Kaubôi bibappu: Tengoku no tobira (2001)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Shinichirô Watanabe
(more)

Writers:

Keiko Nobumoto (writer)
Hajime Yatate (story)

Release Date:

1 September 2001 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Comedy | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Thanks to him... this summer is going to be a hot one.

Plot:

A terrorist explosion releases a deadly virus on the masses, and it's up the bounty-hunting Bebop crew to catch the cold-blooded culprit.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Virus | Explosion | Madman | Halloween

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Steve Blum	...	Spike Spiegel (English version) (voice: English version) (as Steven Blum)
Martin Halm	...	Spike Spiegel (voice: German version)
Bruno Mullenaerts	...	Spike Spiegel (voice: French version)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Spike Spiegel (voice: Japanese version)
Beau Billingslea	...	Jet Black (voice: English version)
Unshô Ishizuka	...	Jet Black (voice: Japanese version)
Megumi Hayashibara	...	Faye Valentine (voice: Japanese version)
Wendee Lee	...	Faye Valentine (voice: English version)
Yolanda Quesada	...	Faye Valentine (voice: Spanish version)
Marion Sawatzki	...	Faye Valentine (voice: German version)
Sabine Bohlmann	...	Edward (Ed) (voice: German version)
Melissa Fahn	...	Edward (Ed) (voice: English version)
Stéphane Flamand	...	Edward (Ed) (voice: French version)
Aoi Tada	...	Edward (Ed) (voice: Japanese version)
Jennifer Hale	...	Electra (voice: English version)
Ai Kobayashi	...	Electra (voice: Japanese version)
Mickey Curtis	...	Rasheed (voice) (as Mikkî Kâchisu)
Nicholas Guest	...	Rasheed (voice: English version)
Salvador Aldeguer	...	Vincent Volaju (voice: Spanish version)
Tsutomu Isobe	...	Vincent (voice: Japanese version)
Arnaud Léonard	...	Vincent Volaju (voice: French version)
Daran Norris	...	Vincent Volaju (voice: English version)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
J. Grant Albrecht	...	Hoffman (voice: English version) (as Grant J. Albrecht)
Kirk Baily	...	Robber D (voice: English version)
Ivan Buckley	...	Bob (voice: English version) (as John Snyder)
Frank Catalano	...	Punky Thief
Ewan Chung	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael Desante	...	Moroccan Villager C (voice: English version)
Murphy Dunne	...	Captain (voice: English version)
Dorothy Elias-Fahn	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Peter Emshwiller	...	Assorted
Said Faraj	...	Moroccan Villager B (voice: English version)
Michael Forest	...	Ticket (voice: English version)
Crispin Freeman	...	Operator (voice: English version)
Jerry Gelb	...	Shadkins (voice: English version)
Barbara Goodson	...	Old Woman (voice: English version)
Michael Gregory	...	Laughing Bull (voice: English version)
Leslie Hicks	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jin Hirao	...	Antonio (voice: Japanese version)
Renji Ishibashi	...	Renji (voice: Japanese version)
William Knight	...	Vandamme (voice: English version)
Steve Kramer	...	Carlos (voice: English version)
Lex Lang	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael Lindsay	...	Taxi Driver (voice: English version)
Peter Lurie	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jad Mager	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	...	Chris Riley (voice: English version)
Lynsey McLeod	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Miki Nagasawa	...	Judy (voice: Japanese version)
Hiroshi Naka	...	Jobin (voice: Japanese version)
Akihiko Nakajima	...	Carlos (voice: Japanese version)
Joe Ochman	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Peggy O'Neal	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Bob Papenbrook	...	Antique Dealer (voice: English version)
Jamieson Price	...	Analyzer B, Spy B (voice: English version)
Michael Reisz	...	Murata (voice: English version)
Mike Reynolds	...	Colonel (voice: English version) (as Mike L. Reynolds)
Ron Roggé	...	Soldier, Weather 2 (voice: English version) (as Ron Roggie)
Michelle Ruff	...	Cashier (voice: English version)
Lia Sargent	...	Judy (voice: English version)
Brianne Siddall	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Peter Spellos	...	Duvchenko, Queen (voice: English version)
Carol Stanzione	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Doug Stone	...	Analyzer (voice: English version)
Paul St. Peter	...	Vicious (voice: English version)
Tsutomu Tareki	...	Punch (voice: Japanese version)
Kirk Thornton	...	Steve (voice: English version)
Fred Toma	...	Moroccan Villager A (voice: English version)
Mirron E. Willis	...	Harris (voice: English version)
Dave Wittenberg	...	Lee Sampson (voice: English version)
Tom Wyner	...	Rengle (voice: English version)

Directed by
Shinichirô Watanabe
Hiroyuki Okiura		(opening scene) (uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Keiko Nobumoto		writer
Hajime Yatate		story

Produced by
Haruyo Kanesaku	....	producer
Yutaka Maseba	....	producer
Masahiko Minami	....	producer
Minoru Takanashi	....	producer
Ryôhei Tsunoda	....	executive producer
Masuo Ueda	....	producer
Takayuki Yoshii	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Yôko Kanno

Film Editing by
Shuichi Kakesu

Production Design by
Shiho Takeuchi

Art Direction by
Atsushi Morikawa

Art Department
Masami Goto	....	storyboard artist
Naoko Horikawa	....	color setting
Yasuhiro Irie	....	storyboard support
Yutaka Izubuchi	....	storyboard artist
Yoshiko Kishi	....	color setting
Takako Matsumoto	....	color setting
Yoshie Murakami	....	color setting
Akemi Nagao	....	color setting
Yutaka Nakamura	....	storyboard artist
Shihoko Nakayama	....	color designer
Shihoko Nakayama	....	color setting
Takahiro Omori	....	storyboard support
Shinichirô Watanabe	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Les Claypool III	....	sound supervisor
Katsuyoshi Kobayashi	....	sound
Samuel Libraty	....	additional adr recordist
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer

Special Effects by
Toshio Hasegawa	....	special effects: Marix
Yutaka Hoshiba	....	special effects: Marix
Toyohiko Sakakibara	....	special effects: Marix
Sachi Suzuki	....	special effects: Marix
Kumiko Taniguchi	....	special effects: Marix

Visual Effects by
Toshio Hasegawa	....	visual effects
Yutaka Hoshiba	....	visual effects
Kazuhiro Kinoshita	....	digital animation supervisor

