The main strength of this film is the gorgeous animation. From what I have read, Otomo and his creative design team spent time on England, visiting London, Manchester and York, and studying steam locomotives and machinery from the Victorian era to beautifully recapture Victorian England, the motifs of that era, and the mechanical designs of the machinery down to the last rivet. This research paid off in the stunning detail of the movie. I enjoyed how the movie used real historic events and places, for example the Crystal Palace, Robert Stephenson, Royal Albert Hall, Queen Victoria, and the Great Exhibition as the backdrop for the movie. They showed great imagination in designing the "futuristic" elements which retains a 19th century appearance and mechanical design. Unlike other Japanese anime with their convoluted plot lines this is a straight forward action/adventure movie with the steam punk ambiance. Many reviewers have criticized the lack of character development in this film. In defense of Steamboy, this is a action/adventure file so character development is secondary. How much character development do you so in an Indiana Jones movie or a Bruckheimer blockbuster? Eddie and Lloyd Steam are basically in the movie as human symbols of the role of science in society. Eddie is the personification of science for science sake without any moral/ethical considerations. Lloyd takes the opposite view that science must be looked at in terms of the moral/ethical impact and science should be restricted if it leads to a "bad" outcome. Ray is caught in the middle conflicted about what he should do and shows concern for both his father and grandfather but he ends up doing the right thing and showing great bravery in the process. The movie strongly implies Ray grew up in a close family adding to the conflict he undergoes. There will be the analogies to Star Wars with Eddie being Darth Vader, Lloyd being Obi-Won, and Ray being Luke. Although the characters here are a not quite so black and white. Eddie is perhaps misguided but he is not evil personified as Darth Vader and Lloyd is not the calm voice of reason distilling reason to Luke as Obi-Won but more of a obsessed aesthetic proclaiming the world is ending from the wilderness. Many reviewers have criticized Scarlett O'Hara. Of course, the name directly implies she is like her namesake from Gone with the Wind. But I enjoyed her in the movie. She does provide a comic relief in an otherwise serious action/adventure and I found her more three dimensional than the movie critics. For example, she seems very imperious and bossy to her underlings, especially her butler and "director of marketing" for the O'Hara foundation, Simon, but her interactions with Lloyd and Eddie indicate she respects intellectuals, scientists, and strong willed characters unlike the sniveling Simon. For example, when she debarks from her ship she offers her hand to Simon to be kissed but then she pulls it away but when she is the dining room with Ray when Eddie walks in she allows him to kiss her hand despite his hideous appearance. When she sees Lloyd for the first time she does not recoil from his recluse appearance but calls him Dr. Lloyd and seems concerned about his well being. Although at first she belittles Ray when he argues back I think she respects that and starts to like him. Also, she finds Ray attractive because he has the great mechanical mind like his father and grandfather. She does have a softer side she shows exploring the Crystal Palace at night with Ray and I felt some compassion about her because the movie implies she has lost her father and mother and perhaps grew up in a impersonal environment although lavished with luxuries. She is conceited and arrogant but she showed a lot of "spunk" especially for a woman who supposedly grew up in the Victorian era with its restrictions on how women should act. The English dubbed version is 20 minutes shorter than the original Japanese version. From what I understand the cuts were done in the ending sequences, which is pretty long in the English version around 45 minutes. This is one film where the English dubbing might actually be better because the movie does take place in England, Sony got some great actors/actresses to do the dubbing and one can concentrate on the animation and the world Otomo created instead of your eye being diverted by the subtitles. Overall, 8 out of 10 stars.
