Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)

Sinbad (voiced by Brad Pitt) is a sailor who intends to steal for the legendary Book of Peace, a mysterious artifact that protects the land from chaos in Syracuse. He runs into his old friend Prince Proteus (voiced by Joseph Fiennes) who is guarding it, despite this he still plans to steal the book, until Cetus attacks the ship. Sinbad kills the monster, but is dragged under water by one of its tentacles. He is saved by Eris (voiced by Michelle Pfeiffer), the Greek goddess of chaos. Eris makes a deal with him: in exchange for stealing and giving her the Book of Peace, she will give him whatever he wants if he comes to her realm of chaos Tartarus saying “follow that star beyond the horizon.” Sinbad and his crew arrive at the palace and plan to steal the book, but Sinbad turns it down after he meets Proteus’ fiancée Marina (voiced by Catherine Zeta-Jones). Eris impersonates Sinbad and steals the book, leaving his knife as evidence. Sinbad is arrested and tried, and he is sentenced to death. Proteus offers substitution, allowing Sinbad to go to Tartarus and get the book back in 10 days. The court accepts and Sinbad is released. However, Marina has stowed away to make sure that Sinbad goes after the book. She convinces him and he changes course for Tartarus.
Sinbad is at first annoyed by Marina’s presence, saying that a ship is no place for a woman, and constantly having to argue with her. Eris sends sirens – aquatic female demons with beguiling voices – to stop Sinbad, and the men of the crew are entranced by them. Marina and the ship’s dog Spike (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) are immune to the sirens’ ghostly songs and save everyone, gaining the crew’s trust towards her. Sinbad, however, only pays attention to the damage to his ship. As the crew passes through the ruins of an ancient city, their ship and the water are frozen in place by Eris. When they try to break up the ice, they are attacked by another impossibly enormous creature, this time a huge white bird called the Roc. While trying to rescue a crewman, Marina is captured by it and taken to the top of a frozen tower. Sinbad climbs up the side of the tower to rescue her. Sinbad gets to the top but he and Marina are found by the Roc and have to slide down a slope on Sinbad’s shield. They are chased by the Roc through the ruins, causing the buildings to topple over and crushing the Roc to death. Sinbad and Marina get back to the ship, landing on the ship’s sails. The falling ruins break the ice as well, allowing them to move further.
As times goes on, Sinbad starts to accept Marina and they both start to have feelings for each other. The crew makes it to the entrance of Tartarus, but they are stopped short by “The edge of the World”, a huge gap where the world ends leaving the gate floating in mid air. Sinbad has his crew set the sails so that they will catch the wind flowing up from the rift and fly; it works and the ship flies to Tartarus. Marina and Sinbad go through the gates alone and enter Tartarus, there they meet Eris, who reveals that her real plan wasn’t to steal the book but rather to rob Syracuse of Proteus, its next true Heir to the throne causing mass chaos once his father dies. Eris agrees to surrender the Book if Sinbad truthfully answers this question: ‘if he cannot gain possession of the Book, will he fulfill his promise and return to die in his friend’s place?’. He answers yes, but, Eris calls him a liar, and sends him back to his mortal world. After a brief discussion with Marina, Sinbad returns to Syracuse and save Proteus from being executed. But Sinbad must face the death penalty himself. Eris intervenes, furious at Sinbad for his decision. Sinbad quickly realizes that, despite doubting himself earlier, he has indeed kept his word to return to Syracuse and surrender his life for Proteus. He now fully understands that this was Eris’s test of honesty for him, and that by returning as he had said he would, he had passed the test. Eris is furious, but she is an honorable goddess, so she keeps her promise by giving him the Book. Later Sinbad leaves Syracuse to embark on another voyage, leaving Marina behind. Proteus realizes that Sinbad and Marina have fallen in love and allows Marina to go with Sinbad.
This story takes the name Sinbad, the presence of a Roc, and the incident wherein Sinbad and his crew encounter an island that turns out to be the back of a gigantic sea-beast from the One Thousand and One Nights; however, much of the setting is derived from Greek mythology, including the presence of monsters that also appear as constellations, a trip to Tartarus (to recover the Book), and an encounter with the Sirens. The plot scenario of Proteus taking Sinbad’s place is similar to the legend of Damon and Pythias. Throughout the film, Eris appears as a sadistic femme fatale who is constantly in sinuous motion. During the quest, Marina and Sinbad fall in love with each other.

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