Animation Department
Chieko Abe	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Takao Abo	....	key animator
Mariko Aikawa	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Masahiro Andô	....	key animator
Keiko Anno	....	assistant animation checker
Keiko Anno	....	inbetween animator
Takashi Aoi	....	background artist: green
Koichi Arai	....	key animator
Tatsuro Arai	....	inbetween animator: Studio Gush
Kazuhisa Asai	....	background artist
Ha Gwon Bong	....	background artist: Team's Art
Takeaki Bunno	....	key animator
Hisashi Eguchi	....	key animator
Masahiro Emoto	....	key animator
Hanako Enomoto	....	inbetween animator: Gainax
Takaaki Fukuyo	....	key animator
Masami Goto	....	animation director
Masami Goto	....	key animator
Miyuki Harada	....	inbetween animator: Bee Train
Atsushi Hasebe	....	key animator
Yuka Hasegawa	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Katsuhiro Hashi	....	background artist
Jun'ichi Hashimoto	....	inbetween animator
Asuka Hata	....	inbetween animator
Sachiyo Hiraide	....	inbetween animator
Kobe Hiroyuki	....	key animator
Yoshinori Hishinuma	....	background artist: green
Takumi Honma	....	background artist
Yumi Hunamoto	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Genji Ikeda	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Isamu Imakake	....	key animator
Toshie Inomata	....	inbetween animator: Last House
Kentaro Inoue	....	inbetween animator: Studio Wombat
Kiyomi Ishiwata	....	inbetween animator: Studio Live
Yasuhisa Isobe	....	background artist
Yukimi Isozaki	....	inbetween animator: Studio Wombat
Sagako Itakura	....	background artist
Ichirô Itano	....	key animator
Ryota Itoh	....	key animator
Sachiko Ito	....	inbetween animator
Takeshi Ito	....	assistant animation director
Takeshi Ito	....	key animator
Yoshiyuki Itô	....	assistant animation director
Yoshiyuki Itô	....	key animator
Kiyohiro Iwasaki	....	background artist
Michiko Kagawa	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Noriko Kai	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Tomie Kamiyama	....	inbetween animator
Nao Kamoshida	....	inbetween animator: Studio Wombat
Hiroko Kanehara	....	inbetween animator: Studio Deen
Takanobu Kanno	....	background artist
Ai Kato	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Kumiko Katou	....	inbetween animator: Bee Train
Hitoshi Katsura	....	inbetween animator: Anime World Osaka
Eizô Kawada	....	inbetween animator: Takuranke
Takashi Kawaguchi	....	key animator
Toshihiro Kawamoto	....	animation director
Toshiyuki Kawano	....	key animator
Mi-kyung Kim	....	background artist: Team's Art
Kunihiko Kimura	....	inbetween animator: Anime World Osaka
Kazuhiro Kinoshita	....	background artist: Digital Work
Ai Kitajima	....	inbetween animator: Accel
Satoshi Koike	....	inbetween animator: Takuranke
Shinya Kokaji	....	inbetween animator: Anime World Osaka
Eiji Komatsu	....	key animator
Masatomo Komine	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Yoshiharu Kudo	....	key animator
Akiko Kumada	....	inbetween animator: Studio Deen
Shingo Kuragari	....	inbetween animator: Studio Live
Chizuko Kusunoki	....	inbetween animator
Tomoya Kuwahara	....	inbetween animator: Studio Line
Hye Yeon Lee	....	background artist: Team's Art
Young Sang Lee	....	background artist: Team's Art
Hidenori Maeda	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Yu Maruyama	....	inbetween animator: Gainax
Izumi Masui	....	inbetween animator
Keisuke Masunaga	....	key animator
Kenji Matano	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Hiroki Matsumoto	....	background artist
Takuya Matsumura	....	inbetween animator: XEBEC
Kazuhiro Miwa	....	inbetween animator: Last House
Tadaaki Miyata	....	key animator
Tomoki Mizuno	....	key animator
Atsushi Morikawa	....	background artist
Hiromitsu Morishita	....	key animator
Yasuko Moriya	....	inbetween animator
Tae Motodate	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Yasushi Muraki	....	key animator
Satsuki Muramatsu	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Shuko Murase	....	key animator
Mutsumi Murata	....	inbetween animator: Studio Deen
Tetsuhiko Nagashima	....	background artist
Masafumi Nakagawa	....	inbetween animator: Studio Deen
Norifumi Nakamura	....	background artist: green
Yutaka Nakamura	....	animation director
Keiya Nakano	....	inbetween animator: Studio Deen
Kyoko Nakayama	....	background artist: Bic Studio
Hiromitsu Narumi	....	background artist
Takahiro Ninagawa	....	inbetween animator: Takuranke
Yudai Niwa	....	inbetween animator: Takuranke
Noriko Ohashi	....	background artist
Kazuo Okada	....	background artist
Hiroyuki Okaji	....	inbetween animator: Anime World Osaka
Ayako Okamoto	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Yasue Okamoto	....	inbetween animator: Last House
Takashi Okamura	....	inbetween animator
Tensai Okamura	....	key animator
Mayumi Oku	....	inbetween animator: Last House
Masato Onoda	....	inbetween animator: Studio Live
Takayuki Onoda	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Mitsunao Onogi	....	inbetween animator: Studio Wombat
Ken Ootsuka	....	key animator
Hiroshi Ôsaka	....	assistant animation director
Tomoyuki Oshita	....	inbetween animator: Anime World Osaka
Kiyomi Ota	....	background artist
Miho Otsuka	....	inbetween animator
Keiko Oyama	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Hisashi Saitô	....	key animator
Masami Saitô	....	background artist
Tsunenori Saitô	....	assistant animation director
Tsunenori Saitô	....	key animator
Tatsuya Sakai	....	background artist: green
Tsuyoshi Sakai	....	inbetween animator: Last House
Tomoyasu Sakakibara	....	inbetween animator: Bee Train
Chiyoko Sakamoto	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Tsukasa Sakurai	....	inbetween animator: Studio Line
Hirotoshi Sano	....	key animator
Mutsumi Sasaki	....	inbetween animator: Bee Train
Yoko Sasa	....	background artist: green
Masayoshi Sato	....	key animator
Yu Che Shen	....	background artist
Emi Shibata	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Masato Shibata	....	background artist
Reiko Shibuya	....	background artist
Teizo Shimada	....	inbetween animator
Teizo Shimasa	....	assistant animation checker
Hyun Mi Shin	....	background artist: Team's Art
Mika Shirota	....	inbetween animator: Bee Train
Naoko Soeda	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Haruo Sotozaki	....	key animator
Tadatomo Sugawara	....	inbetween animator: Takuranke
Yoko Sugita	....	inbetween animator: Studio Wombat
Noriko Sugiyama	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Rie Sugiyama	....	background artist: green
Fumiko Suzuki	....	inbetween animator
Hiromi Suzuki	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Megumi Suzuki	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Norimitsu Suzuki	....	key animator
Satoshi Suzuki	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Hisayuki Tabata	....	inbetween animator: Studio Deen
Akifumi Takahashi	....	inbetween animator: Studio Gush
Hideki Takahashi	....	key animator
Ryo Takahashi	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Yoko Takahashi	....	inbetween animator: XEBEC
Yuko Takahashi	....	inbetween animator
Tomiko Takamori	....	inbetween animator
Kumiko Takayanagi	....	inbetween animator
Shingo Takeba	....	layout supervisor
Setsuko Takenouchi	....	inbetween animator
Hiroshi Takeuchi	....	key animator
Naomi Takeuchi	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Shiho Takeuchi	....	key animator
Shiho Takeuchi	....	layout supervisor
Tatsufumi Tamagawa	....	key animator
Kotaro Tamamoto	....	inbetween animator: Bee Train
Kenji Tanabe	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Haruka Tanaka	....	inbetween animator: Gainax
Hiro Tanaka	....	inbetween animator
Kumiko Tanihira	....	inbetween animator: Anime Torotoro
Takashi Tomioka	....	assistant animation director
Takashi Tomioka	....	key animator
Toshiyuki Tsuru	....	key animator
Chinatsu Ueno	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Yoshihiko Umakoshi	....	key animator
Eiji Wakamatsu	....	background artist
Taeko Watanabe	....	inbetween animator
Chizu Yagyu	....	inbetween animator
Hiroyuki Yamada	....	inbetween animator: Radix
Yoshikazu Yamada	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Tetsuichi Yamagishi	....	key animator
Asahi Yamaguchi	....	inbetween animator
Hiroyo Yamamoto	....	inbetween animator: Anime World Osaka
Midori Yamamoto	....	assistant animation checker
Midori Yamamoto	....	inbetween animator
Tomoyo Yamamoto	....	inbetween animator: Last House
Yukari Yamaura	....	inbetween animator: Anime Torotoro
Atsuko Yamazaki	....	inbetween animator: Studio Add
Kazuhiko Yokota	....	inbetween animator
Akitoshi Yokoyama	....	key animator
Aya Yoshida	....	inbetween animator
Kenichi Yoshida	....	key animator
Ken'ichi Yoshida	....	assistant animation director
Riko Yoshidama	....	inbetween animator
Yumiko Yoshikawa	....	inbetween animator
Mitsuo Yoshino	....	background artist
Masaki Yoshizaki	....	background artist

