The final traditionally hand-drawn animated feature from DreamWorks Animation.
In a screen test, Spike, Sinbad's dog, proved more popular than Sinbad himself, so the production team filmed seven additional scenes featuring Spike prior to the film's release.
Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones hadn't met each other until the film's premiere.
Michelle Pfeiffer agreed to play the film's villain after her children asked her to.
Michelle Pfeiffer and Catherine Zeta-Jones hadn't met until the morning they were due to appear on a daytime chat show to publicise the film.
In the sequence where the whole crew, Spike among them, are being sick after travelling at top speed, you can hear a man say, "Hey, where did he get the carrot?" According to the film-makers, the line started as an offhand joke during story development that made everyone groan so much they chose to keep it in the finished film.
This film incurred a $125 million loss, which helped precipitate the sale of Pacific Data Images (PDI) and contributed to DreamWorks Animation being rebranded as DreamWorks Animation SKG in 2004.
Across the original tales and all earlier film adaptations, Sinbad is depicted as a Muslim originating from Baghdad during that city's Golden Age (AD 762–1258). In this rendition, however, Sinbad appears to adhere to Greek polytheism. His companion Proteus is presented as the Greek prince of Sicily, which places the story roughly between 733 BC and 212 BC.
The original storyline was intended to centre on Sinbad's first voyage, followed by six sequels each covering one of his other voyages. However, after the box-office disappointment of The Road to El Dorado (2000), Jeffrey Katzenberg opted to produce a single film that would not focus solely on that one voyage.
In Greek mythology, Eris' best-known tale concerns her manoeuvring other goddesses as revenge for having been slighted. Reportedly, most of the gods and goddesses had been invited to the wedding of the mortal Peleus and the goddess Thetis, but Eris was excluded. In retaliation she fashioned the so-called "Apple of Eris", a golden apple supposedly intended as a gift "For the most beautiful one" or "To the Fairest One". The goddesses Aphrodite, Athena and Hera each claimed the apple and the title of the Fairest, provoking years of rivalry between them and setting in motion the chain of events that led to the Trojan War.
Eris dwells in Tartarus. In classical mythology, Tartarus was a region of the underworld to which the condemned and those guilty of offences against the gods were consigned; over time this notion developed into the Christian concept of hell. In fact, Tartarus is even mentioned in the New Testament, in the Second Epistle of Peter.
Originally, Russell Crowe was attached to play the lead, but in the autumn of 2001 he was replaced by Brad Pitt after Crowe became unavailable due to commitments on another project.
This was DreamWorks Animation's final two-dimensional (2D) animated film. After its release, the studio devoted itself exclusively to producing CGI-animated films.
The creature that attacks Sinbad’s crew at the start of the film is called Cetus. It actually has its roots in classical mythology — it’s the same monster from which the hero Perseus rescued the maiden Andromeda.
In classical mythology, Eris is the goddess of chaos and strife. She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera and instigated the dispute over the Golden Apple between Hera, Aphrodite and Athena, a quarrel which ultimately led to the Trojan War.
An article in Wired described it as 'the first Hollywood production created entirely on Linux'. Animators employed over 250 HP workstations running Red Hat Linux and bespoke animation software to carry out the film's rendering.
In Greek mythology, Eris is literally the personification of strife and discord. Her name derives from the Greek word for "strife". Eris' Roman counterpart is the goddess Discordia.
The fairy tale 'Sleeping Beauty' — in variants recorded by Giambattista Basile, Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm — portrays a malevolent fairy who, enraged at being left off the guest list for a gathering of humans and fairies, sets out to take revenge. Several folklorists have suggested that the story is a reworking of the 'Apple of Eris' tale from Greek mythology, and that the uninvited fairy is modelled on Eris.
The dwarf planet Eris, first observed in 2005, was named in honour of the goddess Eris.
It stands as the final traditionally animated feature film ever to be released theatrically that was neither produced nor distributed by Disney, was not adapted from any previously animated source, and was produced in the United States.
To obtain a U certificate (equivalent to an American G), the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) required that a 12-second sequence containing a head-butt be cut. The lowest uncut certificate that would have permitted the head-butt to remain was '12 years and over'.
