Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
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| Cowboy Bebop: The Movie | |
|---|---|
 U.S.-Region 1 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Shinichiro Watanabe |
| Written by | Screenplay Keiko Nobumoto Story: Hajime Yatate |
| Starring | Kōichi Yamadera Unshō Ishizuka Megumi Hayashibara Aoi Tada |
| Music by | Yoko Kanno & The Seatbelts |
| Cinematography | Yōichi Ōgami |
| Editing by | Shūichi Kakesu |
| Distributed by | Bandai |
| Release date(s) |  September 1, 2001 August 11, 2002 |
| Running time | 115 min. |
| Language | Japanese |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, known in Japan as Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉 Kaubōi Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira?), is an animated feature film directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, based on the Cowboy Bebop television series. The film was rated "R" by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie takes place between episodes 22 and 23 of the original TV series.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A deadly virus is being released on Mars, and the government has issued a 300 million woolong reward for the man behind it. The Bebop crew take the case hoping to cash in, but the mystery goes deeper than just one man, and the danger behind it might be more than they can handle.
[edit] Creation and conception
Shinichirō Watanabe, creator of the Cowboy Bebop series, was interviewed; the interview, discussing the creation, intent, and feel of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, was posted on CowboyBebop.com. Watanabe said that he aimed to use "more difficult technical effects" to create a "live-action look" in the animated film.[1]
Watanabe chose to use an "Arabesque" atmosphere described by an interviewer as permeating "everywhere from the images to the music." Watanabe said that he had "more of a flavor, or gut instinct if you like, than a visual concept" in mind; he added "I just felt this piece should be Arabic." In addition he said that he wanted the atmosphere because he felt that the Arab world was "alien" to him and that it "wasn't used much" in the television series. Watanabe traveled to Morocco on a location hunt to gain inspiration. He said that if he did not like what he saw, he would not have used the material in his film. He said that he created the film "using the inspiration I got while I was in Morocco." When asked "You mean that you didn't just make it elaborate because it was a movie, but also retained the Bebop style?" by the interviewer Watanabe responded with "I guess so."[1]
Watanabe used two guest directors; Hiroyuki Okiura created the opening and Tensai Okamura created the "Western film-within-the-film." When asked by the interviewer if he asked directors to create segments with "different sensibilities" Watanabe responded by saying that the segments were "very different" from the rest of the film and that the schedule would not allow Watanabe to film them; Watanabe laughed after answering the question. He decided that he would rather let "someone I could trust" film the segments.[1]
Watanabe casted Tsutomu Isobe and Ai Kobayashi as guest voice actors; neither of them had very much experience in animation voice acting. Watanabe said that he casted them since he "knew exactly what kind of voice I wanted." He said that he "especially" experienced this feeling regarding Kobayashi since he thought "That's it! She's Electra!" after hearing Kobayashi's demonstration tape. Watanabe said that he also felt that Isobe had "the right voice." Watanabe said, in terms of dramatics, he wanted to use voice actors who could give a "raw, naturalist feel to Bebop."[1]
Watanabe added that he had not originally planned to use Renji Ishibashi for the role of the robber Renji. He said that when he and the other creators planned the convenience store robbery scene, writer Keiko Nobumoto said that she could not not find inspiration. The creators decided to use a real-life actor as a model for the robber and the writers based the robber on Ishibashi. The creators seriously offered the actor a role. Watanabe said that he was "half-joking" and doubted that Ishibashi would accept the role; Watanabe said that he felt "so pleased" when Ishibashi accepted the role.[1]
[edit] Intent
Watanabe said that he wanted "a real feature-film format" to permeate throughout the film; in an interview when asked what the audience should "watch out for" in the film Watanabe responded by saying that one should not just pay attention to "images," since the creators "pushed ourselves" on the story, the facial expressons, and "everything." In addition Watanabe said that he "kept the whole "Bebop Flavor" in mind" and that some viewers would not perceive the film as being distinct from the television series.[1]
The interviewer asked Watanabe if the plot element, involving a undercover military project living in organisms tramsitted through blood, was intended to be a metaphor for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Watanabe responded that he did not think of the plot element in that manner. Watanabe added that "that's fine with me" if viewers interpret the element in that manner.[1]