Other crew
Osamu Maseba	....	production coordinator: English voices
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	....	adr director: English voices
Rika Takahashi	....	translator: ZRO Limit

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Bones
• Destination Films
• Sunrise

Distributors

• Bandai Visual Company (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• Bandai Visual Company (2008) (Japan) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Columbia TriStar Films
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Italia
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (UK)
• Destination Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (VHS)
• Samuel Goldwyn Films (2003) (USA) (dubbed)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2001) (Japan) (theatrical)
• SubTV (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2003) (Finland) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Marix

Other Companies

• APU Meguro Studio  sound recording
• Animaze  English dialogue production (as Animaze, iNC)
• Audio Planning U  sound studio
• BIC Studio  background art
• Bee Train  in-between animation
• Beijing Xie Le Art Co. Ltd.  in-between animation
• Continental Far East  Dolby consultant
• Digital Works  background art
• Dr. Movie  in-between animation
• Gainax  in-between animation
• Green  background art
• Kodak Japan  film supplied by
• Last House  in-between animation
• Maki Productions  titles
• POP Sound  recording facility: English dubbing
• Radical Party  in-between animation
• Radix  in-between animation
• Sony Pictures Studios  post sound services provided by
• Studio Alpha  cel checking studio
• Studio Elle  cel checking studio
• Studio Kuma  cel checking studio
• Studio Toys  cel checking studio
• Team's Art Productions  background art
• Team's Art Productions  background art
• Tokyo Laboratory Co. Ltd.  film processing
• ZRO Limit Productions  English Dubbed Version Produced by (as ZRO Limit)

