Sinbad the Sailor

"Sinbad the Sailor" is a cartoon from animation pioneer Ub Iwerks. During the mid-1930s, he made a series of 'ComiColor' productions--films with no continuing characters but which made use of a Cinecolor two-color process. They weren't exactly full-color, as the print was mostly done in blue-greens and orange-reds--like you'd see in Two-Color Technicolor. I liked some of these films (such as "Don Quixote") but was left rather cold by "Sinbad".

The film begins with a bunch of pirates (including, incidentally a gay pirate) cruising the seas looking for treasure. They spot Sinbad's ship and give chase--eventually conquering them and killing off the crew. However, Sinbad survives and manages to sneak off the pirate ship to watch them bury their treasure. Then, with the help of a giant bird and Sinbad's parrot, they manage to steal the treasure for themselves.

Despite some decent animation, this film suffers from two main problems--there is singing (yuck) and the characters are often too cute for their own good--with little humor. Missing is the edge that should have made this more entertaining. However, if you do watch, keep an eye out for the surprisingly topless native dancers and folks walking the plank--which, incidentally, is something pirates probably never actually did (they'd just toss folks overboard or kill the outright).

Sinbad the Sailor (1935)

** (out of 4)

Here's a rather bizarre short from Ub Iwerks that has a group of pirates tracking down Sinbad and stealing his treasure. Sinbad decides to stick around to see what they do with it and with the help of a large bird he goes to steal it back. Iwerks made a lot of shorts based around famous characters and more times than not the animation was terrific but the stories were rather weak to say the least. I'd argue that perfectly sums up this movie because we're given some wonderful visuals but all of the characters are rather bland and the film lacks any good laughs to help keep it entertaining. The Technicolor is another major plus but it's just not enough to save the picture.

The director of this short was Ub Iwerks, one of the creative minds at Disney in the early years. I suspect that much of the look and feel of very early Disney is due in no small measure to Iwerks as well as to Walt Disney. This is an enjoyable and entertaining short, well worth the time and effort to watch. I'm glad that it's in-print.

This is another of those cartoons that had so many sight gags you'd lose count trying to list them all. It was great fun. Many of those gags, as they tend to be in cartoons, particularly in the mid '30s, involved inanimate objects coming to life.

Here, in this pirate story, we see a ship suddenly sprouting legs and walking! The ship's skull-and-crossbones comes to life with the skull using the crossbones as a lookout glass; the cannons come to life and burp as they fire out ammunition, etc., etc.

Also included in this wild action cartoon are scenes involving bowling and baseball, bare-breasted women (I was surprised it got past the Code), and a parrot that is an unlikely hero.

This is a frenetic seven minutes and highly recommended for escapist, fun fare. I saw it on one of those "Cartoons That Time Forgot" DVDs, featuring the work of UB Iwerks.

While not one of my favourites, Ub Iwerks was responsible for a lot of interesting work. Especially when working with Walt Disney, his oldest friend and one of his best, and co-creating one of animation's most famous characters in Mickey Mouse. His career since opening his own studio had interest value but the quality was variable, often being successful in the animation and music but wanting in the story and variable in gags, lead characters and tone.

1933 to 1936 saw twenty five cartoons, mostly based on famous fairytales and familiar stories, as part of Iwerks's "ComiColor" series. The "ComiColor" series is very much worth watching and interesting, as is the case with many series some cartoons are better than others but there are no real animation nadirs. 1935's 'Sinbad the Sailor' is remarkably very well done and one of the better cartoons of the series.

'Sinbad the Sailor' doesn't actually have much wrong with it. There is much more of a story than some of the other cartoons in the series and other Iwerks works, and feels much more than just a series of gags and events. It doesn't feel saccharine on the most part, though it occasionally does get a little too cute. It is slight though and maybe a bit too simple and only Sinbad is properly memorable of the characters (who are still nice enough actually).

However, 'Sinbad the Sailor' has enough freshness to stop it from being stale. It avoids the over sentimental factor and is never dull. There are a lot of imaginative visuals and the transitions are smooth.

There are a lot of amusing moments (even the odd inside-joke) that aren't too corny and never repetitive, it's very charming, is very touching at times and there is a genuine likeability and cuteness without being over-sentimental. The characters are nice enough in 'Sinbad the Sailor', though none of the others are as memorable as the wholly likeable Sinbad who by default steals the cartoon.

Furthermore, the animation is great. Meticulously detailed, fluid in drawing, vibrant in colour and often rich in imagination and visual wit. The music is cleverly and lushly orchestrated, is infectiously catchy and adds a lot to the cartoon.

Concluding, very well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox