Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

A scientist makes a last stand on Earth with the help of a ragtag team of soldiers against an invasion of alien phantoms.

Directors:

Hironobu Sakaguchi, Motonori Sakakibara (co-director)

Writers:

Hironobu Sakaguchi (story), Al Reinert

Stars:

Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Ming-Na Wen

3 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ming-Na Wen	...	Doctor Aki Ross (voice) (as Ming-Na)
Alec Baldwin	...	Captain Gray Edwards (voice)
Ving Rhames	...	Ryan (voice)
Steve Buscemi	...	Neil (voice)
Peri Gilpin	...	Jane (voice)
Donald Sutherland	...	Dr. Sid (voice)
James Woods	...	General Hein (voice)
Keith David	...	Council Member #1 (voice)
Jean Simmons	...	Council Member #2 (voice)
Matt McKenzie	...	Major Elliot (voice)
John DeMita	...	BCR Soldier #1 / Space Station Technician #2 / Additional Voices (voice)
Matt Adler	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Steve Alterman	...	Additional Voices (voice)
David Arnott	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Cathy Cavadini	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Catherine Cavadini)

Storyline

In the year 2065, the next great assault against an invading race of phantom-like aliens is about to be launched. Dr. Aki Ross, a brilliant young scientist, races to find the invaders' secrets, not only to save the planet, but herself as well after her body is infected by alien particles. She teams up with the prestigious Deep Eyes military squadron, led by her old friend Grey Edwards. But as Aki, her mentor Dr. Sid, and Grey work toward a peaceful end, the scheming General Hein devises a plot to eradicate the aliens in one swift, destructive blow...even if it destroys the Earth right along with them.

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Plot Keywords:

based on video game | motion capture | profanity | weapons fire | scientist | 

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Taglines:

No more fairy tales, this is reality

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Genres:

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

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 July 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gaia: Final Fantasy

Box Office

Budget:

$137,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,408,853, 15 July 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$32,131,830, 26 August 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$85,131,830

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chris Lee Productions, Square Company, Square USA

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (Digital DTS Sound) Dolby SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Samuel E. Wright was considered for the role of Ryan.

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Goofs

After Aki removes the phantom particles from Gray, she picks up a canister that's hovering in the air, when she originally placed it on the table further away.

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Quotes

General Hein: Where is the PROOF?
Doctor Aki Ross: Here.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD comes complete with a series of six animated bloopers and goof-offs.

• Grey shoots through the hangar window, and then knocks himself out as his attempt to jump through it fails.
• The animators go a little too weird with the scene where Neil drives through the building with the others. After they crash, we can see that the animators have placed debris (pipes, tools, stop signs) through their heads, and yet they continue to act as if nothing has happened.
• In the Wasteland, Grey stumbles and accidentally shoots Aki. After realizing she's not moving, he nonchalantly sets his gun aside and starts running.
• Aki drives her spaceship into Grey during the shoot-out in the hangar.
• During the conference, Aki enters the room and smacks Sid upside the head.
• In the final scene where Aki is solemnly carrying a dead Grey out of the Crater, she happens to sneeze, which causes both her and the dead body to break out into laughter.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time/Sex and the City 2/MacGruber (2010)

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Soundtracks

The Dream Within
Written by Elliot Goldenthal and Richard Rudolph (as Richard Rudolph)
Produced by Elliot Goldenthal and Matthias Gohl (as Teese Gohl)
Performed by Lara Fabian
Courtesy of Columbia Records

User Reviews

Fantastic

This film is a dream come true for any science fiction fan. Unfortunately, this film was not as popular as it truly deserved to be. It shows how powerful the media can be when it comes to squelching a foreign (in this case Japanese) film. It is by far the best computer animation ever to be shown. If only the American computer animators could be this good! I was really sorry they took the film out of the theaters so soon... before the general public had a chance to really enjoy this film on the wide screen.