Also Known As:

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (International: English title) (USA)
Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (USA)
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heavens Door (USA) (video title)
Cazadores de recompensas: Cowboy Bebop (Argentina) (video title) [es]
Cowboy Bebob - palkkionmetsästäjät (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Cowboy Bebop (Canada: French title) [fr]
Cowboy Bebop - O Filme (Brazil) [pt]
Cowboy Bebop: La película (Spain) [es]
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Finland) (video title) [fi]
Cowboydes tou diastimatos (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Kowboj bebop (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

French | German | Italian | Portuguese | Spanish | Japanese | English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-15 | Chile:14 | Brazil:16 (DVD release) | Malaysia:18SG | Iran:(Banned) | Iraq:(Banned) | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:PG-12 | Mexico:B15 | South Africa:10V | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Denmark:7 | France:U | Germany:16 | Ireland:15 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | UK:12 | USA:R | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia)

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

This film takes place between episodes 22 and 23 of the series

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the very beginning of the film, Spike shoots the final bandit in the shoulder, knocking him back into the cooler and causing cans to shower down over him. The old lady is screaming and scream can be heard in the Japanese audio track, but not the English one.

Quotes:

[there's nothing but noodles to eat]
Spike: Man shouldn't have to live on carbohydrates alone, complex or otherwise.

Movie Connections:

References X (1996)

Soundtrack:

Gotta knock a little harder

A fun romp with some old friends.

Watching Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is kind of like reconnecting with an old friend. He's got the same sense of humor, the same style and you recognize him, but at the same time, he's matured. Perhaps he's grown sleeker, taken advantage of improved technologies, or perhaps gotten a little wide around the belly.

Everything's back in Cowboy Bebop the movie. Because of the characters and plot as we know it, the movie probably occurs somewhere in the late teen episodes or early twenties episodes of the series, which has a positive and a negative effect. If you've already watched the series, then certain things don't surprise you since you know what happens to the characters later. Furthermore, because this was produced after the series, it also doesn't get to tangle with the central storyline of the series (they mythology), where the series, which was excellent even in the anthology episodes, really shined. On the plus side, it hits where we're most familiar with the series, before things get super serious and with the characters in the state that they spent most of the series.

The story deals with a bioterror threat and the Cowboys get caught up in it, while trying to nab bounties to make a little change while in an urban city. There is no space travel or dogfights in space, but The Movie does take efforts to include a little of everything that the series has had (minus the mythos), so expect to see martial arts, gunplay, dogfights (but not in space), goofing off, hungry characters, Ed being silly and such.

Unfortunately, the story only lives up to the high standard of a stand-alone episode of Cowboy Bebop, but despite the fact that The Movie is considerably longer than an episode, it all flows along smoothly and feels like you just watched a good two-parter rather than an episode that's been dragged out. Nonetheless, since we hardly get into the Cowboy characters, the story doesn't have the same resonance of the stronger episodes in the series. Instead we get to go deeper into a pair of characters for the movie, who have somewhat interesting stories, but aren't strong enough to really carry the emotional heft of the film since they aren't the protagonists.

The art, on the other hand, is still gorgeous and the movie benefits from the widescreen aspect ratio as well as what appears to be an improved budget for the animation, as everything, from backgrounds to characters, are treated with a wonderful level of detail. There are a few scenes involving butterflies that are absolutely beautiful to look at. Furthermore, the sound benefits from a great surround sound mix, adding directionality and heft to the soundtrack. Finally, the score by Yoko Kanno is delicious to listen to and perfectly brings you back into the series while presenting some absolutely stunning new songs in the mix as well.

Overall, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a fun ride. Although, in the end, it's not as strong (story-wise) as the more compelling episodes of the series, the art, the sound, the music and just getting to spend a little more time again with characters you've come to know and love makes this a thoroughly enjoyable film. Recommended for Cowboy Bebop fans--but you must watch at least most of the series before watching this. 8/10.