Review of Steamboy (2004) by Chris D — 23 Mar 2008

SteamBoy is by director Katsuhiro Otomo of Akira fame. It's the story of a third generation inventor, a boy named Ray Steam who has to stop his father's invention from destroying London. Ray must keep a component called a Steam Ball away from his father as it is fundamental to the operation of his invention, the Steam Castle. At the heart of the story is a message about science being to often used for creating weapons rather than for the good of mankind. I'm interested to know how this movie is received in America since Americans are portrayed as the villains.

The animation is a combination of hand drawn and computer and it looks great. It blows away anything being done in North America. England in 1866 is perfectly recreated down to the smallest detail.

I watched the movie with the English voice track. I think for this anime the English track is the best choice since the movie is set in England and the actors have the accents down perfectly. The sound seemed quiet compared to other movies and sometimes dialog was drowned out by the background noise. Anna Paquin voices Ray, Patrick Stewart voices Ray's Grandpa Loyd and Alfred Molina voices Ray's Dad Edward. All three do a great job.

I thought the movie was good but I don't think it would hold up to repeated viewings. It seemed like it was starting to drag in places. Kids might also get bored with its lengthy dialog and two hour run time. Still, companys like Disney could learn a thing or two about how to do great sophisticated animated movies. If your a fan of Akira and Princess Mononke you'll want to check out SteamBoy.