A short Power Point Presentation about the film Steamboy.

2.  Our selected theme was
Technology and Protest, and
our film was Steamboy.
 A Japanese animation film
directed and co-written by
Katsuhiro Otomo (writer of
Akira 1988)
 After more than 10 years of
production, Steamboy was
finally released in 2004
 Steamboy, budgeted at 22
million dollars, is the most
expensive Japanese anime
 Falls under the Science
fiction genre known as
Steampunk

3.  Shivani Nadarajah:
Powerpoint, Themes,
Storyline
 Robert Shepherd:
Characterization,
Cultural Aspects,
Technical Aspects
 Joseph Souza: Intro
to Film, Technical
Aspects, Overview,
Storyline

4.  Set in the Victorian Era, around
1863, Ray Steam is the prodègè of
inventors from Manchester. Split
between the opinions of his father
(Edward) and grand-dad (Lloyd),
Ray strives to protect a newly
engineered power source, the
steamball.
 The O‟Hara foundation, employer
of Edward and Lloyd, kidnaps Ray
and steals the steamball, using it
to power their Steam Castle, which
would be displayed at the World
Expo in England, for the world to
see. Although Edward and Lloyd
had a dream to better humanity
through science, Edward was
money driven, and displayed his
inventions for an income.

6.  James is the young protégé of
his grandfather and father.
From Manchester, he displays
the inherited desire to invent.
He demonstrates a huge
distaste for the employment of
technology for harmful reasons.
He is told to hold tight the
steam ball that everyone else
so badly wants custody. With
the use of his steam powered
monowheel and steam
powered flying device, the
viewer is led on a journey that
questions James resolve.

7.  Based off the classic
novel Gone with the Wind,
Scarlett is a 14 year old
girl that falls nothing short
of selfish, spoiled, and
demanding. She is the
granddaughter of the
chairman of the O'Hara
Foundation. Scarlett
demonstrates heartless
behavior but finds herself
persuaded in other
directions through her
interactions with Ray.

8.  Lloyd is the Grandfather of
James Ray Steam and the
father of Edward Steam. His
use of technology falls on the
side of bettering humanity. He
illustrates a somewhat careless
approach to safety with the use
of technology and
consequently disfigures his
own son. Lloyd is the original
inventor of the steam ball. His
plans for the steam ball are to
create a flying amusement
park. These ideas are quickly
shot down by his son who
plans on creating a flying
military fortress instead.

9.  "Eddy", as Lloyd refers to Edward,
is a jaded individual. He fell victim
to an accident that his own father
was responsible for. This left him
with mechanical parts that include
his right arm and parts of his legs.
Through his disfigurement, Edward
demonstrates a use of technology
that is somewhat misguided.
Because of his accident, Edward
feels that science should
encapture mankind's ultimate
power. Eddy embodies the exact
opposite ideals as his father. A
great example of this is when
Edward uses the convention in
London as his platform in
introducing the steam castle.

10.  Robert is both enemy
and ally to the father
and son duo of Lloyd
and Edward. He plays
a key role in the desire
for the use of the steam
ball. He claims he
wants to use the steam
ball for the betterment
of the British empire.
This however is
somewhat vague and
unclear.

11.  Simon is the
representative for the
chairman of the O'Hara
Foundation. He is
guided through his
desire for money, and at
whatever cost. He
interacts often with
Scarlett which proves to
be quite demanding for
his overweight and
feeble presence.

13.  Ray Steam, the young
inventor of the family,
receives the steamball from
his grandfather.
 Lloyd leaves a note with the
steamball, ordering Ray to
protect it and take it to
Robert Stephenson so it
won‟t be used on the Steam
Castle at the World Expo.
 Representatives of the
O‟Hara Foundation arrive to
Ray‟s home to steal back
the steamball in order to add
the finishing touches to the
Steam Castle.

14.  Lloyd Steam arrives, and
fights off the Foundation
until Ray flees the scene.
 Ray hops on his invention,
the monocycle, and escapes
with the steamball secured.
 Arriving next to a train
headed to London, Ray
ditches his ride and enters
the train, where he finds Mr.
Stephenson.
 The Foundation finds Ray
on the train, and captures
him. They take the
steamball and Ray to the
Steam Castle.

