Japanimation Sleight of Hand

Rating: 1/10 (6 June 2004)

The Concept: 'City of Lost Children' meets 'They Live' meets 'Beauty and the Beast'
Spoiler Warning...
If there's one good thing the insipid 'Harry Potter' series has done, it's helped marginally raise our understanding of magic. Lynch tried explaining it with 'Dune'--the best attempt in a sci-fi setting. None of that understanding is taken into account here, its only a lightshow.
I am continuing my study of animation styles and this was one of several anime that I examined (the others being 'Vampire Hunter D', 'Akira', 'Golgo 13', and 'Mononoke Hime'). I noticed one consistent theme: the art styles are all the same. Characters suffer from 'Pokemon' design. One motif is interesting: giant, amorphous blobs.
Here in America I've found at least four styles--the exaggeration method of Disney & Bluth, the CGI teams, the TV method of 'Heavy Metal' and its ilk, and the reality obsession of Bakshi. It's taken us 80 years to reach this point. Will the Japanese catch up?
What really frustrates is the scant material in anime stories. If a story leaves enough open ends for me to create another interpretation, I've just found my entertainment. Example: 'Falling Down' is really a dream by Michael Douglas in the midst of a traffic jam. Duvall is just a mental extension of himself that shoots him in the end. Layman's terms: Douglas dreams of rampage, stalking and killing himself. How good is that?
We get no such opportunities here. This isn't even 'Alice.' Alice was about wordplay, integration of reality into fantasy, and surrealism. Here we get some simple surrealism and nothing else, even the protagonist is sexless.
The most interesting part is that Disney and Pixar managed the American release. Since Disney's conventional team has quit, they are taking stock in anime in order to ride the popularity wave.
Disney should produce their own anime under Tony Scott or John Carpentar (since anime is identical to their styles). The story would have the layering of 'eXistenZ' and the visual philosophy of 'Fight Club.' Wouldn't that be cool?
Final Analysis = = Cinematic Dud