Escaflowne (film)

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Escaflowne


caption = The original Region 2 DVD cover, released in Japan by Bandai Visual on April 25, 2001.
ja_name = エスカフローネ
ja_name_trans = Esukafurōne
genre = Adventure, Romance, Mecha, FantasyInfobox animanga/Movie
director = Kazuki Akane
producer = Masahiko Minami
Minoru Takanashi
Masuo Ueda
Toyoyuki Yokohama
writer = Kazuki Sekine
Ryota Yamaguchi
music = Yoko Kanno
Hajime Mizoguchi
Inon Zur
studio = Sunrise, Bandai Visual
licensor = Bandai Entertainment Inc.
released = June 24, 2000
runtime = 98 minutes

nihongo|"Escaflowne"|エスカフローネ|Esukafurōne is an anime film produced by Sunrise and animated by Studio BONES. Directed by Kazuki Akane, the film is a re-telling of the twenty-six episode anime television series "The Vision of Escaflowne". While the plot of the film has some similar elements to the original television series, it also has dramatic differences, with the movie having a darker, more Western feel. The characters differ in varying degrees from the television counterparts, with many completely redesigned and bearing little resemblance to their original counterparts.

The film is licensed for Region 1 release by Bandai Entertainment, which gave the film a theatrical release on January 25, 2002. A CD soundtrack and two drama CDs have also been released in Japan by Victor Entertainment in relation to the series.

Plot

Characters

Production

"Escaflowne" varies greatly from the original "The Vision of Escaflowne" series. With character re-designs by Nobuteru Yūki, the film focuses on the relationship between Van and Hitomi and their personal issues. The characters themselves are also given different personalities, with the film Hitomi changing from a cheerful girl in love to a depressed, suicidal schoolgirl who is suffering from self-induced feelings of loneliness and alienation.cite web | lastname=Beveridge |firstname=Chris| date=2005-04-15 | title=Escaflowne Movie: Standard Edition |url=http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/995.php | publisher=AnimenOnDVD.com | accessdate=2006-07-31 ] Van is also depicted as being more lonely and emotionally reserved, as well as being far more aggressive and willing to slay any perceived enemies than his more pacifistic series counterpart.Fact|date=February 2008

Although the "Vision of Escaflowne" series had been produced by Sunrise, the animation for the film was handled primarily by Studio BONES, a company founded by a number of ex-Sunrise staff. It was the first BONES feature film production. Studio co-founder Hiroshi Ōsaka and character designer Nobuteru Yūki split the animation director duties, with Ōsaka heading up production as BONES. Some of the film's action sequences were assigned to the studio's animators as talent showcases, notably including Yutaka Nakamura (who animated nearly a minute and a half of the opening sword fight without assistance).

The soundtrack was, as with the "Vision of Escaflowne" series, composed mostly by Yoko Kanno in collaboration with Hajime Mizoguchi.

Media

The first European presentation was on January 19, 2001, during the Future Film Festival in Bologna (Italy).Fact|date=February 2008 The North American theatrical premiere was on January 25, 2002, in select cities, including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Vancouver.Fact|date=February 2008 The North American television premiere was September 10, 2005, on the Cartoon Network programming block Adult Swim, after airing on [adult swim] on demand.Fact|date=February 2008

Bandai Visual released the movie to DVD in a two-disc limited edition set on April 25, 2001. Packed in a limited edition art box, the release included a 36 page booklet on history of the film, as well as on-disc interviews with staff and cast and the theatrical trailers and television commercials.cite web |url=http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/1026.php |title=Escaflowne the Movie DTS Limited Edition |publisher=AnimeOnDVD.com |firstname=Jesus |lastname=Vigo |date=2002-03-31 |accessdate=2008-02-24 ] The film was released to Blu ray disc on January 28, 2008.

Licensed by Bandai Entertainment, "Escaflowne" was first released to Region 1 DVD on July 23, 2002, in "standard" and "ultimate" editions. The Ultimate edition included premium packaging, the CD soundtrack, an exclusive Maaya Sakamoto music video, interviews from the theatrical premiere events, and interviews with the staff and cast. On September 13, 2005, the film was re-released as part of Bandai's "Anime Legends" line, including many of the extras from the Ultimate edition, including the CD soundrtack and interviews. The film was given another re-release on February 6, 2007 under Bandai's "Anime Movie Classics" label. Unlike the "Anime Legends" release, this version uses the same cover art and CD as the original standard DVD release. Bandai Entertainment also included the "Ultimate Edition" release of the movie in its 2004 "Perfect Collection" DVD set of the original "Vision of Escaflowne" anime series.cite web |url=http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews/seriespage.php?series=10356 |title=Title Reviews: Escaflowne |publisher=AnimeOnDVD.com |accessdate=2008-02-24 ]

oundtrack

"Escaflowne: OST" was released on July 5, 2000 and contained a generous twenty-seven tracks, including the movie's full opening and ending themes.cite web |url=http://www.b-ch.com/cgi-bin/contents/ttl/det.cgi?ttl_c=238 |title=エスカフローネ |publisher=Bandai Entertainment |work=Bandai Channel |language=ja icon |accessdate=2008-02-24 ] cite web |url=http://www.neowing.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=VICL-60590 |title=ESCAFLOWNE Soundtrack |publisher=Neowing |work=CD Japan |language=ja icon |accessdate=2008-02-24 ] Yoko Kanno and Hajime Mizoguchi composed and produced the movies' musical themes and backgrounds. Vocal performers include Maaya Sakamoto, Shanti Snyder, Midori, Children of Adom - Vocals and the Warsaw Chorus.

In North America, the soundtrack was released with the Ultimate Edition Region 1 DVD release on July 23, 2002 and with the "Anime Legends" re-release on September 13, 2005. The CD has not, however, been given an individual release.

Drama CDs

Victor Entertainment released two drama CDs for the series. "Escaflowne Prologue 1: Earth" and "Escaflowne Prologue 2: Gaea" were both released on October 21, 2000 and originally broadcast as part of the Bunka Hoso radio show.cite web | url=http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=VICL-60636 | publisher=Neowing |work=CD Japan | title=Escaflowne Pro Prologue 1 Earth |accessdate=2008-02-24 ] cite web | url=http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=VICL-60637 | publisher=Neowing |work=CD Japan | title=Escaflowne Pro Prologue 2 GAEA |accessdate=2008-02-24] Both drama CDs are out-of-print in Japan.

References

External links

* [http://www.b-ch.com/cgi-bin/contents/ttl/det.cgi?ttl_c=238 Bandai Channel's official website for "Escaflowne"] ja icon
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* " [http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/escaflowne Escaflowne] " at MetaCritic