STEAMBOY (2004) 

Steamboy belongs to a newly formed sub-genre of animation called "steampunk." In this category, the films are usually situated in the past, but the ideas and the technology on display are anachronistic. Hayao Miyazakis Howls Moving Castle (2005) could be classified as such, but theres no doubt regarding Steamboy: the first feature length anime in nearly two decades from Katsuhiro tomo, the creator of the groundbreaking Akira (1988) . The film is set around the Great Exhibition of 1851 that took place in Victorian England. Early on were introduced to a young boy named Ray Steam (voiced by Anna Paquin) whose father Eddie (Alfred Molina) and grandfather Lloyd (Patrick Stewart) are away working on a secret project under the O'Hara Foundation. Ray gets involved once he receives a "steam ball" from his grandfather along with a note that he needs to protect it under all circumstances. It isnt long, though, that hes being chased from his house in Manchester to London where he eventually discovers that his own father has schemed to use the powerful object for his sinister plans including a "steam castle" and a robotic army capable of destroying anything. Now, its up to Ray to contemplate whether to go along with his father or listen to his granddads rhetoric regarding strong nations merely inventing an ideological enemy in order to build powerful weapons (hmmm...). 

And much of the film is devoted to those issues. There are no amusing or strange characters like the ones one usually comes across in a Miyazaki film; theres also no love story of any kind -- basically, this is pure tomo, who is known for producing anime thats geared toward adults. Steamboy, which is the most expensive anime to date ($22 million), didnt do very well in Japan where it opened last year (perhaps people were expecting an even darker and somber tone). Nevertheless, the animation here is simply awe-inspiring. The mixture of 3D computer imagery and hand-drawn pieces produces a lavish, yet deeply intricate design which vividly brings the various monumental steel components to life. The anti-war stance is also handled in a more persuasive manner (as far as animated films go) than the latest Miyazaki effort. Having said that, as a whole its not as satisfying an experience as Howl's Moving Castle. The version of Steamboy which has made it to our shores is apparently cut, so that explains the sudden edits resulting in tonal inconsistencies. tomo has also devoted too much of the third act to various destruction sequences that become rather tiring after a while. Its largely a one note film which needed to reinvent itself more often that it actually does. Still, though, its as solid as steel. 

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*trevor826's review.