MovieChat Forums > Fushigi no Umi no Nadia (1990) Discussion > Nadia - The Motion Picture Comments

Nadia - The Motion Picture Comments


Just tonight I finally bit the bullet and decided to view the Nadia movie, just to see how awful it was. As it turned out, it wasn't all that bad. However, that's not to say it's anywhere nearly as good as the series its inspired by. Far from it. There are a lot of bizarre inconsistencies in the plot, which basicaly feels like a hastily cobbled Saturday morning cartoon episode, minus much of the depth and richness that made Nadia as a series so appealing. The whole thing tries to be a funny, fast-paced sci-fi mystery adventure, and there are some laughs to be had--but it's hilarious for all the wrong reasons. The action seqeuences, in particular, are implausibly staged (one involves Jean and Nadia fighting badguys--he removes a grenade from his pocket... and destroys a group of enemies in one shot, yet he and Nadia escape unharmed!). Even one-liners from the Grandis gang runs dry in places.

Regrettably, the "cartoonish" aura is made even more apparent by the animation. "Sub-par" doesn't even come close to describing how sloppy and unattractive it is. Compared to even the Lincoln and floating island episodes (which looked poor in comparison to the better eps), however, it simply looks dreadful. The recycled footage that makes up the first thirty minutes (ironically the best part of the movie, except it's all poorly edited and sequenced in a way that will confuse all but those who are familiar with the series) only reinforces the dubious quality of the movie as a whole. Actually, wasting the first thirty minutes with footage is a major mistake on the filmmakers' part: it provides little to no time for whatever story there is to fully develop.

Worse still, the new characters come across as cliche, cardboard cutouts. This was very disappointing, especially since in Nadia, even the characters who had only one-episode appearances (Jean's uncle, Captain Melville, Ensign Fait, and Irion the Whale) had the sort of glow and charisma one remembers well after they exit. (Excluded from this category are the characters in the horrid Africa village episode--those were all throwaway, poorly-defined cutouts, just like this film.) The villain of the piece in particular, Dr. Giegar, a sort of mad scientist with a silly-looking hairdo, is laughable--it is suggested early on that he is worse than Gargoyle, but he turns out to be just the opposite. He's nowhere nearly as frightening or fully-realized. The central new character to the show is Fuzzy, a blonde (and not very talkative) girl who serves to reunite Jean and Nadia after two years of living apart, and unfortunately, she comes across as the dullest in the show. Probably the only character to show any depth is her distant father, Dr. Wooler, the sort of gruff man who at first rejects his daughter for being a carbon copy of the real thing who was killed (oh, surprise), only to realize his error. But even then, there is something about him that feels very forgettable.

Remember how most of the island episodes (and the Africa ones) seemed to press reset on most of the main characters and have them behave in overexaggerated ways? Well, this movie is guilty of doing the same--the biggest problem I have is why Grandis and her gang would go back to a life of crime... and even attack Jean! Didn't they already establish a close relationship with the leads? And turn into allies? It's also baffling that the movie starts out with Jean and Nadia separated. The pair had already confessed their feelings for each other by the end of the series, so why is Nadia trying to be an independent reporter in London? And how in the world did Jean end up with an annoying parrot as a pet? Well, at least when they become paired up, their relationship at least isn't as grotesquely warped as the worst episodes was, but it still feels hokey and weird. It's even more surprising that Marie, King, Electra, and even Ayerton were written out of all this.

One thing that is done fairly well, surprisingly, is the relationship between Jean, Nadia, and Fuzzy. Don't get me wrong, Fuzzy, as mentioned, is a very one-dimensional character and she never develops into a compelling personality. However, I would argue that this "love triangle" is actually handled better than the abysmal Africa episodes.

There were three major problems I had with the attempt at a love triangle in eps. 32-33.
1) The rival character (Hamahama) was basically a boring, monodimensional character with zero depth or charisma.
2) There's a bizarre inconsistency with his age; he states that he's thirteen, but he looks and sounds like he's 18 or 21.
3) This was my biggest problem: Nadia totally breaks character and inexplicably even forgets her development with Jean at first sight.

In this movie, the first flaw is still existent, but the second and third problems are fixed--there's no major issue raised about Fuzzy's age (this makes her attraction to Jean more creditable), and Jean remains consistent. In fact, there are two very cute romantic interludes between Jean and Nadia which at least provide some charm (one on a boat, and at the end). And while the resolution of the triangle regarding Fuzzy did feel very much like a cop-out and lacked emotion, it at least wraps out inoffensively (albeit predictably).

Believe it or not, the other saving grace about the movie is the dub, provided by Monster Island. Nadia has always been one of my favorite dubs to listen to, and it's a treat to hear the principal cast reprise their roles. Rather amusingly, the script even works in a joke about Jean's French accent! (And while it's still pretty shaky in this movie, I can't imagine Jean without it.) The new characters are fairly well voiced too, particularly Eric Henshaw as Dr. Wooler; they do their best with their cardboard cut characters and provide consistent energy and liveliness.

All in all, however, I will not be visiting Nadia: The Motion Picture again any time soon. Even though it wasn't as hideous as most reviews were making it out to be (it's definitely better than the Africa episodes, but inevitably worse than both island sequences combined), I do believe that its poor reputation is well-deserved. Wasting 30 minutes of recycled footage, as mentioned, was a mistake, and it's even more disappointing that there wasn't much more thought put into the script.

Word has it that Hideaki Anno and Gainax would have probably made a movie of Nadia, but probably as a compilation movie consisting of episodes from the TV show (with a reworking/deletion of the much maligned island/Africa sequence). Personally, I think it would have been a much better idea for the movie as a whole, for while it had its moments, I was still left feeling very cold. It wasn't altogether bad, but it certainly falls in the shadow of the series. As a matter of fact, you can just skip it and won't miss much at all.

-Jon T.

reply