Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

Retirement is sounding attractive to Sinbad (voiced by Brad Pitt) and his faithful crew who have spent close to ten years looting and pillaging on the Seven Seas. But as the pirates prepare to pull off their last big score -- stealing the Book of Peace during its transfer to the port of Syracuse -- someone up there has different plans.

Eris, the Goddess of Chaos (voice of Michelle Pfeiffer), is just as anxious as the arrogant adventurer to get her hands on the powerful treasure -- albeit for different reasons. As the deceitful deity meddles in Sinbad's plot with large monsters, tempests, earthquakes, and her shape-shifting ability, the would-be robber soon finds himself being tried for a crime he hasn't had a chance to commit.

The only thing keeping the scoundrel's neck off the chopping block is the faith of an old friend. Prince Proteus (Joseph Fiennes) willingly takes Sinbad's place in prison to buy his childhood chum ten days to retrieve the precious volume and clear his name. However, not everyone is willing to trust in the rogue's honorable intentions. To insure Sinbad really makes every reasonable attempt to ransom her fiance, Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones) stows away on his ship.

When the beautiful ambassador's presence is discovered, Sinbad is forced to abandon his self-preservation tactics and actually go find the Greek divinity and the stolen book. The long and perilous journey pits the sailors against every obstacle known to man or gods, even to the edge of the world. Meanwhile, the voyage is also one of self-discovery with Sinbad reflecting on his personal motivations and trying to answer Marina's piercing question; "Which are you -- a thief or a hero?"

Although Dreamworks' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas lacks some smoothness in its mix of traditional and computer generated animation styles, the many scenes of sword fighting, shipwrecks and skulls, and alluring or ferocious creatures are still bound to be too convincing for little viewers. Parents may also find the waters a bit choppy due to the inclusion of mild sexual innuendo, language and some slobbery potty humor provided by Spike the dog. For older children, the brisk clip of this swashbuckling adventure tale is sure to sweep them into the action.