Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

"Unleash a new reality."

2001 1h 46m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🥫

44%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 1,671🥫44%Rotten Tomatoes●49Metacritic★6.4IMDB · 86,028

ActionAdventureAnimationFantasyScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Led by a strange dream, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. With the aid of the Deep Eyes Squadron and her mentor, Dr. Sid, Aki must save the Earth from its darkest hate and unleash the spirits within.

“Unleash a new reality.”

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Cast

Ming-Na Wen
Dr. Aki Ross (voice)
Donald Sutherland
Dr. Sid (voice)
Alec Baldwin
Cap. Gray Edwards (voice)
Ving Rhames
Sgt. Ryan Whitaker (voice)
Steve Buscemi
Off. Neil Fleming (voice)
Peri Gilpin
Off. Jane Proudfoot (voice)
James Woods
General Hein (voice)
Keith David
Council Member (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi
Writers: Jeff Vintar, Al Reinert, Hironobu Sakaguchi
Languages: English
Countries: Japan, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$137M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 62% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Japan, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Part of the "Final Fantasy Triple" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, shot by Motonori Sakakibara. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joel Iwataki. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher S. Capp shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hironobu Sakaguchi directs. Motonori Sakakibara behind the camera. Joel Iwataki scores. Christopher S. Capp cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Japan, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$137M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Earned back only 62% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
325 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: Japan, United States of America.
5Part of the "Final Fantasy Triple" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, shot by Motonori Sakakibara. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Joel Iwataki. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Christopher S. Capp shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Ming-Na Wen and Donald Sutherland and Alec Baldwin carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Unleash a new reality.".
11IMDB entry: tt0173840 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 19 themes, including "future", "dystopia", "post-apocalyptic future", "space travel".
13Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Motonori Sakakibara
Original score: Joel Iwataki
Editing: Christopher S. Capp
Production design: Mauro Borrelli
VFX supervisor: Remo Balcells
Sound: Gary Rizzo
Stunt coordinator: Colin C.L. Fong
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $137,000,000
Box office: $85,131,830
Return: 62% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes: 44% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 49/100
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 86,028 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

3 wins & 11 nominations total

Part of

Final Fantasy Triple

Also by

Hironobu Sakaguchi

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - Aki's Dream Reconstruction
2001 · ★ 7.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

furious_iz2018-03-31
★ 5/10
What was cutting edge in 2001... ...now just looks like an average cut-scene from a PS2 game. Soooooo all you have to rely on is the plot, and that is thin to say the least. Weak characters, weak plot and really jerky unnatural animation make this once ground-breaking film look awkward and uninteresting. Couple that with the facts that it bares very little resemblance to the addictive if basic games, and the script feels like it was written with google translate, the whole film ends up feeling flat, confusing and leaves you wanting more.

Production companies