Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) - We're Surrounded Scene (1/10) | Movieclips

[@johnnguyen4516]

Anyone else see this movie as a kid?

[@quiver5756]

Me

[@jhonnoilcringeincarnato8593]

Yes i even had the movie on cassette

[@YPAReviews]

I remember scouring through the newspaper to see it with my grandfather. You could hardly find the movie in Illinois on the day of its release. When we did see it, he was steamed he had to sit through basically what he thought was an explosion fest.

[@Dudeified43091]

@@YPAReviews lol

[@Dudeified43091]

@@YPAReviews animation may not hold up as well today but damn that music was epic

[@thelordofsalem3044]

The CGI for this film was so amazingly realistic that it had me confused as a kid as to whether or not if this was live action. And at the time of its release, CGI like this was as realistic as it got. We've come a long way since then, but the graphics for Spirits Within still look fantastic for a movie that came out in the early-2000's.

[@chademap1071]

Yes! Exactly. Same here)

[@scottr6755]

Same I was 7, and I thought it was real actors in a CGI setting

[@GalekC]

I literally just left this comment (first sentence) on another video LMAO. Except I kinda didn't like it much even back then at 8 y/o, oof, but can probably look past those graphics nowadays. i wonder what i would've felt if me & my family did have a single inkling what Final Fantasy even was at the time, haha

[@sarcastian]

This looks shockingly good for a 22 year old animated film, very ahead of it’s time.

[@SteezGods]

I remember seeing this when it came out. My Uncle said "One day boy, they're going to be able to make it look real" and that's something that's stuck with me 23 years later. To think how far technology has come and what the future holds..

[@hayriistay]

I am a CGI artist with 29 years of experience. When this movie came out, I had 6 years of experience. There was no ZBrush. All adjustments were made in Photoshop. Also, from what I read in magazines, they spent 9 million dollars on the hair of all the characters using special software. Here’s a tip about this movie: All the humans were created from a single model. The movie was made by manipulating vertices, using the precursor to modern Wrap software. All the characters have the same topology, which provides a good opportunity for efficiency and character rigging.

[@Rationalific]

The visuals were mind-blowing in 2001! There was nothing like it at the time. And they still hold up well in 2020, to the extent that you can watch it without thinking about technology limitations. The original Toy Story of 1995 was another such moment for CG in film, as was Jurassic Park of 1993.

[@henrycase3788]

Don't forget Gollum's mocap and the "army" vfx in Lord of the Rings. The former is a significant milestone for motion capture performance.

[@phillipunleashed2434]

This animation looks pretty good for a 2001 film.

[@Nekavandre]

This was one of those films around the time of Toy Story one (99 to 2002) that were really really pushing what technology and animation was capable of at the time. The work and effort still holds up 19 years later.

[@clxwncrxwn]

The Nekavandre yeah but at the time this film took 2- 5 years to make. With all the motion capture needed.

[@Nekavandre]

@@clxwncrxwn Yeah your point? Most CGI and motion capture films still take awhile to make. On average 2-4 years. We've come far but it's only been 19 years.

[@EyeofValor]

@@Nekavandre Which is why it flopped.

[@Dudeified43091]

@@EyeofValor this movie didnt flop because i own it.

[@TheVeyZ]

What I liked most about this film is the creative idea with the aliens. It wasn't just your regular "aliens are invading planet earth." it was just a chunk of their planet that unfortunately hit us and harbored the angry spirits of those aliens. I always loved that idea.

[@quiver5756]

Not to mention: the phantoms are invisible to the human eye, they can instakill everything by just contact and even if humans "kill" them with weapons the phantoms just go back to their gaia spirit and they can came back because technically they're already dead. That's a pretty wild concept for an apocalyptic scenario. It's hard to think humanity can survive.

[@Tracer_Krieg]

Has nothing to do with Final Fantasy, but it was a decent movie.

