Lost Star is a 2004 animated romantic fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tatsuya Hironaka and produced by Shinichi Ikeda, Tomonori Ochikoshi, and Richard N. Gladstein, with Moshi Kawara serving as an executive producer. Starring the voices of Elijah Wood, Anna Paquin, Tim Roth, Shane West, Amanda Bynes, Jason Bateman, Uma Thurman, Michael Rhys and Lee Evans, the film focuses on student Alistair Morris (Wood), who, during a commotion with a humanoid entity (Roth), suddenly meets and saves a girl (Paquin) from the entity, who he names Eloise. It turns out this girl is really from another world who came to Earth in the form of a star, and the entity is a "Demon of the Night" named Gideon, who goes around Earth slaughtering it's inhabitants to try and increase his lifespan, and he intends to capture her in order to use her lifeforce to become immortal.
Hironaka got the idea for the film in 1997, around the time he directed the On the Ropes segment for London Stories. A short pilot demonstrating the idea was created in 1999, which caught the attention of Moshi Kawara, and the film was officially announced in 2001 as a collaboration between Hironaka, J.C.Staff, The Moshi Kawara Office, FilmColony and New Line Cinema.
Lost Star was release to theaters in Japan on July 31, 2004 by Movie-Eye Entertainment, Inc. and on August 6, 2004 in the United States by New Line Cinema. Critical reviews were generally positive, with praise towards the characters, animation, voice acting and Mark Thomas' score, but some criticized the film's story for being somewhat derivative. Despite this, the film was a success at the box office, grossing $146 million against a $20 million budget, and has since maintained a cult following amongst audiences.
Plot[]
Coming soon!
Cast[]
| Character | Seiyū | English Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Alistair Morris | Tetsuya Iwanaga | Elijah Wood |
| Eloise | Chisa Yokoyama | Anna Paquin |
| Gideon | Kazuhiro Nakata | Tim Roth |
| Francis Ballard | Akira Ishida | Shane West |
| Michelle Chapman | Yui Makino | Amanda Bynes |
| Brian Burton | Kōichi Miura | Jason Bateman |
| Regina Harper | Emi Shinohara | Uma Thurman |
| Ronan | Daisuke Kishio | Michael Rhys |
| Winslow | Yūji Ueda | Lee Evans |
| Vince Hampton | Takeshi Aono | Robert Redford |
| William Hargraves | Wataru Takagi | Steve Carell |
| Tiffany Morris | Rei Sakuma | Kath Soucie |
| Ernest Morris | Akio Ōtsuka | Keith Ferguson |
| Alexis Robson | Yuriko Yamaguchi | Bridget Hoffman |
| Ronald Baker | Kōichi Yamadera | Jim Cummings |
| Jamie Riley | Yōichi Masukawa | Mitchell Whitfield |
| Reporter | Chie Nakamura | Philece Sampler |
| Radio Voice | Kazuya Nakai | Jim Cummings |
| Fabian Meyer | Hiro Yūki | Steve Bulen |
| Narrator | Hideyuki Tanaka | Tom Baker |
Additional voices[]
- Keith Anthony
- Tom Kenny
- Steve Bulen
- Elisa Gabrielli
- Rodger Bumpass
- Sherry Lynn
- Bridget Hoffman
- Dee Bradley Baker
- Robert Clotworthy
- Joshua Seth
- David Cowgill
- Laraine Newman
- Stuart K. Robinson
- Billy "Sly" Williams
- Eddie Frierson
- Scott Menville
Release[]
Lost Star had it's Japanese theatrical release on July 31, 2004 by foreign and independent film distributor Movie-Eye Entertainment, Inc. The film's American premiere was then held at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on August 1, 2004, before being released to theaters on August 6, 2004.
Home media[]
Lost Star was released on VHS and DVD by New Line Home Entertainment in the United States on March 8, 2005, with the DVD release featuring both widescreen and full screen formats. Featurettes included an audio commentary with Moshi Kawara, Richard N. Gladstein and Elijah Wood, a making of featurette, multi-angle scene comparisons, two deleted scenes, actor interviews, production notes, a gallery and the film's trailers and TV spots. The film also saw release on the UMD format in February 2006 and the Blu-ray format in 2008. Warner Home Video reissued the film on Blu-ray as a double feature with Flipped in 2014. Due to licensing restrictions with the Japanese rightsholders, all of the American and most international video releases only contain the English version.
In Japan, the film was released on DVD by Geneon Entertainment on August 10, 2005. This release contains both English and Japanese audio tracks and a different set of bonus features in contrast to the American home video release. A Blu-ray of the film was released in Japan by NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan on June 11, 2014.