'Final Fantasy' premiere decidedly low-key affair

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

On the heels of Disney's recent "Pearl Harbor" bash, Honolulu-based Square Pictures' advanced screening of "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" last night at Consolidated's Waikiki Twin Theatres was a relatively low-key affair.

Jun Aida, producer of the movie "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within," greeted Ming-Na the voice of character Aki Ross, as she arrived for the Hawai'i premiere of the film. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

But the only celeb at the first Hawai'i screening of the $137 million digitally animated science fiction film was Ming-Na. The screening, two days before the national release, was for the animation studio's employees and their families, local media and several nonprofit groups.

Square's unspooling of the first major motion picture to feature a cast entirely composed of "photo-real" computer-generated humans had a local vibe. Director Hironobu Sakaguchi and producer Jun Aida looked dapper in black at one end of the fashion spectrum, and lucky invitees and Square employees in T-shirt-and-short combos and jeans occupied the other. Square employees in the audience cheered and whooped as they recognized names in the credits.

Based on Square's popular "Final Fantasy" videogame titles, "Spirits Within" was produced almost entirely in the company's downtown Honolulu Harbor Court animation studio and the state-owned Hawai'i Film Studio. Production began in early 1997 and ended this spring. Aida said the screening was Square's "thank you" to the more than 250 computer-generated imagery animators who worked on the film during its four years of local production.

"We just dedicated so much of our lives and time to this that I really wanted our family and friends that supported us to see the film first," Aida said.

Hawai'i-born "Spirits Within" producer Chris Lee said Square's four years of top-secret production work would ultimately prove beneficial to the state.

"I think it's great that something that flew a little bit under the radar is now about to give Hawai'i a lot of worldwide recognition," Lee said.

Speaking of her digital alter ego, scientist Aki Ross, voice actress Ming-Na said, "I admired her confidence. Her ability to just go after what she wants. She doesn't take 'no' for an answer. Especially from a man."

Of Ross' beautiful and sultry visage, she said, "I was pretty much of a klutz when I was growing up, so it was kind of nice to be gracefully drawn."

Less action-packed than one might expect from its omnipresent movie trailer, the film's spiritual, quasi-environmentalist storyline unfolds on Earth in 2065, invaded by an alien force bent on destroying humankind. An only occasionally successful melding of "Princess Mononoke"-style storytelling and mythic videogame quest, the film sets a team of scientists and military types led by Ross on a search for the last of eight spirits that might rid the Earth of the invaders.

From left are Jun Aida, producer of "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within"; Ming-Na, and Hawai'i-born Chris Lee, also a producer for the movie. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Well, sort of. While not the photo-real humans once promised by Square, the film's characters offer varying degrees of painstakingly created realism — with Ross and elderly scientist Dr. Sid appearing the most lifelike.

Thankfully for "Spirits Within's" animators, character, background and production designs are consistently stunning even when the film's wooden dialogue is not.

After the screening, audience reaction to the film was mostly enthusiastic.

"I liked that it kept in touch with the 'Final Fantasy' aura," said Damien High School junior and multi-"FF" game owner Tim O'Neil, who won tickets to the screening. "It had the flow of one of the games."

Though equally enthralled by the film, classmate and guest Justin Cole had only one complaint.

"There was no follow-up to (one of the characters) at the end," groused Cole. "I wanted to know what happened to him."

Sounds like a sequel.