STEAMBOY - PREVIEW

Steamboy (2004)

Starring: JKiyoshi Kodama, Manami Konishi, Katsuo Nakamura, Ikki Sawamura, Anne Suzuki, Susumu Terajima, Masatane Tsukayama
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
Rated: Unrated
U.S. Opening Date: March 18, 2005

Any movie by Katsuhiro Ôtomo (the director of Akira) is to be welcomed especially when it is his first film as director in ages.

So far the consensus on Steamboy is: not as good as Akira, especially plot-wise, but some stunning visuals. So be sure to check this one out on the big screen (even though its release in the U.S. would be limited and not wide) and don’t wait for it to come out on video . . .

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Plot Summary for Steamboy

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 marvellous 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 the Steam Ball so that they can use its power towards their own illicit ends.

— Some sources: Amazon.com, IMDb

Trivia about Steamboy

Used 180,000 individual drawings.

A new record for the most expensive Japanese animated film. The film cost around $20 million to make.

Began production in 1995 and due to financial problems, the film was put on hiatus in 1998. Production companies Production I.G and Sunrise got involved and brought the film back to production. A total of eight years was spent for the making of the film.

Features around 400 3D-cuts.

STEAMBOY - PREVIEW

Plot Summary for Steamboy