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Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy in Theaters

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the if-you-haven't-seen-akira-you-suck dept.

echocharlie writes "Steamboy is rolling into US theaters on March 18. The movie features the notable return of Katsuhiro Otomo, who hasn't directed an animated film since Akira, so big things can be expected. The film opened in Japan earlier to mostly rave reviews. The english cast features Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina, and Patrick Stewart. That's interesting casting since all three have had prominent roles in comic book movie adapatations (X-men, Spider-Man 2, and X-men respectively), not to mention Mr. Stewart's famous sci-fi ties. Anime films without Pokémon in their titles haven't fared well at the US Box office (see Appleseed, Tokyo Godfathers, Ghost in the Shell 2, et al.). Hopefully with an adequate number of theaters carrying the film, Katsuhiro Otomo's latest opus will gain the exposure it deserves."

5 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. Huh? by Telastyn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And what about Spirited Away, or any of Gibli's other US releases? They've done fantastically well from what I understand.

    1. Re:Huh? by mblase · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Spirited Away" did well on DVD, partly because it won the Oscar for Best Animated as well as about a dozen other major and minor awards.

      But it was never a bit hit in theatres, which is what really matters as far as counting profits is concerned. Most anime, as the submitter pointed out, isn't. I don't think we're a culture of "cartoons are for kids" any longer ("Shark Tale" was probably the first American animated hit targetted at older kids and teenagers).

      But anime has two things working against it in this country. First, most theatrical releases are subtitled, not dubbed, and most Americans dislike watching films in other languages when we have so many English-language films to choose from instead. (Foreign language films in general do poorly at the box office here.) And second, they're just not widely promoted -- partly because the distributors know about the no-dub-no-sales factor.

  2. Patrick Stewart by cOdEgUru · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ummm... Reason they went for Patrick Stewart for one of the voice overs could also do with the fact that he voiced "Lord Yupa" in the newly released dubbed version of "Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind" . Man did quite a good job there as well.

    I hope Steamboy turns out to be as good as Akira. The initial reviews are not that encouraging however due to the movie's lack of emotional depth. But the visuals are supposedly breathtaking and I will pay for that.

    --
    Rapid Nirvana
  3. Box office scores... by zalas · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Anime films without Pokémon in their titles haven't fared well at the US Box office

    It looks more like the problem is getting theaters to take the risk of showing it. If more theaters adopted these movies, they might fare better, and the difference wouldn't be as large. For example, if you divide the grossing number by the number of theaters that it was shown in, the difference isn't that significant anymore. Maybe it's just a chicken and the egg thing...

  4. It's going to have a tough time, because... by NitroWolf · · Score: 4, Interesting
    It's going to have a tough time with a name like "Steamboy."

    Akira is cryptic enough that American audiences wouldn't have a problem with it. But "Steamboy" is going to be a major problem with US audiences. The title, frankly, sounds pretty fruity. Couple that with the fact that most people will initially dismiss it as a "cartoon," and you've got a recipe for failure.

    The whole concept of naming things in Asian culture versus American culture is really at odds, and things that sound ok or even good in Asian languages sound absolutely hideous, sexual/pornographic (LG/Lucky Gold anyone?), or just plain silly.

    Porco Rosso sounds like a kids show.

    Princess Mononoke is average, nothing particularly detracting about it, but nothing to make you think either.

    My neighbor Totoro / Totoro next door sound like a black and white haughty French film that's only been seen by 7 people in the world outside of Cannes.

    Naussica of the Valley of the Winds - really long title that doesn't flow exactly right (too many "of"'s in there).

    Ghost in the Shell - this one had potential if marketed right, but it sounds like a horror movie, and just plain wasn't promoted properly.

    Perfect Blue - Sounds like the name of a good pr0n movie.

    Wings of Honneamise - This sounds like flying Hollendaise sauce. Really sounds food related. The life story of Julia Childs or something, perhaps!

    I know I'm missing some, those are the ones I've seen/can think of off the top of my head, and in just about every case, the name just doesn't seem to be something the average American is going to want to see. Steamboy is not going to be an exception. No matter how good the movie is, the name is going to be a HUGE turn off to people.

    The studios need to have a message board where people can submit English names for these shows that are appealing to the target audience... and that audience votes on the best name. This would save a lot of marketing dollars, and also, I think, provide the title with the best possible name for the money as it were.

    Eh...

    Just my 2c worth