Metoroporisu (2001)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Rintaro

Writers:

Osamu Tezuka (comic book)
Katsuhiro Ôtomo (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (USA)

Genre:

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

Tagline:

Welcome to Metropolis

Plot:

Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban must find the mystery behind robot girl Tima.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Future | Riot | Military | Theft

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Yuka Imoto	...	Tima (voice)
Kei Kobayashi	...	Kenichi (voice)
Kouki Okada	...	Rock (voice)
Tarô Ishida	...	Duke Red (voice)
Kousei Tomita	...	Hige-Oyaji (voice)
Norio Wakamoto	...	Pero (voice)
Junpei Takiguchi	...	Dr. Laughton (voice)
Takeshi Aono	...	Ponkotz (voice)
Masaru Ikeda	...	President Boon (voice)
Shun Yashiro	...	Notarlin (voice)
Toshio Furukawa	...	Skunk (voice)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Lamp (voice)
Masashi Ebara	...	Ham Egg (voice)
Takaya Hashi	...	Lyon (voice)
Norihiro Inoue	...	Atlas (voice)

Also Known As:

Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis (Australia) (USA) (DVD title)
Metropolis (USA)
Osamu Tezuka no Metoroporisu (Japan) (complete title)
Robotic Angel (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and images of destruction. (also English dubbed version)

Runtime:

108 min | Japan:113 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | French | German | Italian | Spanish | Japanese | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Malaysia:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:14 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12 | Italy:T | Japan:R | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:PG | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Taiwan:PG-12 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

Initially delayed, due to concern that its images of crumbling skyscrapers would shock people traumatized by 9/11, it actually did well enough for Sony to extend its theatrical run for a few more months.

Goofs:

Continuity: At Robot Storage Area 17, the sign in the window changes from "Metropolis Police Department" to "Metlopolis Police Department."

Quotes:

Tima: [Tima is going to destroy the world] This is punishment for toying with robots.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#28.11)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

There'll Never Be Goodbye

A visual feast - though the script has problems

I am a fan of anime, so after hearing all the great acclaim this movie got, I knew I had to see it.

Visually, the movie it top-notch. The blend of computer graphics and hand-drawn animation is seamless, with incredible detail given to each. Graphically, this movie is indeed a milestone in animation, one that will definitely be referred to over and over in the future. If you are a fan of animation (Japanese or otherwise), you MUST see this movie.

As for the story and character - they were somewhat underwhelming. Occasionally each got to the point where they intrigued you and made you want to learn more - but you got no more. You learn really nothing about the youthful male protagonist or the female humanoid who he saves and takes care of. They hardly even say a word to each other! There were also some big jumps in the storyline, feeling like a lot of important information was cut out.

The movie was based on a long manga, so it's obvious that A LOT of character and story development had to be cut out so that the movie would run at an acceptable running time. I honestly think this story would have worked - it certainly would have been somewhat better - had it been done as a miniseries. Maybe the visuals wouldn't have been so stunning, but a more compelling story and more memorable characters would have made up for it.