Escaflowne (film)
| Escaflowne (A Girl in Gaea) | |
|---|---|
| File:Escaflowne movie region 2 cover.jpeg | |
| Directed by | Kazuki Akane |
| Written by | Kazuki Sekine Ryota Yamaguchi |
| Produced by | Masahiko Minami Minoru Takanashi Masuo Ueda Toyoyuki Yokohama |
| Starring | Maaya Sakamoto Tomokazu Seki |
| Distributed by | Bandai Entertainment Inc. in U.S. R.S. Entertainment Inc. |
Release dates | June 24, 2000: theater release April 25, 2001: VHS and DVD release |
Running time | 98 min |
| Languages | Japanese English |
| Budget | unannounced |
Escaflowne is a 2000 anime movie, a complete retelling of the events of the anime television series The Vision of Escaflowne. Animated by Sunrise and Studio BONES, this remake replaced many of the elements of European fantasy that were introduced into the TV series with more Asian elements. Specifically, the director Kazuki Akane has cited the use of motifs from ancient Asian mythology, and character designer Nobuteru Yuuki has noted that he based a secondary outfit for the heroine Hitomi on Korean clothing. The feel of the movie is also much darker and broodier than that of the series. The movie was developed under the pre-production title Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea, but it was retitled simply as Escaflowne before its theatrical premiere.
The plot of the movie is similar to the television show, but retold in a way that could fit in a two hour movie as opposed to a one season TV show. Most of the characters present in the TV show are also present in the movie, although many of the character designs are changed and in some cases bear little or no resemblance to the corresponding TV show characters. The only major character seen in the movie and not seen in the TV show was Sora, an advisor to Folken.
Details
Template:Spoilers Differing from the series, the focus of the movie shifts more towards the relationship between Van and Hitomi and their personal issues, while other themes, such as destiny and fate, are greatly minimized or removed altogether. Hitomi, contrary to her cheerful character in the series, in the movie is a depressed schoolgirl, suffering from loneliness and feelings of alienation. Van is depicted more violent and reserved in terms of expressing any emotions other than anger. Hitomi, unlike her series alter ego, does not possess any psychic powers, but does have a mystical ability to summon (and unsummon) the Escaflowne, due to being a Tsubasa no Kami (the "Winged Goddess"), although some fans argue that there is a certain ambiguity as to who the Goddess really is. On the other hand, unlike in the series, Van, Folken, and to an extent, Dilandau, due to being of Draconian descent, possess psychokinetic powers.
Unlike in the series, Melefs and Guymelefs are virtually non-existent; only two were shown in the movie, those being Escaflowne itself, and Alseides (though it was not referred to as such on-screen, but in production design materials).
Armors themselves were thoroughly redesigned, and for the movie are more organic than mechanical in nature, and are not powered by "energists" the way they were in the series, but rather by drawing the blood of their pilots, who also have to be of Draconian descent.
Major number of character re-designs for the movie was done by Nobuteru Yūki. The soundtrack was, as with the Escaflowne series, composed mostly by Yoko Kanno in collaboration with Hajime Mizoguchi.
Worldwide Premieres
- The first European presentation was on January 19, 2001, during the Future Film Festival in Bologna (Italy).
- The North American theatrical premiere was on January 25, 2002, in select cities, including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Vancouver.
- The North American television premiere was September 10, 2005, on the Cartoon Network programming block Adult Swim.
Trivia
- The true identity of the Tsubasa no Kami (Goddess of Wings) is sometimes debated amongst fans; while it is implied that Hitomi is the Tsubasa no Kami, there have also been a number of arguments supporting Sora as well.[1]
- The song performed in the film by Naria, Eriya (not referred by their names, but taken from the series), and later, Sora is called "Sóra's Folktale" and sometimes referred to as simply "Sora". It was performed by Shanti Snyder [2] in a language that some sources indicate as Ancient Romanian [3].
See also
- The Vision of Escaflowne (TV series)
- "Yubiwa" (ending theme)