736. Sinbad the Legend of the Sailor.
When Billy drafted the script for Sinbad the Sailor, he conceived it as a trilogy, meant to foster two intertwined stories—those of Sinbad, Ali Baba, and Aladdin—from a perspective rooted in the tales of One Thousand and One Nights. However, the writers expanded the concept into four films due to its scope, employing thousands of animated techniques to stretch each installment. For now, everything unfolds with the pleasure that animated films are meant to create, where everything seems to glow with magic.
The screen opened with a powerful image of the Earth in motion. Everything swirled from different angles to give rise not to a single goddess, but to multiple faces—gods who took sides in human lives, especially Eris, the goddess of chaos and the executor of this plot. She is wicked, manipulative, and drawn to Sinbad, who in this book will eventually become her husband, while Marina ends up marrying Ali Baba in a deceitful game called life.
Different races and unknown worlds are also explored, along with moments that are far from playful—reflections on life and its currents that can only be enchanting. With Lux Animation’s work, the animation quality is simply fantastic, allowing the beauty of the entire film to shine through. It is not only visually magnificent; it improves from every angle—music and design alike—with Billy at the head of the project.
-I like the story.- Monica whispered to Billy.
-You have to read One Thousand and One Nights to understand it.- Billy replied.
On his other side, Natalie listened attentively to everything Billy said, delighted that it all possessed a sense of reality and was framed within the Western world from a fiercely critical perspective.
Billy altered the opening of the script, opting for a more dramatic introduction of Sinbad, searching for the Book of Life on an island while robbing a bank—like the pirate he was—at the same time giving money to the poor. His dream, in shaping the narrative across four films, was to add depth to the story and the characters, refining every trait.
Sinbad is controlled chaos: he steals here, gives there, and his motivations are adventure and women—that is what enchants Eris. A man she cannot fully understand, one who does not conform to common ways.
-I think you do well in promoting cultures.- Natalie commented, watching how the film adhered to history, to the writings, and to the historical interpretations of certain scholars regarding each character. Everything felt renewed. Every action felt iconic, while Sinbad remained charismatic and daring from every angle.
-You did a great job again, my love.- Monica said, watching another of the new sequences, as if guiding the story toward where she wanted it to go.
Billy thought about retracing Sinbad’s path—how he squandered his fortune, how he met Proteus, and how his legend as a pirate began. He lived adventures in which he gained wealth and money he never wished to use. The adventure of the Book of Peace would be the fifth, the sixth would involve Ali Baba, and the seventh would follow from there. He would continue traveling, seeking adventures, eventually dying as a legend. All these stories were narrated by the protagonist herself, through the voice-over of Scheherazade in the film.
A valuable approach. A valuable contribution when compared to the Seven Labors of Hercules, though they are different legends. Everything is explained from deeply allegorical points of view.
Jeffrey Kazenberg took a few days from his packed schedule, which was laid bare as he watched Billy seemingly stay one step ahead in every project, almost effortlessly.
-It looks like they won the first round.- Jeffrey whispered, taking notes on Billy’s film. To him, the movie was a profound study of how Billy made films. He was demanding by nature—every form, every transaction met rigorous standards of the highest level. It was about telling a story from a cinematic point of view, and that was where the director framed each scene with his own hands, supported by the meritorious work of animators who contributed their parts to the broader task of making the film.
-I like it, and yet I don’t fully like it.- Jeffrey replied.- It’s not that I dislike it. Perhaps I’m just a bit irritated.-
He had wanted to make One Thousand and One Nights himself, but now he understood that his commitment to the story of Israel was on the right path. He only needed to make one film, well told—otherwise the narration would fail.
-He always seems to have so much work.- Aron Warner commented.- Those transitions are the best I’ve seen, especially in the fight scenes. And I’ve heard he’s had practice with the animated series he releases year after year.-
-Not only that. I think we need to turn DreamWorks Animation into a new DreamWorks Series.- Jeffrey whispered. His family was downstairs, calmly watching the film, while he stepped away to focus on every detail, every shot that passed by. He thought back to his younger days, when money was his only concern, and he enjoyed analyzing which films worked and why—a deep study of scripts that had been overshadowed by ideas on how to make a brilliant film, one that needed explosive moments.
That was what he expected. Though he admitted that, at times, great moral lessons and novel ideas also broke conventions and the general rule. It was unsettling to think that the young man was already investing in creating princess tales, if both stories he had registered as scripts with the copyright commission—later locked away with protections—were approved. They would surely cause a stir in Disney’s corridors.
-A new specialization hiding right under our noses.- Aron Warner whispered.
-It’s just work and dedication.- Jeffrey commented, understanding then why Billy standardized animation prices. He did what he could because it was profitable—extremely profitable. It was thousands of times easier now that someone had formalized the guild.
-That’s why he doesn’t base himself in Los Angeles, to cut costs.-
It wasn’t possible—Jeffrey thought.
-We’ll need a lot of work for the next films, though I’m afraid we need more writers.- Jerry commented, urgently aware of the shortage of those capable of breathing life into good storiescostly talenty, one way or another.
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