Steamboy (2004)
"Suchîmubôi" (original title)

In 1860s Britain, a boy inventor finds himself caught in the middle of a deadly conflict over a revolutionary advance in steam power.

Director:

Katsuhiro Ôtomo

Writers:

Sadayuki Murai, Katsuhiro Ôtomo

Stars:

Anne Suzuki, Alfred Molina, Anna Paquin

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Anne Suzuki	...	James Ray Steam (voice)
Masane Tsukayama	...	Eddî Suchîmu-hakase (voice)
Katsuo Nakamura	...	Dr. Lloyd Steam (voice)
Manami Konishi	...	Scarlett O'Hara (voice)
Kiyoshi Kodama	...	Robert Stephenson (voice)
Ikki Sawamura	...	David (voice)
Susumu Terajima	...	Freddie (voice)
Osamu Saka	...	Army General (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rosalind Ayres	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Mark Bramhall	...	Alfred Smith (voice)
Oliver Cotton	...	Robert Stephenson (voice)
Robin Atkin Downes	...	David (voice)
William Hootkins	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Peter Lavin	...	Additional Voices (voice)
David S. Lee	...	Jason (voice)

Storyline

Rei is a young inventor living in the U.K. in the middle of the 19th century. Shortly before the first ever World Expo, a marvelous invention called the "Steam Ball", behind which a menacing power is hidden, arrives at his door from his grandfather Roid in the U.S. Meanwhile the nefarious Ohara Foundation has sent men to acquire theSteam Ball so that they can use its power towards their own illicit ends.

---

Plot Keywords:

ball | steam | inventor | 19th century | boy | 

---

Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

18 March 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Steamboy

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 2,127,519,898 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,034 (Hong Kong) (15 July 2005)

Gross:

$2,034 (Hong Kong) (15 July 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Visual Company, Steamboy Committee, Studio 4°C

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min 103 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Used 180,000 individual drawings.

---

Quotes

Dr. Loyd Steam: An invention with no philosophy behind it is a curse.

---

Crazy Credits

Under the end credits, images of future events in the lives of the characters are shown.

---

Connections

Referenced in Stay Alive (2006)

User Reviews

Excellent adventure, flawed structure

Steamboy has such a rare quality of production values that it almost merits a viewing for the aesthetics alone. But there is a story to the film; and although the hardcore fans of Otomo may have been expecting something a little deeper, and although the pacing and characterization is notably flawed, it still stands as an extremely fun yarn with no shortage of what you'd expect from a classic action/adventure flick. The film, in many respects, is comparable to works like Sky Captain and the Indiana Jones films; a classic storytelling style somewhat augmented for a modern audience.

Numerous characters such as Scarlett and the henchmen are essentially devoid of anything resembling development. Scarlett in particular seems to have had her personal developments skipped or accelerated just to give a comic or emotional foil to Ray and the others, and it sticks out noticeably. She's given the typical "redeeming moment" at the end of the film that has no real grounding or weight considering her screen presence; it comes and goes without making a single ripple in an audience.

Essentially, Steamboy crams too many action set pieces and grand ideas into a story too lightweight to fully support them, and the plot suffers because of it. But it's far from lacking meaning or emotion, so as long as you can detach yourself from expectations you're assured quite a ride.

As a final note, if anyone finds the explicit diatribes concerning science a little distracting, try to keep in mind that they all come from your stereotypical mad scientists types. It becomes somewhat more plausible!