Escaflowne (2000)

Directors:

Kazuki Akane
Yoshiyuki Takei (co-director)

Writers:

Ryota Yamaguchi (script) and
Kazuki Sekine (writer)

Release Date:

24 June 2000 (Japan)

Genre:

Adventure | Animation | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

One Will Wake It. One Will Destroy It.

Plot:

A grim retelling of the television series "The Vision of Escaflowne".

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Splatter | Mecha | Brother Brother Relationship | Super Villain

Cast

Maaya Sakamoto	...	Hitomi Kanzaki
Tomokazu Seki	...	Van
Jôji Nakata	...	Folken
Mayumi Iizuka	...	Yukari / Sora
Minami Takayama	...	Dilandau
Kôji Tsujitani	...	Jajuka
Shinichirô Miki	...	Allen
Ikue Ootani	...	Merle
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Trevor Devall	...	Shesta (voice: English version)
Brian Dobson	...	Nukushi (voice: English version)
Michael Dobson	...	Dryden (voice: English version)
Paul Dobson	...	Folken (voice: English version)
Brian Drummond	...	Allen (voice: English version)
Andrew Francis	...	Dilandau (voice: English version)
Nobuyuki Hiyama	...	Oruto
Willow Johnson	...	Yukari (voice: English version)
Yoshiko Kamei	...	Van
Terry Klassen	...	Mole Man (voice: English version)
Hisako Kyôda	...	Old woman (as Naoko Kyoda)
Jocelyne Loewen	...	Merle (voice: English version)
Scott McNeil	...	Jajuka (voice: English version)
Kirby Morrow	...	Van (voice: English version)
Richard Newman	...	Black Dragon Clan Captain, Adon Chief, Pyle, Van's Father (voice: English version)
Ward Perry	...	Gaddes (voice: English version)
Kelly Sheridan	...	Hitomi (voice: English version)
Venus Terzo	...	Millerna (voice: English version)
Kappei Yamaguchi	...	Shesta
Sylvia Zaradic	...	Sora (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Escaflowne the Movie: A Girl in Gaea (Japan) (working title)
Escaflowne: The Movie (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for strong animated violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Canada:14A | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Germany:16 | Australia:M

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

The stadium where Hitomi first meets Folken and is drawn into the world of Gaia is modeled on the historic and famous Kasumigaoka National Olympic Stadium (Kokuritsu Kasumigaoka Rikujo Kyogijo) in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo, where the 1964 Summer Olympics were held. Some of the most distinctive elements in the stadium, such as the colored rows of seats, large scoreboard, lights, and field track are directly visible in the film. Another visible Shinjuku landmark in the film is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which Hitomi sees from the train while she is out shopping with her friend Yukari.

Quotes:

Dilandau: I too have wings, Lord Van!

Movie Connections:

Remake of "Tenkû no Esukafurône" (1996)

Not a good retelling

First, let me state my prejudice: I think the series is the greatest animated series of all time and its universe is one of the great fantasy creations of the twentieth century. What the artists here do with it is spectacular, and one scene in the movie--the resurrection of Escaflowne and the battle of the guymalefs--captures the magic of the series. Otherwise, it is all flash and noise and action. And blood. And loud, not very good music. The story is stiffly told, and is stripped down so far that most of it makes little sense except by reference to the series. The characters are lost, half of them are extraneous, only the maniacal Dilandau comes across--he is done much as in the series--and even here the explanation for him is missing. It looks as if the producers were trying to turn this into another _Akira_, but they chose the wrong property. In short: not enough girl, not enough Gaea, not enough.