Watanabe described the use of the name "Hofmann," a name shared by Albert Hofmann, the developer of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), as "a coincidence." Watanabe added that the name has an "acid element to it."[1]
[edit] Visual feel
The interviewer said that he believed the film was "very psychedelic." Watanabe concurred, adding that the film "can get a little psychedelic" and citing the hallucination scenes.[1]
[edit] Voice cast
| Original | English dub | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Kōichi Yamadera | Steven Blum | Spike Spiegel |
| Megumi Hayashibara | Wendee Lee | Faye Valentine |
| Unshō Ishizuka | Beau Billingslea | Jet Black |
| Aoi Tada | Melissa Fahn | Ed |
| Tsutomu Isobe | Daran Norris | Vincent Volaju |
| Ai Kobayashi | Jennifer Hale | Electra Ovilo |
| Mickey Curtis | Nicholas Guest | Rasheed |
| Yuji Ueda | Dave Wittenberg | Lee Sampson |
[edit] Characters
When asked by an interviewer which character he empathized with "the best" or on which character he could "best project yourself" Watanabe responded by saying "That's a difficult question." He added that he empathized with all of his characters and that he has to simultaneously "keep them all at arm's length" or else he could not "create with them." Watanabe added that there are "bits of me" in every single character.[1]
- Spike Spiegel: A bounty hunter and a former member of the Red Dragon crime syndicate.
- Jet Black: A Bounty hunter and a former Inter-Solar System Police (ISSP) officer and the owner of the starship Bebop.
- Faye Valentine: An amnesiac who constantly gambles on quick cash as a solution to her problems.
- Vincent Volaju: is the film's antagonist. He's the only survivor of a series of experiments conducted during the Titan War. His plan is to release the virus throughout the world, leaving only a handful of survivors. He also holds the rare distinction of being able to best Spike in hand to hand combat on his own level (although not without some considerable degree of difficulty). Watanabe said that he believes that many people would say that they do not empathize with Vincent and that "I even understand him." The interviewer, describing Vincent as the "most evil character in the Bebop series," asked Watanabe if Vincent was his opportunity to "show something you couldn't get away with on TV," Watanabe responded by saying that he is not saying that Vincent is "nothing more than my dark side" and that "it is partly true" after a laugh. Watanabe added that he does not see this as a "particularly unique feature" of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and that all people have moments when they "lose our temper and want to destroy everything."[1]
- Electra Ovilo: Is a veteran of the Titan War. Her love for Vincent caused them to have a short-term relationship, during which Vincent transferred the vaccine to Electra.
- Rasheed: Is apparently an ethnic Arab with a considerable amount of knowledge of "beans." He is really Doctor Mendelo al-Hedia, the man who developed the nano-machinery that was to be used as a virus for the military and vaccinated Vincent in attempt to keep it under control.
- Lee Sampson: An teenage hacker and Vincent's accomplice. He is very interested in video games from the 20th century, as shown by him playing an alternate version of Pac-Man in a car while talking to Vincent. The interviewer referred to Lee Sampson, a character in the film who "unable to distinguish" death in real life and death in a video game; when the interviewer asked Watanabe whether he wanted to "question society's desensitisation to violence" with a character who "truly feels the pain of death" Watanabe responded by saying that he did not intend to 'make it a "statement," as such.' Watanabe added that he does not create films to "particular message" and that films "naturally reflect the way we feel at the time."[1]
[edit] Reception
Reception to the film was generally positive, earning a 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes.[2] For example, the BBC gave it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "an example of anime at its very best."[3] Some critics disliked the film; Newsday gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, saying that it was "a very long and pretentious ride into the sunset."[4] A positive review on fansite The Jazz Messengers, which gave it an A-, indicates that fans of the series were not disappointed.[5] It was nominated in 2004 for the Online Film Critics Society Awards in the Best Animated Feature category; it lost to Finding Nemo.[6]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "The Director's Voice Shinichiro Watanabe Interview." CowboyBebop.com.
- ^ Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
- ^ Russell, Jamie. BBC - films - review - Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
- ^ Stuart, Jan. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
- ^ Knockin' On Heaven's Door review. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
- ^ IMDb: Online Film Critics Society Awards: 2004. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
[edit] External links
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
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