Anime goes Hollywood

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With so much anime being adapted for the big screen, we roundup the film adaptations of some of our favorite Japanese franchises

In the movie industry, there are usually very few successful movies that stand alone. A popular film will most often be the catalyst in a trend. You only need to look back a few years to remember the slew of 3-D animated films about talking animals. Hollywood is now diving into the remakes of highly popular anime franchises for live-action movies. But this trend has much bigger implications on the entertainment industry.

Among older audiences in the Western world, anime has had a cult following. It's popularity has traditionally been high among younger audiences, but in Japan, anime can be very popular among much larger audiences. The reason anime is received differently in North America is because networks purchase shows primarily targeted at pre-teen males or adapted scripts for younger, North American audiences during translation. Nevertheless, those who grew up on the anime invasion of the 90s are much more welcoming of it now as young adults, and so it seems Hollywood is looking to Japan for its next blockbusters. Several of the highest grossing movies of all time (such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars and Spider-Man) are geared toward the same demographic that enjoys anime, so it makes sense for the movie industry to try their hand at remaking some of the most popular Japanese franchises.

Here's a list of some of the projects in development:
Speed Racer: Starring Emile Hirsch (now in theatres)
Street Fighter: The legend of Chun-Li: Starring Kristen Kreuk (2008)
Dragonball: Starring Justin Chatwin (April 8, 2009)
Astro Boy (animated): Starring Freddie Highmore (2009)
Akira: Produced and starring Leonardo DiCaprio (2009)
Robotech: Produced and starring Tobey McGuire (2010)
Ghost in the shell: Spielberg/Dreamworks 3-D (2011)

However, a controversy is looming because there are some that believe that adapting these movies in America takes out the Japanese culture, thus watering it down. For example, the original Akira of 1988 was set in a futuristic Neo-Tokyo. Whereas, this new adaptation is set in Manhattan. These new films could have the effect of allowing anime to be accepted in the mainstream. On the other hand, they run the risk of degrading its unique Japanese style.

Mohad Ali
6/3/2008
Source: Internet Movie Database

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