Sailing With Sindbad

First broadcast in 1975, the Nippon Animation Company's SINDBAD THE SAILOR ("Adventures Of Sindbad") follows the adventures of the eponymous character Sindbad - here presented as slightly younger than in other versions - and his pals Aladdin the wizard, Ali "40 Thieves" Baba, and Yasmila the mynah bird as they voyage through the mysterious, magic-filled world of Arabian fairy tales. Broadcast in Japan, Spain, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, France, China, and of course the Arabian Peninsula, SINDBAD became a worldwide hit beloved by children everywhere, except the United States.




A shame, too, because the 52 episodes of SINDBAD are fun, full of action without being too violent and filled with exotic faraway places. We could have used a little SINDBAD in the dark days between "Speed Racer" and "Battle Of The Planets." Directed by veteran Fumio Kurokawa, who also worked on Attack No. 1, Blinky The Koala, Around The World With Willy Fog, and that Jungle Book anime that was on TV here in the late 80s, SINDBAD boasted episode direction by several hands including that of Kunihiko Okazaki, who also gave us the grim pond life saga The Brave Frog. 





Instead of exciting adventure with Sindbad we had to endure "Scooby-Doo" reruns, the effects of whatever Sid & Marty Krofft were on that week, and drek like "Funky Phantom". Did "Funky Phantom" ever go to the jungle to meet a jungle boy and Tusk the Cocoa Krispies mascot? Well, Sindbad did!


Tusk is looking a little p.o.'ed there. Those better not be Cocoa Pebbles in your bowl kids!

With a memorable theme song sung by Mitsuko Horie, colorful and chunky 70s style anime character designs, and animation work by veterans like Noboru Ishiguro, SINDBAD is a show that carved out its own little Arabic niche of anime history. Sure, it would be neither the first nor the last Sindbad to appear in the medium of Japanese cartoons, but it's certainly the only one to be used as a restaurant mascot. Oh, you don't believe me? Witness photographic evidence of a "Sindbad" themed restaurant in, of all places, Canada's federal capital Ottawa!





Cruising through Ottawa recently, I caught that sign out of the corner of my eye. I passed two intersections before I was able to convince myself I just saw a restaurant with "Sindbad" signage. And then I made an illegal U-turn. Always have your camera ready, kids! Sindbad might be coming your town - he made an appearance in Toronto recently!





How many more Japanese cartoon characters are being used in an unauthorized fashion as restaurant mascots? Keep watching the roadsides, and look out for monsters, Sindbad!