Studio: Sony/ Columbia/ TriStar
Rating: PG
Running time: 126 minutes
Available Format: 35mm, DVD
From Katsuhiro Otomo comes his first feature- length directorial project since his breakthrough film (Akira). Steamboy took ten years and $22 million to make. It’s the most expensive Japanese animé production ever, and also one of the most elaborate. For instance, more than 180,000 drawings and 400 CG cuts were used to create this cult favourite.
A retro science-fiction epic set in Victorian England, Steamboy features an inventor prodigy named Ray Steam. He receives a mysterious metal ball containing a new form of energy capable of powering an entire nation, the Steam Ball. Young Ray Steam must use the Steam Ball to fight evil, redeem his family, and save London from destruction.
The outstanding voiceover cast includes Anna Paquin (X-Men), Patrick Stewart (X-Men), and Alfred Molina (Spider-man 2).