Cosmolina

Cosmolina is a 2000 Japanese animated superhero black comedy film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda in his feature length directorial debut, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Hakuhodo and Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and distributed by Toho. The film is set in a universe where superpowered individuals are recognized as heroes by the general public and owned by powerful corporation Klein, which markets and monetizes them. Outside of their heroic personas, most are arrogant, selfish and corrupt. The film focuses on a young girl who gains psychokinetic abilities after a drug is absorbed into her bloodstream and becomes a superhero and joins a group of vigilantes looking to keep the corrupted heroes under control. The film stars Ashley Johnson, Tara Strong, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Edward Norton, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Vincent Cassel, Glenn Close, Brendan Fraser, Jennifer Connolly, Cuba Gooding Jr., Sam Rockwell, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Morgan Freeman, Julie Benz, Anthony Hopkins, Sigourney Weaver, Brooke Shields, Billy Crystal, Wayne Knight, Gina Gershon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Dan Aykroyd and Bonnie Hunt. The film received universal acclaim for its animation, social commentary, black humor, screenplay, voice acting, action sequences and musical score. The film was also a commercial success, grossing $305 million on a production budget of $20 million. A sequel, Cosmolina 2, was released in 2003, a third film, Cosmolina: Payback, was released in 2006 and a fourth film Cosmolina: Apocalypse was released in 2016.

Cast
Ashley Johnson as Emica Kugano / Cosmolina, an academically-gifted high school student who unknowingly takes Omnium which gives her multiple superpowers.

Tara Strong as Samantha Vareny / Sunshine, a devout Christian, light-emitting superhero and member of the Mighty Seven. One of the few superpowered individuals sincere in helping the public, she questions her loyalty to the Mighty Seven after learning of their true character.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Suki Morutaki, Emica's best friend.

Edward Norton as Kenji Kugano, Emica's uncle who takes her in after the death of her parents. He cares deeply for his niece, but does not believe Emica has the confidence to stand up for herself after her aunt abandoned the pair.

Gary Oldman as Henry Atkinson, The leader of the Meerkats and former SAS operator who distrusts all individuals with superpowers. He has a particular hatred towards Captain Supreme, who he believes is responsible for the disappearance of his wife.

Samuel L. Jackson as Anthony Williams, a member of the Meerkats responsible for organizing and planning their operations. Formerly a medic in the United States Marine Corps, he is motivated by his attorney father working himself to death while attempting to bring Klein down.

Vincent Cassel as Guillaume, a member of the Meerkats and international arms trafficker skilled in munitions, ordnance, infiltration, and communications. After being coerced into joining to protect his criminal friends, he seeks redemption for his past crimes while battling Klein.

Glenn Close as Jenny Harrison, the original team leader of the Meerkats.

Brendan Fraser as Maximan, the extremely powerful leader of the Mighty Seven. Beneath his public image as a noble hero, he is narcissistic, sadistic, and cares little about the well-being of those he professes to protect.

Jennifer Connolly as Chloe Smith / Queen Claire, a veteran member of the Mighty Seven with enhanced physical strength and durability. Although she once wanted to protect innocent lives, she has become disillusioned and suffers from burnout.

Cuba Gooding Jr. as Neil Mattson / Torpedo, a speedster member of the Mighty Seven. He is determined to maintain his status as the fastest speedster in the world, resulting in him becoming addicted to Omnium.

Sam Rockwell as Jasper Brokowski / H2O, a member of the Mighty Seven who possesses the ability to communicate with aquatic life and breathe underwater. He is looked down upon by the other members of the Mighty Seven due to his status as the group's token aquatic hero.

Colleen Clinkenbeard as Eleanor Schaeffer, The charismatic, scheming Vice President of Hero Management at Klein International.

Morgan Freeman as Mark Jenkins, the corrupt CEO of Klein.

Julie Benz as Lana Varrick, Klein International's new publicist and Director of Talent Relations.

Anthony Hopkins as William Henderson, the CSO of Klein International and Maximan's creator.

Sigourney Weaver as Tammy Vareny, Sunshine's emotionally abusive mother. She initially seems supportive of her daughter’s dreams of joining the Mighty Seven, but is only supportive for her own financial gain. Samantha cuts her off when she finds out her mother purposefully had her injected with Omnium, which is the real reason why her father left.

Brooke Shields as Sharpclaw

Billy Crystal as Pellucid, He possesses the ability to turn his skin into a carbon meta-material that bends light, granting him superhuman durability and invisibility.

Wayne Knight as Neuron

Gina Gershon as Mandy Atkinson, Henry's deceased wife and was Klein International's Senior Director of Digital Marketing.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Makoto Sukami

Tobey Maguire as Jinta Masamoru

Dan Aykroyd as Saito Kugano, Emica's father who was killed by Torpedo in a high-velocity impact. He periodically makes appearances as a hallucination seen by Emica.

Bonnie Hunt as Hana Kugano, Emica's mother who was killed by Torpedo in a high-velocity impact. She periodically makes appearances as a hallucination seen by Emica.

Release
The film was released on September 8, 2000.

Music
The film's score was composed by Marco Beltrami.

Transcript
Cosmolina/Transcript

Opening logos




Critical reception
The film has an a approval rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Gallery
Cosmolina/Gallery