15.  Ray is brought to London by his
captors he finds himself in a
floating castle made of steel,
powered by pressurized steam,
called the “Steam Castle”. He
meets Scarlett O‟Hara, and is
reunited with his father, Eddy
Steam, who seems very different
than he once was. Ray proceeds
to work in the Steam Castle under
his father‟s approval until he runs
into his grandfather, Lloyd Steam,
who reveals Eddy‟s evil plot to use
the power of the steamball to
create war machines for personal
profit. Ray struggles to believe this,
given the allegiance he has to his
father.

16.  Ray comes to see the error and
madness in his father‟s ways and
he begins to help his grandfather,
who aims to steal back the power
of the steamball and destroy the
Steam Castle from the inside. Ray
escapes with a steamball and flees
to Robert Stephenson, who turns
around and tries to use the power
for his own profit, to Ray‟s great
dismay. London becomes a battle
scene as Stephenson‟s troops
launch their attack on the Steam
Castle. Eddy retaliates by
launching the Steam Castle into
the air. The steam castle strays off
course and threatens to destroy
the entire city and everyone in it.

17.  Ray and Lloyd, who are still in
the Steam Castle, attempt to
redirect the massive machine
over the Thames river to stop
the destruction. Eddy, who has
been shot, seems to come to
his senses and decides to help
them. They finally get the
Steam Castle over the Thames
and escape before it detonates,
sparing the city of London. Ray
saves Scarlett O‟Hara and
escapes on a jet pack powered
by a steamball, lending him the
image of a “super-hero”.

18. HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=LQD7PVHRI64
 This is the part at the start of
the film when Ray acquires
the steam ball and has to
escape his pursuers that are
after the power of the steam
ball.

20.  Steamboy was directed
and co-written by
Katsuhiro Otomo, and is
his second major
animation film following
Akira, 1988
 The film took over 10
years to produce, utilizing
more than 180,000
drawings and over 440
CG cuts.
 Released in 2004,
Steamboy is still the most
expensive Japanese
animation made.

21.  The United States release, held in
a limited number of U.S. theaters
on March 18, 2005, and expanded
to additional theaters on March 25,
was released in two formats: a
subtitled release featured in fewer
cinemas, and an English dubbed
version cut down by 15 minutes.
 Steamboy was distributed across
Japan by Toho and English regions
by Sony's Triumph Films
subsidiary. The DVD was released
in Japan on April 15, 2005, in
Australia on June 22, 2005, the
USA on July 26, 2005, and the UK
on March 27, 2006. Both the
edited English version and the
original Japanese version were
made available on DVD, with the
longer version being sold as the
Director's Cut.

22.  Steamboy was the 2004 recipient
of Best Animated Feature Film at
the Catalonian International Film
Festival.[3] The film received
mixed reviews from critics.
 Stephen Hunter of The
Washington Post states, "The
movie never transcended its
elaborate production work to
achieve an independent reality. It‟s
simply pictures of what could have
happened."
 Steamboy has an aggregated
rating of 59% on the movie reviews
aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
based on 88 reviews with the
consensus "The story isn't the
greatest, but there's an abundance
of sci-fi eye candy to compensate."

23.  James Ray Steam (ジェームス・レイ・スチム
Jēmusu Rei Suchimu?)
 Voiced by: Anne Suzuki (Japanese), Anna
Paquin (English)
 Scarlett O'Hara St. Jones (スカーレット・オハ
ラ・セントジョーンズ Sukāretto Ohara
Sentojōnzu?)
 Voiced by: Manami Konishi (Japanese), Kari
Wahlgren (English)
 Lloyd Steam (ロイド・スチム Roido
Suchimu?)
 Voiced by: Katsuo Nakamura (Japanese),
Patrick Stewart (English)
 Edward Steam (Eddy) (エドワード・スチム
（エディ） Edowādo Suchimu (Edi)?)
 Voiced by: Masane Tsukayama (Japanese),
Alfred Molina (English)
 Robert Stephenson (ロバート・スチーブンス
ン Robāto Suchībunsun?)
 Voiced by: Kiyoshi Kodama (Japanese), Oliver
Cotton (English)
 Archibald Simon (アーチボルド・サイモン
Āchiborudo Saimon?)
 Voiced by: Satoru Sato (Japanese), Rick Zieff
(English)

25.  From the start of the film,
everything seems very dark
and „punk,‟ and things
continue to be destroyed;
everything except the
steamball. The focus shifts
to the steamball,
emphasizing its importance.
 As the Steam Castle goes
airborne, all else is covered
with smoke, and appears
lifeless, juxtaposing the
energy-full Steam Castle,
which is complimented by
music.

