Arabian naito: Shindobaddo no bôken

I haven't seen this film in well over 30 years, and after quite a bit of searching I got hold of the Catcom DVD which features this film and another animated film called "Johnny the Giant Killer." (This was available on Amazon.)

I remember seeing this film on TV in the 70's, at least once; and, like "Jack and the Witch," this is a film that I saw back in the day, had vague but persistent memories of, and wanted to hunt down and see. It took QUITE A WHILE to locate this movie, as there are many other movies called "The Adventures of Sinbad." However, the Catcom DVD features this version. The DVD is made from a very murky, faded print, of course, as are many of these public domain-type releases. None of the colors are bright or distinguishable, really, and detail is hard to see, especially in the darker scenes. Still, it's more or less watchable.

It clocks in at about 75 minutes, and this is the English dub I remember from seeing it on TV. It's not the most exciting story, nor is it told in a lively way, seriously. "Sinbad's" co-director Taiji Yabushita did much better directing "Jack and the Witch" a couple of years later (there is some similarity in character designs from these two films). Still, as a warm-up, "Sinbad" is okay. More exciting because of its rarity, perhaps (it's like watching a lost episode of Kimba or Gigantor), but it's fun to watch and I'm glad there is at least one modern release of it.

A few moments do work very nicely--a treacherous whirlpool, images of wispy specters floating about a rotted shipwreck, and the famous flying electric jellyfish attack.