Around that time, Sony and director Rob Cohen announced plans for a live-action adventure film entitled 'The 8th Voyage of Sinbad', with Keanu Reeves lined up to star. Regrettably, the project never progressed beyond pre-production.
Classical sources offer differing accounts of Eris' parentage in Greek mythology. The poet Hesiod (8th or 7th century BC) portrays her as a daughter of Nyx, the goddess of the Night. In that tradition, Eris' siblings include gods and goddesses such as Apate (deceit, fraud), Geras (old age), the Hesperides (evening, sunset), Hypnos (sleep), the Keres (violent death, destruction), the Moirai (the Fates, destiny), Momus (blame, unfair criticism, mockery), Moros (doom, impending doom), Nemesis (divine retribution, implacable justice, avenger of crime), Oizys (misery, depression), the Oneiroi (dreams), Philotes (friendship, affection) and Thanatos (death). Most were minor Greek deities personifying various aspects of the human condition.
A plot element of the film is that Lady Marina hears the Sirens' beguiling song yet remains unaffected by it. In myth, the Sirens are portrayed as a female personification of temptation, whose singing lures those who hear it. The film strongly suggests that their enchantments work only on men.
A central plot point of the film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) is that the goddess Eris cannot break the promise she gave to Sinbad, even though doing so thwarts her plans. In Greek mythology, Eris is the mother of the god Horkos ("Oath"). Her son personifies the curse that befalls anyone who swears a false oath. Even the gods were bound by their oaths.
Within Greek mythology, Eris is sometimes equated with Enyo, a war-goddess associated with Ares. Enyo's Roman counterpart was the goddess Bellona.
This was the first DreamWorks Animation feature whose score was composed solely by Harry Gregson-Williams, following his collaborations with John Powell on earlier films such as Antz (1998), Chicken Run (2000) and Shrek (2001).
The figure of Proteus, the Prince of Syracuse, takes his name from a lesser Greek deity. In myth, Proteus was a prophetic sea-god whom Homer called the 'Old Man of the Sea'. He regularly altered his form to avoid being captured, but was eventually seized and questioned by Menelaus, the King of Sparta.
At one point, Sinbad claims the ship's railings were made of mahogany. The film is set in the Mediterranean. Mahogany is a type of reddish‑brown hardwood sourced from three tropical species in the genus Swietenia. All three species are native to the Americas and were unknown to Europeans until the 16th century.
Jim Cummings's eighth animated feature, following The Brave Little Toaster (1987), The Lion King (1994), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Titan A.E. (2000), Shrek (2001), Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001) and The Jungle Book 2 (2003).
The character of Lady Marina is presented as an ambassador from Thrace. Thrace is a historic region in the Balkans that was once inhabited by the ancient Thracians. Today the region is split among three countries: East Thrace forms part of Turkey, Western Thrace lies within Greece, and Northern Thrace is in Bulgaria.
It was Brad Pitt's first outing as a voice actor in a feature-length film. He later went on to voice Metro Man in Megamind (2010) and Will the Krill in Happy Feet Two (2011).
The only hand-drawn animated feature from DreamWorks Animation whose score was not composed by Hans Zimmer. He had originally been due to compose the score but had to withdraw because of other commitments, so Harry Gregson-Williams stepped in to take over.
The film is partly set in the city of Syracuse in Sicily, portrayed as an independent kingdom. Syracuse was founded as a Greek colony in 734 BC by settlers from Corinth and Tenea. It later developed into a powerful polis that governed large areas of Sicily. The city competed with Athens and Carthage for supremacy in the Mediterranean. In 212 BC Syracuse lost its independence to the Roman Republic, yet it continued to serve as the capital of Sicily until the 9th century AD.
Kevin Spacey was among the actors considered to play Sinbad.
This was the final DreamWorks Animation film to sport the standard DreamWorks Pictures logo, as DWA adopted its own on-screen logo in 2004, which first appeared on Shrek 2 (2004).
Dennis Haysbert made his feature-length voice-acting debut. He later went on to provide the voice of Master Ox in Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), General Hologram in Wreck-It Ralph (2012), the Judge in Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014), and Zipper, the blue flying insect, in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022).