[@Nekavandre]

It's only connection to the Final Fantasy universe was key words like Gaia and lil easter eggs like the name Cid. Otherwise as stated in multiple interviews it's, it's own thing and was made with the intention of appealing to American/Western Audiences while also getting the name Final Fantasy more recognition. It succeeded in that as sales of Final Fantasy games on the PS1 and PS2 sky rocketed. Also helped some of the actors expand there careers and notoriety.

[@APinchofBazel]

Nah it was pretty bad. Respectable for what it tried to do on a technical level but not much else.

[@Tayvin4042]

I mean, to be fair, most Final Fantasy stories are completely separate from one another, aside from having similar things like Chocobos or a smart tech guy named Cid.

[@bluecaptainIT]

I love this movie, but I recognize it has nothing to do with Final Fantasy. Actually, I don't believe it has anything to do with *Fantasy* at all.

[@ninoascencio6241]

Ok let’s check what did have related to final fantasy. 1. Saving the life of the planet. 2. Love story. 3. Airship 4. A CID 5. Group of soldiers/friends that team up to save the planet. 6. Instead of crystals there collecting spirits... And to be fair every final fantasy had there own story, This was there’s.... I enjoyed it especially when I saw it as a kid in the movies.

[@Capt_Dango]

It's clear the CG is dated, but it's not bad by a long shot.

[@kevtb874]

The CGI was as good as you'd ever seen back in the day. This is only a few short years after Toy Stiry 1 for Christ's sake.

[@lazarx804]

@@kevtb874 funny, I also thought about of toy story 1 as a reference title lol

[@theuniversedoesntcare]

*Yes.*

[@mannya.h.967]

One of the most underrated aspects of this film are the facial expressions. If I’m correct this was before actual proper motion capture, so everything had to be done by hand and in render, which is insane, the lighting, motion and expression, etc. Not to mention the transparency simulations on the monsters is crazy. For the era this this was next level

[@therealmr.incredible3179]

.......NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD!!!!!

[@ekwan86]

this movie is so underrated..

[@AlphaOmegon]

This looked more like gears of war than final fantasy.

[@darthgrouch4610]

Gears of war was influenced by this film actually

[@seanyee7850]

And it was stated that this movie was meant for the western viewers to boost the name of final fantasy

[@briansmith2739]

And Star Ship Troopers.

[@TheKestevon]

Mass Effect

[@AstralComposition]

@@darthgrouch4610 you serious?

[@captainonomatopoeia]

Man I remember watching this as a kid. I imagined myself as one of those soldiers having a last stand against the phantoms. Such were the memories of my childhood lol.

[@StrikeNoir105E]

Loved this movie in theaters when I was younger, actually wish they'd made a game based off this particular setting. Sadly the actual FF games never used this as a basis, which I think was a missed opportunity. Alternatively, they could've just repurposed the setting under a new IP instead of it being under the "Final Fantasy" name.

[@RoyalKnightVIII]

Sadly the movie was such a massive bomb that it almost killed Square Soft. Square films only made one other thing after it, a segment of the matrix anime, And caput. I think it might still be a sore subject

[@maxxyang3723]

@@RoyalKnightVIII This movie was ahead of its time considering we got other FF movies like Kingsglaive lol

[@JustSomeGuyLV]

One of the best cgi/''anime'' movies ever made. And just cuz it has Final Fantasy in it's name doesn't make it any less awesome.

[@JayMMecra]

after all these years, i found it

[@LtDucky777]

Loved this movie as a kid and now. I own it on VHS but haven't thought to watch it in forever. Thank you random KZbin algorithm.

