It’s easy to forget now, but there was a moment in the early 2000s when Jeffrey Katzenberg honestly thought traditional hand-drawn animation was the future of DreamWorks. Then came Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. It didn’t just flop; it practically sank the entire 2D department.
The year was 2003. Pixar was already crushing it with Finding Nemo. Meanwhile, DreamWorks was trying to sell a swashbuckling adventure featuring a roguish sailor voiced by Brad Pitt. On paper, it looked like a guaranteed hit. You had Michelle Pfeiffer as Eris, the Goddess of Chaos—who, let’s be real, is the best part of the whole movie—and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marina. The animation was a "tradigital" hybrid, blending hand-drawn characters with massive CGI monsters.
But audiences didn't show up.
The $125 Million Disaster
DreamWorks took a massive financial hit on this one. We’re talking a $125 million write-down. That’s the kind of number that makes studio executives sweat through their expensive suits. Looking back, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas was caught in a weird transitional period. It was too "kinda mature" for little kids but not quite edgy enough to capture the Shrek audience that DreamWorks had just cultivated two years prior.
Katzenberg famously said after the film’s failure that the idea of telling a traditional story using traditional animation was likely a thing of the past. It's a bit of a tragic take. The artistry in the film is actually quite high, especially when you look at the fluid movement of Eris’s hair, which was a nightmare to animate because it constantly shifts like smoke.
The plot is basically a heist movie on the high seas. Sinbad is framed for stealing the Book of Peace. He has to travel to Tartarus to get it back, or his childhood friend Prince Proteus gets executed. It’s high stakes. It’s epic. Yet, it felt old-fashioned to a public that was currently obsessing over 3D-rendered clownfish.
Why Eris Stole the Show
If you ask any animation nerd about this movie today, they won't talk about Sinbad. They’ll talk about Eris.
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She is a masterclass in character design. Animated by Kristin Koch and her team, Eris moves with a chaotic, ethereal grace that the CGI elements of the movie just couldn’t match. She’s huge, then she’s small. She’s solid, then she’s vapor. Her motivation isn't even world domination; she just wants to see people mess up because it’s funny to her. It’s a very modern villain archetype trapped in a movie that felt a decade too late.
The contrast between her hand-drawn fluidity and the clunky CGI of the sea monsters (like the Cetus) is jarring. This was the "hybrid" era. Think Treasure Planet or Titan A.E. Studios were desperately trying to prove that 2D could be as "cool" and "dynamic" as 3D by shoving digital backgrounds and monsters into the frame. Sometimes it worked. Often, it just made the hand-drawn characters look like they were floating on top of a video game.
The Brad Pitt Factor
Casting a massive A-lister like Brad Pitt was a classic DreamWorks move. They wanted the star power.
But voice acting is a specific skill. While Pitt is a phenomenal actor, his Sinbad feels a bit... grounded? It’s a very modern, American performance for a character that probably needed a bit more theatricality. When you compare it to the high-energy performances in Aladdin or even The Road to El Dorado, it feels a little flat.
Catherine Zeta-Jones brings a lot of fire to Marina, and their banter is clearly trying to evoke the "screwball comedy" vibes of the 1940s. It’s charming enough. But the chemistry is fighting against a script that feels like it’s checking off boxes.
- Hero who says he only cares about money? Check.
- Strong female lead who is better at sailing than he is? Check.
- Loyal crew of comedic sidekicks? Check.
- Dog for comic relief? Check.
It’s all there. It just lacks that "it" factor that made Shrek a cultural reset.
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A Script in Limbo
John Logan wrote the screenplay. Yes, the same John Logan who wrote Gladiator and Skyfall.
You can see the "epic" DNA in the story. The stakes feel real. The underworld of Tartarus is genuinely creepy and imaginative. But the humor feels forced. There are these "modern" jokes sprinkled in that feel like they were added in a late-stage polish to try and mimic the Shrek success. It creates a tonal whiplash. One minute you’re watching a mythological epic about honor and sacrifice, and the next, there's a gag about a dog having gas.
It’s weird.
The Legacy of the "Last" 2D Film
Actually, calling it the "last" is a bit of a technicality, but for DreamWorks, it was the end of the line for traditional features. They pivoted hard. Shrek 2 came out the following year and became one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time. The message from the box office was loud and clear: 3D or bust.
Looking at Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas today, it’s actually a much better movie than the 2003 reviews suggested. The action sequences are genuinely thrilling. The score by Harry Gregson-Williams is incredible—heavy on the brass and strings, giving it a real "Old Hollywood" adventure feel.
But it’s also a museum piece.
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It represents the exact moment the industry gave up on a medium that had defined it for nearly 80 years. When Sinbad sailed off into the sunset at the end of the movie, he took DreamWorks' hand-drawn animation department with him.
What You Can Learn From the Sinbad Failure
If you’re a creator or a business person, there’s a massive lesson here about "The Middle."
Sinbad failed because it sat in the middle. It wasn't as revolutionary as the new 3D tech, and it wasn't as nostalgic or "prestige" as the Disney Renaissance hits. It was a hybrid that satisfied nobody. In a crowded market, being "pretty good" and "kinda different" is often worse than being a total disaster. You have to commit to a lane.
Actionable Takeaways for Animation Fans
If you haven't watched it in twenty years, it’s worth a re-watch, but do it with a specific lens.
- Watch the background art. The scale of the islands and the "Edge of the World" is stunning. It’s some of the best layout work of that decade.
- Focus on Eris. Study the way she’s animated. It’s a masterclass in "squash and stretch" and silhouette.
- Compare the CGI. Look at how the digital monsters aged compared to the hand-drawn Sinbad. It’s a perfect example of why hand-drawn animation is often more "timeless" than early 2000s computer graphics.
- Listen to the score. Turn the volume up during the "Sirens" sequence. Gregson-Williams used haunting vocals that still hold up as some of the best music in DreamWorks history.
The film is currently available on most streaming platforms (usually Peacock or for rent on Amazon). Give it a look not as a failed blockbuster, but as the final, ambitious gasp of a dying art form at a studio that was about to change the world with an ogre.
To truly understand the history of modern animation, you have to look at the shipwrecks. Sinbad is the most beautiful shipwreck in the DreamWorks library. It’s a testament to the fact that talent and a massive budget can’t always save a project that’s fighting against the tide of history.
Seek out the "Making Of" featurettes if you can find them on old DVDs or YouTube. The technical hurdles they overcame to mix the 2D and 3D elements are mind-boggling, even if the final result feels a bit disjointed. It's a reminder that sometimes the process is just as interesting as the product.