Joseph Fiennes (Proteus) is the brother of Ralph Fiennes. Ralph had earlier appeared in The Prince of Egypt (1998) and later featured in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), both productions from DreamWorks Animation.
David Newman, John Debney and Christophe Beck were initially approached to write the score for the film, but all three declined.
Catherine Zeta-Jones was practically unable to sit still, so eager was she to experiment with her role.
The ships are entirely 3D-painted.
It was Michael Sorich's first voice-over role in a theatrically released animated film that was not dubbing work; he subsequently provided voice work in Curious George (2006), The Tale of Despereaux (2008), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and The Angry Birds Movie (2016).
The drawing style is the same as that used in the earlier animated films The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Joseph: King of Dreams (2000), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) and in the subsequent Spanish animated feature El Cid: The Legend (2003).
Jeffrey Katzenberg had been scheduled to contribute to the DVD audio commentary, but other commitments prevented him from taking part.
The characters in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) are likely about three times more complex than any of the characters Michael Spokas worked on in his other films, particularly the sea monster.
In the early stages of production, the animation team encountered the challenge of producing computer-generated (CG) environments and water.
Initially, the sea creature was intended to be a fire-breathing bull called Torus; however, the animators realised that Torus couldn't swim in the ocean.
One reason Brad Pitt agreed to lend his voice to this film was that his nieces and nephews wanted to hear him in an animated feature.
The guards in the background who are engaged with the sea monster come across almost as CGI characters, while Sinbad and Proteus are portrayed in 2D.
Simon Wells suggested that Sinbad's motive for helping Proteus was his anger at the sea monster for having wrecked his ship.
Originally conceived as a gag, the sea monster was an Elmo puppet before being redesigned as a crustacean-like squid.
Joseph Fiennes recorded his dialogue in Germany. Brad Pitt recorded his parts in Los Angeles. The two of them did not meet until production had finished.
Catherine Zeta-Jones was the first actor to be cast for the film; she never realised that the voice work came first and the animation was produced afterwards.
The animators modelled Sinbad's facial features on Brad Pitt because they enjoyed his recording sessions.
After hearing what Dennis Haysbert brought to the character, the animators introduced many new moments for Kale into the film that hadn’t existed beforehand.
Eris was the most demanding character to realise in the film 'Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas' (2003) because of her design; she resurfaces and much about her was uncovered during the animation. Eris' effects are almost like silk moving underwater or cream swirling in coffee.
Tim Johnson and Patrick Gilmore pored over a book of constellations to select the appropriate ones for the opening. Every character in Eris' menagerie was inspired by an actual constellation. The sequence underwent numerous revisions before they settled on the final cut.
Hailing from different backgrounds, Tim Johnson and Patrick Gilmore are united by a strong passion for Sinbad, animation and cinema.
The animation team wanted the sirens to feel otherworldly and to be made entirely of water. To achieve that they spent a lot of time developing the idea: they would start with animated female forms and then convert them into a kind of living fountain. So when they rise from the water they break apart like a wave, hover in the air and then dissipate into a million droplets of vapour as they attempt to sweep the men off the ship's deck. The animators studied rhythmic gymnastics, ballet, contemporary dance and some underwater photography to observe how fabric moves beneath the surface, allowing them to make the sirens more predator‑like or occasionally reptilian, and very quick when swimming. And when they emerge, the team wanted them to appear suspended, extremely ethereal and seductive. The siren sequence was worked on, at one time or another, by almost everyone in the animation department.
After thousands of ideas had failed, Ramone and his team devised the visual 'clockwerk' concept for the Heavens' appearance in the Book of Peace.
Right from the outset, the filmmakers described Eris as essentially a manifestation of her own thoughts. No model sheets were created for Eris for the sequences in which she changes shape.
The animation team listened to Michelle Pfeiffer's sultry delivery and studied her facial expressions, which greatly aided them in animating Eris.
Whilst recording, William Salazar drew inspiration from the way Catherine Zeta-Jones performed. The animation team sought to echo subtle elements of her facial features, paying particular attention to her eyes.
