Kaubôi bibappu: Tengoku no tobira (2001)

Director:

Shinichirô Watanabe

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)

Also Known As:

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

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

Although having been involved in numerous dubs for Japanese games, Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no tobira marks the first time voice actor Jennifer Hale has been involved in an anime dub. In a recent interview, she has stated that voicing Electra in the movie is one of her most favorite experiences.

Goofs:

Continuity: Spike's bullet wound when he fights Vincent on the tower.

Quotes:

Vincent: No one can draw a clear line between sane and insane. You move that line as you see fit for yourself. No one else can. You'll understand soon... that the one that's insane is this world. Do you want to come with me? The only ones left will be you and me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

Soundtrack:

COSMIC DARE (PRETTY WITH A PISTOL)

The Greatest Anime Movie Ever for the Greatest Anime Series Ever.

This movie was so perfect that it was almost too good to be true. If you are a fan of the Anime, you will LOVE this series. The Anime is without a doubt, the greatest animated series of all time. Everything else is far inferior compared to the greatness that is Cowboy BeBop. So I remember seeing this movie months ago and I set my expectations low because I didn't want to be that disappointed. Boy was I amazed at what I saw! I loved every bit, every aspect of this film. Once again, the Great Watanabe ,Nobumoto and co. have amazed the world of Otaku lovers with this work of sheer brilliance. Amazing production, amazing quality and I just love these people! Oh and I love Bandai, Sotsu, Sunrise. The music in this was astounding, as expected from the super-talented Yoko Kanno. She is in her own domain of musical excellence. The tracks were amazing, and contrary to what a previous reviewer has stated, the opener to this movie is so hip, funky and jazzy that you will want a copy of it and all the other amazing tracks featured in this film. The entire crew did an amazing job! The main characters that we all love, were treated with grace, dignity and were all handled beautifully. We were even treated to new characters that revealed themselves to be very deep and realistic. The script was amazing, so humane and real and yet often at times gush of sheer 'poetry'. The action sequences were a treat and are unforgettable. The animation in this is far superior to that of the series and are so groundbreaking that I feel that no hand-to-hand combat scenes or arial fight scenes have EVER been animated with this sort of amazing quality and sheer realism. They are sight to behold. Again, the crew responsible in this did an amazing job! I can't praise the creators of this enough! As far as the plot, everything seems to flow together smoothly and just as the series, at times, is almost 'artsy' in terms of momentum shifts and 'high and low periods' where everything just seems to fit in perfectly and make perfect sense. Folks, this film is a product that far surpasses anything Hollywood has given us in terms of this genre (non-animated even) for the passed 20 years. This far exceeds anything in terms of entertainment for that time period, IMHO. Granted, the characters and source material was so good that nobody could have ultimately 'messed up' a Cowboy BeBop movie. But still, this movie far exceeded mine and others expectations. When you read all these reviews you must realize that they are not all completely wrong. This movie is very very good, at the very least. Now, I see that some of the later reviewers were more critical of this then they were praising of it. Now, that is just silly, IMHO. I think these reviewers were so overanalyzed this thing to death, that they were only looking for what may be the slightest 'wrong thing' in this movie and decided to expound on them in their reviews. Don't take the very critical critics in here too seriously. These people probably have seen this thing 5 times straight and then after the 6th viewing decided one morning that this movie was not as good as they originally thought it was. This movie is so close to perfect that it would take the most anal of critics or the most yuppy of coffee drinking critics to find something even slightly wrong with this work of art. So, in other words, the critical ones on here are reading too into this and think that this is some sort of arthouse project that must contain some sort of hidden message that reveals the 'secret of life' or something.

In conclusion, if you are true BeBop fan, you will absolutely LOVE this movie to no end! If you are not a BeBop fan (as if those even exist) but love anime, you will still find this movie to be utterly amazing. If you do not appreciate any animated films whatsoever, you will still find this movie to be the 'exception' for it will be far superior to anything you have ever seen in years (non-animated wise). This movie was excellent in every aspect and is truly memorable in every way.

Bottom line, see this movie and prepare to be entertained.