 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16.9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 5.1 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 90 / 60 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV PG | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 03/04/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 04/06/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | ROMMEL SALANDANAN |
300 years in the future since experimental trees ascend to Earth from the moon with scorching devastation and wiping modern civilization, Earth is now covered by breadth of living and self-aware forest that absorbs and gives human life. When a girl from the past named Toola awakens from her cryogenic sleep, the forest become unease, as she carries the past and the key that could unlock a device and could unleash a devastating effect that could wipe out the entire life on Earth and return it to its previous state before the disaster.
To make sure that the process is reverse, Shunack, a member of the Ragna Army and a person from Toola’s time, must see to it that she goes through the process of bringing back the past to the future to fulfill his own agenda, as she is unaware that there is a symbiosis connection between human and the forest. But Agito, the one who discover Toola and befriended her, takes an improbable task as he must bring her back to prove to the forest entity that she is not a threat to them. To do this, he seeks assistance from the forest and asked to be genetically altered to save the planet and to bring her back home.
With a seven-year development, and a story that tackles environmental issues (deforestation), Origin: The Spirit of the Past marks Gonzo’s first ever foray into feature films. The 2D and 3D visuals are magnificently rendered together to accompany the theme of the story. The movies soundtrack is something not to miss. The opening and closing songs were engaging, emotional, and wonderfully performed by Kokia. For the tracks in between is also a pleasure to listen to as familiarity with Taku Iwasaki’s work, elevates the scenes to another level.
The movie’s story, although straightforward, would lead you to believe that this is a struggle for control of water between human and the forest, but that story made a turn with the introduction of Toola. That particular aspect could have been developed further as it is the primary reason why the Ragna Army is up against the self-aware forest, but it is simply becomes a backdrop of the grander scheme of the story line. Beyond that, Origin: The Spirit of the Past, combined with great soundtrack and visuals, is one great 90 minute entertainment that touches upon environmental issues without going to much into its political realm. EXTRAS:
This is where the special two disc edition comes from, as it is full of extras. It documents the entire five-year process of the film from early production stages which includes an interview with the producer and director, interviews with the director and Japanese voice actors, the travel to Warsaw for the musical tracks, and the premier of movie in Japan with the cast and crew on January 7, 2006. Other extras that come with the second disc are theatrical and television spot previews, a special screening event for the movie, textless opening and closing songs from the movie featuring the voice of Kokia, and FUNimation Entertainment’s preview. IN SUMMARY:
Straight forward story line, great visuals and soundtracks - a great formula for a very entertaining animated feature film from one of Japanese well-known studio, and makes Gonzo’s foray to the big screen a successful one.
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