When DreamWorks got in touch with Michelle Pfeiffer, they simply mentioned 'the Goddess of Chaos', and she agreed straight away.
Harry Gregson-Williams composed the music for the film as he reviewed the screenplay. Jeffrey Katzenberg compared his work to the scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Gladiator, noting their shared adventurous feel. The sound is centred on orchestral forces to provide a strong punch and a sense of rush.
On discovering he had been chosen to direct the film, Tim Johnson's immediate reaction was 'Where do I sign?' — he had long wanted the opportunity to work on it.
The effects on this film were at least threefold compared with anything that's ever been achieved at DreamWorks Animation. The animators approached the effects department and told them they needed the equivalent of three films' worth of visual effects, yet to deliver it within the time previously allotted for one film's effects.
The filmmakers employed eight dogs to provide vocalisations for Spike the Dog. An English bulldog called Harvey supplied most of the barking; he was cued by hand. Tim Johnson nearly suffered a heart attack during a recording session with Harvey.
The animators debated exactly where Sinbad and Proteus drew their swords during their dispute over the Book of Peace, yet they reckoned the stakes were so high that, for a decade, they treated it as a friendly contest.
Whilst at a recording studio, Michelle Pfeiffer was handed a scarf. With a brief flick of it over her shoulder she suddenly found the character.
At one stage, Jed, the weapons specialist, had a considerably larger role in the storyline.
Animators regard the sea monster's return as significant because it indicates that Eris had been plotting.
The last animated sequence to be completed depicted Spike clearing every dessert from the table.
Adriano Giannini devised a variety of voices and other elements to experiment with for the character Rat.
A scene in which Sinbad gatecrashes a party in Syracuse to coincide with the arrival of the Book of Peace was inserted late in the production process.
Kale's role began as a straightforward first mate, but following Dennis Haysbert's initial recording session the part was reworked, resulting in the character becoming Sinbad's conscience.
Originally, Eris was intended to be contrasted with the god Janus, but Janus was removed so the film could concentrate more on her and Sinbad.
Patrick Gilmore said the lone guardian entrusted with protecting the Book of Peace was a member of an exclusive brotherhood.
Some of the supplementary animation work was carried out in London.
James Baxter was responsible for the bulk of Sinbad's animation in the sequence where Sinbad tells Marina they're bound for Fiji.
Initially, Marina wore her hair long and black.
Sinbad was originally slated to be eaten by the sea monster just before he encountered Eris beneath the waves.
Initially, when Sinbad went up to Kale and said they were bound for Tartarus, Kale replied that he had already been to Fiji and that Tartarus was a place he had never visited before.
The film-makers intended Syracuse to age in a Dorian Gray-inspired manner after the Book of Peace was taken, and even envisaged ships emptied of water, but those concepts were not developed as they were judged too dark.
Brad Pitt imbued Sinbad with a playful edge to prevent the character from becoming overly dark.
Spike was initially an Akita, though he was deemed too attractive in appearance. He wasn’t planned to be part of the film at first, but was brought in midway through production.
The DVD commentary reveals that Eris's martini glass actually contains an ocean.
John Leguizamo was among those considered for the part of Luca.
The camera's approach draws on live-action cinema.
There is no live-action reference to inform the fight choreography.
The film-makers devised alternative weapons and gadgets for the ship 'Chimera', but these ideas were never fully realised.
The flying snow bird in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) was originally produced in 2D before being reworked.
Initially, after the execution attempt on Sinbad failed, he would have been returned to Tartarus as it was a staged trial; however, the filmmakers felt it would be far more powerful if Eris herself came to Sinbad.
Bob Logan, one of the storyboard artists, devised the scene in which Sinbad tells Proteus to get a haircut, noting that he will need one at some point.
At the end of the film, the filmmakers added an extra second at the start of Sinbad's realisation to give him a little more time to catch his breath.
Initially, the kiss between Sinbad and Marina was intended to be longer and more provocative, but the film-makers chose to have Spike take on the role of matchmaker.
Jeffrey Katzenberg personally asked for Spike to be given more screen time, and the film-makers obliged.
The sea monster's death was originally shown in a slightly more graphic way, with a close‑up revealing him being impaled.
