Steamboy (スチームボーイ) is a steampunk action movie by Otomo Katsuhiro. It was originally released in theaters in Japan in 2002.
Set in England in the 1860's, Steamboy tells the story of young Ray Steam, the son and grandson of two inventors. His father and grandfather have been working over seas on an important expedition/project. One day Ray receives a package from his grandfather but before he has time to read the accompanying letter two large well dressed men arrive at his house looking for it. Just as his mother questions their intentions Ray's grandfather arrives and tells him his father is dead and to keep the package, a mysterious ball/valve, from them. The men turn aggressive as he scrambles to get away from them. While his attempt to escape are dramatic and spectacular he doesn't manage to get away. He finds himself a prisoner in a large and glamorous estate. Inside the estate Ray discovers that his father is still alive, but changed, following an accident. His father is working for the people who own the estate, a powerful American company, and was glad to have the ball back. The situation turns deadly when the company begins a war with England in order to sell its new war machines to foreign dignitaries who have come to the Worlds Expo. Ray has to try and help his grandfather stop his father before their inventions destroy the entire city.
I originally watched this movie in the theaters at its American release and wasn't very impressed. After all those years I watched it again to see if that feeling holds true...and sadly it does. The characters are one dimension, the plot is boring and predictable and at just over 2 hours in running time it is too long for its own good. At the time it was the most costly anime made and it didn't even look that good. The CG didn't integrate very well and the color palette seems muted. There is just a lot about this anime that disagrees with me. It seems with what Otomo has produced since the turn of the century he has lost his energy, between this movie and FREEDOM. Sad.
Either way, if you want this on DVD you can come across the North American copies relatively easily. It was released by Sony.
Set in England in the 1860's, Steamboy tells the story of young Ray Steam, the son and grandson of two inventors. His father and grandfather have been working over seas on an important expedition/project. One day Ray receives a package from his grandfather but before he has time to read the accompanying letter two large well dressed men arrive at his house looking for it. Just as his mother questions their intentions Ray's grandfather arrives and tells him his father is dead and to keep the package, a mysterious ball/valve, from them. The men turn aggressive as he scrambles to get away from them. While his attempt to escape are dramatic and spectacular he doesn't manage to get away. He finds himself a prisoner in a large and glamorous estate. Inside the estate Ray discovers that his father is still alive, but changed, following an accident. His father is working for the people who own the estate, a powerful American company, and was glad to have the ball back. The situation turns deadly when the company begins a war with England in order to sell its new war machines to foreign dignitaries who have come to the Worlds Expo. Ray has to try and help his grandfather stop his father before their inventions destroy the entire city.
I originally watched this movie in the theaters at its American release and wasn't very impressed. After all those years I watched it again to see if that feeling holds true...and sadly it does. The characters are one dimension, the plot is boring and predictable and at just over 2 hours in running time it is too long for its own good. At the time it was the most costly anime made and it didn't even look that good. The CG didn't integrate very well and the color palette seems muted. There is just a lot about this anime that disagrees with me. It seems with what Otomo has produced since the turn of the century he has lost his energy, between this movie and FREEDOM. Sad.
Either way, if you want this on DVD you can come across the North American copies relatively easily. It was released by Sony.
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