SB 0

My Neighbor Sindbad the Sailor?

It’s been a good week for fans of Studio Ghibli. First, we found out that even though the anime production house currently seems to have no interest in handling start-to-finish movie-making, it is going to be involved in producing the visuals for Dutch director Michael Dudok de Wit’s The Red Turtle. Now comes another batch of Ghibli-connected animation, in the form of a new trailer for upcoming theatrical anime Sindbad: The Magic Lamp and the Moving Island.

SB 1

SB 2

If there’s something that seems familiar about the artistic style, it’s because the movie’s animation director and character designer is Yoshiharu Sato, a Ghibli veteran who designed the characters for My Neighbor Totoro.

SB 3

The second of three planned anime starring the storied sailor, Sindbad: The Magic Lamp and the Moving Island is being produced by Nippon Animation, best known for its popular anime adaptations based on international children’s literature which aired on Japanese TV in the 1970s and ‘80s. With Sato involved, though, there’s a definite Ghibli vibe going on in the latest preview, which reveals more of the story than the first trailer we saw a while back.

SB 4

The story sees Sindbad and travelling companion Sana arriving on a mysterious island. While searching for a magical lamp, the children are captured by a group of men who believe Sana is the key to controlling an ancient, mystical power that they seek to use for their own gain.

SB 5

SB 6

Aside from greedy adults and pure-hearted children, the movie looks to contain revered magical creatures living in harmony with nature and at least one scene of flying, all elements that wouldn’t be out of place at all in a full-fledged Ghibli anime.

SB 7

Sindbad: The Magic Lamp and the Moving Island is scheduled for release on January 16.

Source: Anime News Network
Images: YouTube/Nippon Animation