Steven Spielberg conceived an idea for the final scene in which Proteus speaks to Marina, but Marina expressing her gratitude to Proteus undermined the scene.
Originally the siren sequence ran for six minutes, but it was pared back to three; there are ten or twenty distinct iterations.
Bruce Ferris, who animated Kale, devised the notion that Kale would have a beach bucket he would carry on the steps.
At first, the plan was for Sinbad to have Rat's teeth knocked out, but Tim Johnson took pity on him.
The filmmakers held ten recording sessions with the principal voice cast, and conducted eleven sessions for Brad Pitt. Each session ran for roughly two to three hours and was spread across a two‑year period.
Jeffrey Katzenberg devised the notion of attaching an anglerfish so it would carry them like a boat.
On the model sheets the sirens were depicted nude, so the animators applied paintwork to make sure they did not appear overly revealing.
The 'thank you, you're welcome' exchange was initially just those two lines, but Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones improvised a lengthy back-and-forth.
Harry Gregson-Williams composed the score for the sirens a year prior to the completion of Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003).
Patrick Gilmore devised the line in which Sinbad mentions carrots.
The film-makers and Brad Pitt devised several different lines for Sinbad.
Many of Spike's shots were incorporated at a late stage.
John Logan devised, part-way through production, the backstory that Sinbad had known Marina for a long time.
Bibo Borgeson conceived the notion that Eris would take a tranquil bath.
The depiction of the entrance to Tartarus was the subject of considerable debate during the film's production. Initially it was conceived as a vast swamp inhabited by Medusa who guarded the gateway; this was later altered so that doppelgängers of Sinbad and Marina stood watch, before the team eventually decided to portray it as the edge of the world. The animators storyboarded a version in which Sinbad battled a fake Marina and vice versa.
The filmmakers viewed a variety of snowboarding clips to inspire the ice-chase sequence.
Ronalf Ganaden, the lead animator on Proteus, devised a moment in which Sinbad and Marina simply can't help bickering as they try to get out of the snowbound area, even with a gigantic 12 ton bird stamping about.
Marina's winter ensemble was initially planned to be her main costume.
A sequence featuring Medusa had been planned, but it was ultimately omitted.
The film-makers spent ages creating the layout animation that showed the mast swaying.
The sequence in which Proteus is rescued by Sinbad and Kale was originally much longer, but the film-makers pared it back considerably to make it unmistakably clear that Sinbad was doing the right thing.
In earlier versions the filmmakers had Eris shouting at Sinbad to stop interrupting her. They opted to portray her in a calmer, more composed manner so she would come across as more powerful.
A great deal of discussion centred on whether it was appropriate for Sinbad to say whether Marina would ever love a man who might run away.
The filmmakers recorded Catherine Zeta-Jones on Majorca. She and her family were enjoying her holiday, and the studio was kind enough to send them out to her.
The 'edge of the world' effect was among the first major CGI effects the filmmakers produced to convey the spectacular updraught. They drew inspiration from Bridalveil Fall.
The vast seas of sand almost didn't make it into the film. Jeffrey Katzenberg was so taken with the animatic that he urged the animation team to retain the sequence in the film.
In many respects the film-makers first discovered Eris and the tone of her character in the scene set inside Tartarus, and then, in effect, worked backwards so they could have that much fun with her earlier on.
Initially, Sinbad was slated to respond to a sequence of questions posed by Eris, with stages leading to the Book of Peace. These plans were revised so that he faced a single question and, correspondingly, a runway.
Eris ended up being the final principal character to be animated; in the early stages she was rendered without any hair. Tim Johnson quipped that if Eris were bald, she would look as though she were wearing a shower cap.
The scene in which Proteus speaks to Marina at the end remained one of the least altered sequences throughout the final couple of years of story development.
Originally, Eris was intended to be defeated by Janus. In a later draft she would instead have been overcome by Sinbad — when he opened the Book of Peace the light from the book would have burned her. The film-makers ultimately decided it would be more satisfying for her to simply accept defeat.
The light from the Book of Peace was conceived in a number of different styles. One option featured an electrical motif, with bolts of lightning sweeping across the city, but the filmmakers opted for white rays instead.