26.  The use of a child (Ray) as
the protagonist was
purposely chosen to
juxtapose the destruction
and war throughout the film.
The tranquil and joyful Ray,
and the sassy and
innocence of Scarlett create
a naive feel to Steamboy.
 The amusement park rides
on the Steam Castle is a
juxtaposition in itself. With
all the weaponry that was
built into the castle, a
childish touch was added by
Dr. Lloyd.

27.  The chaos and destruction
caused by the fighting over the
power of the steamball sends a
clear message regarding the
tragedies of war. The wreckage
caused by the warring factions
of those in power are very
reminiscent of the destruction
of WWII, which may have
helped to inspire the film. Entire
cities are destroyed and
innocent civilians are killed as
dangerous inventions are used
freely at the whim of a few
individuals.

28.  The idea of scientific responsibility
comes up numerous times in the film is
perhaps the most important theme in
the film. All the characters seem to be
in a constant struggle with their inner
demons as they are faced with what to
do with an invention as powerful as the
steamball. Should powerful inventions
be used for the good of society or for
the own desires of whomever holds it?
This moral dilemma is one that all of
the characters grapple with. Lloyd
Steam wants to use the steamball to
power a sort of “floating carnival”,
meant for the purpose of bringing joy to
everyone. Edward Steam, on the other
hand, decides to use it to create a war
machine that he uses for his own
selfish profit, and the results are
terrifying.

29.  Abuse of power is a theme that
comes up numerous times
throughout the film. The majority of
the characters, excepting Ray and
Lloyd Steam, become corrupt
when they attain the steamball.
They aim to use the immense
power for their own selfish
purposes, without any regard to
what is good for society as a
whole. An example of this is
exhibited in the film when Ray
brings the steamball to Robert
Stephenson‟s group of men,
believing that it was a “safe
haven”, only to see them turn
around and try to harness the
power for their own war machines.

31.  Without doubt, Steamboy is hugely
affiliated with the steampunk world.
Steampunk refers to technology
that is completely functional on just
the use of steam. This was
evident during the Victorian era
(1837-1901 CE). During the
Victorian era, society functioned on
a very basic level. Life was
without the use of electricity.
James Ray Steam's inventions of
the monowheel and the flying
device he uses are both examples
of inventions not only powered with
just steam, but also were ahead of
their time. Steampunk culture is
one that still has many followers.
The idea of following a lifestyle that
is very self sufficient plays hugely
on the minds of its followers.

32.  primary source of power.
 The „punk,‟ in steampunk refers to the dark
colors and theme, creating a punk-like feel. Most
scenes of Steamboy used dark colored objects

33.  While the setting for Steamboy lies
within the England borders, the
film itself is Japanese. Directed
and co-written by Katsuhiro
Otomo, Steamboy plays on the
ideals that Japanese culture elicits.
Japan is a nation very focused on
the use of its energy, and the
development of its technology.
More than that, Steamboy builds
on the idea of how power and
technologies are used and for what
purpose. There is seemingly a
connection between the use or
misuse of technology with WWII
and the nuclear bombing of
Japan's homeland. It is
comparative to cultures that focus
on being good to nature. With
power and technology comes
responsibility.

34.  Biodrowski, Steve. "Cinefantastique Online." Steamboy
(2004) Retrospective Anime Film Review Comments.
Cinefantastique Online, 13 May 2009. Web. 01 Mar.
2013.
<http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2009/05/steamboy-
2004-retrospective-anime-film-review/>.
 Deming, Mark. "Steamboy (2004)." Steamboy. Flixster,
n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/steamboy/>.
 Osborne, Bruce. "Steamboy." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d.
Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348121/plotsummary?ref
_=tt_stry_pl>.
 "Steamboy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Jan.
2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2013.

35.  1) How does the technology in Steamboy create protest, and
how can this relate to what we experience in the real world?
 2) Aside from the given theme of technology and protest, how
else might Steamboy thematically educate its audience?
 3) What historical events might have inspired Otomo‟s film,
Steamboy? Where can you draw correlations between the film
and the events in WWII?
 4) With the advancement of technological inventions comes
the need for scientific responsibility. Elaborate on this idea.

 5) Does it seem reasonable for someone to abuse the powers
of knowledge for personal desire, as shown in Steamboy?
 6) Are advancements in technology more beneficial or
detrimental to society as a whole? Why or why not?