Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

Directors:

Hironobu Sakaguchi
Moto Sakakibara (co-director)

Writers:

Hironobu Sakaguchi (story)
Al Reinert (written by) ...

Release Date:

11 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

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

Tagline:

Unleash a new reality

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | General | Quest | Spirit | Final Fantasy

Awards:

5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Dec. 15

4:40 PM

MAX

Cast

Ming-Na	...	Doctor Aki Ross (voice)
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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matt Adler	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Steve Alterman	...	Additional Voices (voice)
David Arnott	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Andrea Baker	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Andrea Taylor)
Cathy Cavadini	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Catherine Cavadini)
Lanei Chapman	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Vicki Davis	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Judi M. Durand	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Judi Durand)
Greg Finley	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jack Fletcher	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Julia Fletcher	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Barbara Harris	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Barbara Iley)
David McCharen	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Tracy Metro	...	Additional Voices (voice)
David Michie	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Richard Penn	...	Additional Voices (voice)
David Randolph	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Also Known As:

Fainaru fantaji (Japan)
Final Fantasy (USA) (working title)
Final Fantasy: The Movie (USA) (working title)
Gaia: Final Fantasy (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37629) | Malaysia:U | Japan:PG-12 | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Company:

Chris Lee Productions

Trivia:

The twin towers of the World Trade Center do not appear in any of the New York shots (except in the concept drawings on the DVD).

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

[Neil and Ryan tamper with an elevator with passengers Grey and Aki]
Jane Proudfoot: What do you think you're doing?
Neil: We're just gonna stall them for a little while... Hey, don't look at me, it was HIS idea.
Jane Proudfoot: This was YOUR idea?
Ryan: We're just helping the Captain out a little. Have you seen the way he looks at her?
Neil: Yeah, Jane, where's your sense of romance?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#26.4)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Spirit Dreams Inside

Good Film

I don't know why nearly all the critics bashed this film. I thought it was great! The main reasons people have dogged it is because they don't follow the plot and they don't think the animation looks real enough.

I did not have any problem following the plot. The second word in "Final Fantasy" is a description of the type of movie this is. It deals with the supernatural. The spirits, or "essences" of earth are gathered to fight the alien gaia, as the arms and weapons used against the alien spirits are ineffective and in fact destructive.

This movie introduced me to the concept of the gaia, which I believe is a great metaphor for understanding how all life on earth shares a common spirit. I don't truly believe there is a gaia, and you don't need to either to enjoy this film. But perhaps some found that this conflicted too much with their beliefs.

Now as far as the animation, this is the most realistic portrayal of human characters to date generated by a computer. If you watch some anime films, where there is a lot of action, they will show a frame for a long time with only the mouths moving. People enjoy these animations. Then why is this movie criticized so heavily for not looking real enough? It's rather ironic. You should watch this movie expecting an animation, not a full-feature film with real actors.

One explanation for this reaction is that, like figures in a wax museum, characters that look too real but are not creep us out because they remind us of dead people. But perhaps this is fitting for this movie, because the soul of the earth is sick and life on the planet is reaching its end.

In any case, I enjoyed this movie, and I liked the message. If you like animation and enjoy a good fantasy story, you will like this movie.