Origin: Spirits of the Past (2006)

It's not uncommon to see Japanese animation try to remind its target audience about environmental messages given the fast pace at which the country is growing with city life and machinery. While Origin: Spirits of the Past was rich with potential, it ultimately falls apart after the first act.The film takes place in a post apocalyptic world where trees and nature itself has gained intelligent consciences and humanity feels threatened by it. Agito is a boy who lives in a shanty town and ends up discovering a girl named Toola who was frozen in time. I found that there was much to like about the first act of the film due to its delicate pacing and set up for what could have been a plot line just as rich as its visually pleasing colour pallets. Unfortunately, what follows after the halfway mark is a series of high concept ideas derived from several different sources and ultimately a lackluster and unsatisfying hodge podge of clichés.There were several scenes later in the film where exposition feels very rushed and driven by contrivances. A lot of the information you'd expect can very easily fly over your head unless you can keep up with the jarring pacing of the later acts of the film. The story just seems to throw a ton at the audience without letting any of it actually sink in, and this was especially surprising given how the first act took it's time with introducing characters with a 'this is how long it takes to cook dinner' approach.A lot of the ideas seem to be derived from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Final Fantasy and several other sources which left me with the impression that the creators were barely trying. This especially shows in the man vs nature environmental message that has been presented numerous times in the past. The problem is that this film offers nothing new. It's all so stale and so predictable that it's very difficult to care for anything that's going on, especially with the characterization which feels very two dimensional in their emotional arcs.Sadly, Origin: Spirits of the Past is all smoke but no fire.

Origin: Spirits Of The Past is an animated Japanese movie. Set in a future after apocalyptic events, it shows humans living in ruined civilisation with encroaching plant growth. Young Agito is slightly rebellious and, while adventuring somewhere he shouldn't, he discovers Toola, a girl placed in stasis by an earlier civilisation. Releasing her proves to be the catalyst for a number of changes, most of which will be familiar to anyone who was watched Nausicaa, Avatar, Frengully and the like.The message is fine (if arguable) and the look of the movie is terrific - design and animation are both great. The problem with this film is more serious - it is that it never really grabs you.I am used to Studio Ghibli's contributions to Japanese animated cinema. They are weird (to my western sensibilities, at any rate), but they have bags of heart: they grab hold of you at the start and never let go. Origin, by contrast, never really does. The two rebellious lads come close, but after their initial exciting foray, the characters all become cardboard and you stop caring. It's a shame because, with a bit more effort put into the human story, this film could have been very good (if unoriginal).

As seems to be the general gist of these comments, the film has some stunning animation (I watched it on blu-ray) but it really falls short of any real depth.Firstly the characters are all pretty dull. I got a hint of a kind of Laputa situation between Agito, Toola and the main antagonist Shunack. However maybe my mind wanderd and this was wishful thinking (Laputa being my favourite animé, original Engilsh dub). The characters are not really lovable either and as mentioned in another post they fall in love exceptionally quickly, leaving poor old Minka jealous and rejected (she loves Agito, who seems oblivious of this). However she promptly seems to forgive Toola at the end with no explanation for the change of heart other than it makes the ending a little bit more "happy". There is also a serious lack of explanation. Like who are the druids really? Are they people? and who are the weird women/girls who seem to hang out with them and run the forest? There is nothing explaining why they are there and how they can give regular humans superpowers. The plants coming from the moon still does not fill in the blanks about this. It is almost like a weird version of The Day of the Triffids.And who does call Toola? why bother with this if it wont be explained?I really wanted to like this film but I found the plot no where near as deep as a film like Ghost in the Shell or having any real character like those of Miyazaki. I do not resent watching it but I do sort of wish I hadn't bought it. My advice? Give it a go if you have a couple of hours to spare, but borrow it, or buy it cheap! Perhaps if your new to animé films and don't have much to go by you will enjoy it. It certainly is visually pleasing.

Well, the movie began with a great start. The art is AMAZING! Absolutely breathtaking CGI mixed with beautiful cell animation. The opening sequence alone is worth seeing the movie for, and the music that plays over it is riveting.The classic struggle of Man Vs Nature is displayed very well with the crumbling town, the militaristic city, and the dangerous forest. "Modern" humanity as we know it is represented by a man and a girl who have each reawakened to this distorted future where man is at war with nature.However, the good stuff basically ends there. In short, this movie is great visually, but it doesn't have much of a plot. If you're watching this and expecting something like Hayao Miyazaki than think again.*SPOILERS* The first have of the movie is great, but the second half is terrible. Basically, this guy chases this girl for a while and screams her name a few times. Then he realizes that everyone can be at peace by just changing their perspective and guess what? Everyone else agrees with him and they all become better people. Sure, there's a bit of originality throughout the whole thing, but that doesn't change the fact that the ending is incredibly lacking. Everyone just kind of changes their perspectives, but no one really changes.Oh, and the characters that are supposed to be driving the action of the whole thing just fall flat. Romance? Heck no. Friendship? Well, I'll admit that I wouldn't make a deal with the forest twins and chase after just anyone, but would it have been so horrible for GONZO to throw in a few bonding scenes? Just stating that you like the guy does NOT mean you've developed a deep lasting bond. *SPOILER END* Conclusion: If you're looking for a movie with a complex and engrossing plot, look somewhere else. However, if you're looking for a movie with great visuals and a... well a story to tell, then you'll probably enjoy this one. I personally loved the art enough to buy it, and the story isn't so bad that it can't be swallowed. So give it a chance, but don't expect too much out of it.