David Lucas Movies
The first Japanese anime series created specifically for America's Cartoon Network, The Big O nevertheless made its official debut over Japanese television on October 13, 1999. The series was set in Paradigm City, some forty years after the metropolis was devastated by "the Event," an unspecified catastrophe which also wiped out everyone's memories. The citizenry of this post-apocalyptic society lived under martial law with Roger Smith (aka "The Negotiator") forsworn to look after the best interests of the populace. Helping Roger are his butler, Norman; his android companion, Dorothy; and his robot "bodyguard," the titular Big O. Although Roger was at first loyal to the leaders of Paradigm City, he began to seriously question their right to rule as he delved deeper and deeper into the secrets of the distant past. The Big O made its American premiere as part of the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block on April 2, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Lucas, Lia Sargent, (more)
The popular animé series Cowboy Bebop gets its own feature-length film with the aptly named Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Set in the late 21st century, it jumps into the series' story line just prior to its conclusion, with the bounty hunting crew of the interstellar craft Bebop chasing a hacker aboard a tanker into a major city on Mars. As crew member Faye Valentine closes in on the tanker, she witnesses its catastrophic explosion, which soon appears to be a viral terrorist attack as the death toll continues to mount in the days following. Furthermore, Faye caught a glimpse of the person responsible for the blast and is thus the only surviving witness of the crime. After the government puts out a large bounty for the perpetrator's capture, the Bebop gang -- slacker Spike Spiegel, former policeman Jet Black, and hacker girl genius Edward -- begin their own hunt for the mass murderer, who is eventually revealed to be one Vincent Volaju. Vincent, it turns out, was the lone survivor of a governmental medical test and now seeks revenge by unleashing the same microscopic robotic virus used in the tanker explosion on the unsuspecting city. The Bebop crew must scramble to prevent Vincent from carrying out his plan, as well as try to locate an anti-virus to counterattack the effects of Vincent's virus. Released in both dubbed and subtitled cuts in the United States in 2003, Cowboy Bebop - The Movie premiered in Japan in 2001. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Lucas, Beau Billingslea, (more)
- 2000
Debuting on Japanese TV in 2000 under the titled FuriKuri (pronounced "Fooley Cooley"), this far-out anime series chronicled the adventures of Naota, a "normal" sixth-grade boy who lived on Earth with his far-from-normal family. As if it wasn't embarrassing enough for his older brother's girlfriend, Mamimi, to flirt with him, Naota also had to deal with looney alien teenaged Haruko, who had descended upon his home armed with a Rickenbacker bass guitar that doubled as a buzzsaw. It seemed that Haruko's mission was to kill all robotic monsters -- especially those that had begun to spring out of Naota's head at an alarming rate. Rounding out the regular cast was Canti, an irascible android. On August 4, 2003, FLCL was brought to American cable television as part of the Cartoon Network's nightly "Adult Swim" programming block. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Goodson, Kari Wahlgren, (more)
Originally broadcast in 1998 with 12 episodes on TV Tokyo, Cowboy Bebop also aired in 2001 as part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming with an excellent English-dubbed soundtrack and all 26 episodes. The action-packed and hyper-styled animé is a very human drama in a futuristic setting about crime-fighting adventurers. Set in the 21st century, the Earth is a wasteland and the solar system has been fitted with hyperspace gates -- sort of an expressway for spaceships -- where criminals and gangsters continue to proliferate. Enter the misfit bounty hunters of the rickety ship called Bebop. Spike Siegel is the ultra-cool Bruce Lee-style fighter, who harbors painful memories that he covers up with a cynical wit. Jet Black is a former cop and a decent mechanic, who carries around memories of his own troubled past along with his mechanical arm. Faye Valentine is a femme fatale and compulsive gambler with a massive debt, who yearns to discover her identity prior to her cryogenic freezing. Along with the self-styled computer hacker girl called Ed and the data dog, Ein, the bounty hunters try to earn their keep and get through the day. The visual style is unique in the animé genre, using inspiration from old pulp adventure stories, film noir, and Westerns. Along with the original jazz compositions from The Seatbelts, the soundtrack incorporates rock & roll and blues references. Style reigns in the world of these futuristic outlaws, but not at the sake of substance. The tragi-comic family of the Bebop crew deals with the realities of loneliness and isolation, as well as shoot-em-up action and bittersweet romance. Alternately poignant, destructive, and hilarious, Cowboy Bebop has become an exceptional science fiction series. The series would be followed by a feature-length adventure, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie in 2002. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
