Patlabor: The Movie (Patlabor: Gekijō-ban) is a Japanese animation film released in 1989. The movie was directed by Mamoru Oshii.
The film takes place in an alternate world set in the near future, in a world where "Labors" are huge robotic vehicles created by humans. These vehicles are used in large construction projects and security tasks.
The story follows a group of officers working in a special division of the Tokyo Police Department as they pursue strange recent events. These events begin when some Labor vehicles suddenly go out of control and put people in danger. During the investigation, it is revealed that a secret organization is carrying out a dangerous plan to control the Labor vehicles.
"Patlabor: The Movie" is considered one of the major films in anime history and has received praise for many aspects, including Mamoru Oshii's direction, Kenji Kawai's soundtrack, and Hiroyuki Okiura's character designs. The success of the film spawned many Patlabor projects later on, including television series, OVAs and movies.
Patlabor: The Movie takes place in an alternate world in the near future, where "Labors" are huge robotic vehicles created by humans.
The story follows a group of officers working in a special division of the Tokyo Police Department as they pursue strange recent events. These events begin when some Labor vehicles suddenly go out of control and put people in danger. During the investigation, it is revealed that a secret organization is behind the events and is carrying out a dangerous plan to control the Labor vehicles.
The story progresses through two characters in particular: Noa Izumi and Asuma Shinohara. Noa is a member of the police department's team that operates the Labor vehicles, and we often see events from her perspective in the film. Asuma, a new employee in the police department, gets involved.
During the investigation, the team discovers the "Black Sea", a secret organization, and learn that the organization is planning a massive terrorist attack in Tokyo using the "Project Babylon", a special Labor vehicle. The team makes an effort to stop Project Babylon and eventually manage to prevent a terrorist attack on Tokyo Tower.
The theme of the movie deals with the idea that technology can be both beneficial and harmful to humanity. In addition, the film features strong social criticism and questions the relationships of large corporations, government and security institutions in Japan.
There is also interesting information about the anime.
- The director of the movie is Mamoru Oshii, who also directed films such as "Ghost in the Shell" and "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade", which have an important place in the history of anime.
- The movie is the first feature film of the "Mobile Police Patlabor" anime series of the same name.
- The soundtrack of the movie was composed by Kenji Kawai. Kawai also composed the music for other anime movies such as "Ghost in the Shell" and "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust".
- The film is a period film that deals with the technological developments in Japan of the period and reflects the interest of the Japanese public on this subject.
- "Patlabor: The Movie" was a huge success at the box office in Japan and was praised by anime fans around the world.
- The Labor vehicle called "Project Babylon" used in the movie draws attention with its references to the science fiction technologies of that period.
- "Patlabor: The Movie" is one of the rare productions that stands out as an anime movie with a detective nature.
- The film also addresses issues such as the uncertainty of the boundaries of large corporations and government in Japan, and the shortcomings of these structures in their security systems.
Director : Mamoru Oshii
Writers : Kazunori Itô, Masami Yûki
Director of Photography : Mitsunobu Yoshida
Music : Kenji Kawai
Production : 1989 - Japan - 100 m.
Genre : Action / Animation / Anime / Crime
Writers : Kazunori Itô, Masami Yûki
Director of Photography : Mitsunobu Yoshida
Music : Kenji Kawai
Production : 1989 - Japan - 100 m.
Genre : Action / Animation / Anime / Crime
CAST :
Toshio Furukawa
David Jarvis
Doug Erholtz
Mîna Tominaga
Briony Glassco
Julie Ann Taylor