation, but thinking back at the script, I can actually see the less innocent and more grown-up-pleasing tilt that’s typical of the boy-on-the-Moon studio’s fare.

Sinbad is a decent production that’s enjoyable and funny, but certainly not memorable.  Being rated PG, the kids liked it quite a bit, since the jokes and the humor were more up to their age bracket.  However, I will likely take a nap the next time it gets picked.

As is often the case nowadays, the cast that voices the characters features tons of A-list stars (Brad Pitt, Joseph Fiennes, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Michelle Pfeiffer to mention a few) but that’s certainly not the reason I would watch this kind of movie.  I actually never fell for the big actor voice hook with animated features, because it’s the story itself that must be interesting.

I really don’t care who’s narrating or interpreting a character, because I usually get lost within the movie and forget who is voicing who.  Only when the credits start to roll and I realize the big names involved do I take notice, but by then it’s too late and even if I saw it ahead of time, I wouldn’t be listening in for a particular character’s voice because of whose voice that is.

Just a few months back I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox, which features my beloved Meryl Streep, but she wasn’t the reason I went to see the movie and I barely remembered throughout the evening that she was voicing that particular character.  I really do think that the studios are wasting their money hiring expensive talent when there are a ton of good actors and actresses that would cost a lot less and could also get a chance to break through.

Anyway, the film per se is passable.

Grade: 6