[@dreamingblue3939]

My dad bought this and Advent Children at a blockbuster when I was about six years old and watched both with me. I'd never seen anything like them, so even though I couldn't remember the names of the movies or any details of the plot for years, certain scenes and characters stuck in my head. I remember being simultaneously fascinated by it and so creeped out by the grimdark tone of the world that it gave me nightmares. Never knew was it was called or that it'd been made for a game until the youtube algorithm started randomly recommending me a bunch of Final Fantasy VII remake videos. I immediately got the feeling I'd seen Cloud somewhere before and that stirred up a ton of forgotten memories from these movies... Still gives me that same weird eerie-sad nostalgic feeling. For years, I was half-convinced these movies were something I'd dreamed up haha

[@rommix0]

Before we all had Advent Children, we had this film by Square.

[@xgeo3586]

It was a good movie. Loved the Marines saw it with me & my sister at the movie theatre in flint where everyone dressed up it was cool. I didnt dress up b.c I was to little to know just I loved the hype and ff even as a little kid so it was a spontaneous showing for me. =)

[@jagerkerrigan1289]

Ghostbusters extreme edition.

[@Tayvin4042]

Huh, the CG didn't age nearly as bad as I thought it would.

[@Ammeo]

This movie was so ahead of its time

[@djgabucay]

When it comes to good timeless animation? Final fantasy movies are beyond

[@rimidalv]

I remember watching this film and thinking how realistic it was! Now (2021), we see how much animation has improved!

[@navilluscire2567]

Probably THE most gritty, weirdly grounded (and that's a stretch) Final Fantasy setting they ever made. Wish they'd make a spinoff series based in this universe!

[@quiver5756]

A series of prequels about the first contact of humanity with the ghosts can be pretty interesting, as well see the downfall of civilization and the eventual establishment of the new order. Think about it like "The Animatrix" series.

[@Richdadful]

This was rendered on geforce 3 level GPU which had 20-25 tflops of performance. The current intel HD 630 beats that in everyway.

[@frostymourne867]

It was the most badass stuff I’ve seen as a kid ever.

[@kevinwong8693]

still remember the whole hype about how they spent millions of dollars animating her CGI hair haha

[@MrGoatFish10]

i remember watching this movie back when i was grade 6 on 2001 now i'm 33 years old, i was blown away by this animation.

[@BlondeManNoName]

I first saw this on VHS, then on DVD and finally on bluray, have the soundtrack too. Love it!

[@theoldwitchsoul9929]

I literally am so shocked this was from 2001. 2007 or 8 sure, but 2001? I had no idea because I saw this as a kid. This was amazing... Early 2000's..... So many vibes we'll never get again in 2020. You can tell the difference between then and now... Like look at the sleek simpleness of the futuresque themes they had back then, from the outfits and armor to the hair. The 2000's had a thing about it back in the day that made it seriously stand out.

[@bumblebeegamer2736]

my first thoughts when i saw that scene: Soldiers looks like blackwatch of Prototype Monsters looks like necromorphs but as a ghosts that movie need some name instead final fantasy

[@seanturner1197]

I remember watching this movie when I was a kid. I immediately got Ghostbusters vibes because it was set in new york and they were essentially fighting ghosts, one difference being that they're not the ones unleashed through the birth of Gozer the Gozerian but space ghosts. The other difference is that they didn't use proton packs and didn't capture the space ghosts and no Rey Parket song.

[@BloodDona]

As Arnold would say in the first Terminator movie, "Phase Plasma Rifle in 40 Watt Range"

[@mukyapradipta9577]

iirc many negative reviews about this movie but if you see this as not final fantasy then it actually decent or surprisingly good animation movie in that time.. Ah good nostalgia

[@TattiePeeler]

Whatever you think of the movie, the DVD menu for this movie was unbelievable. Sony really pushed the DVD format to the limit.

[@omegashenron8]

Which is impressive considering DVD was still fairly new tech back in 2001

[@fredleeland2464]

Monster's Inc had a great menu too Back when DVD menus were insane

[@50kekk]

For an early 2000s film, the art doesn't look so bad!

[@ramvincentpaulvictor4365]

Considering that around this era, we got Heavy Gear, Max Steel, and Starship Troopers animated series, this movie was phenomenal.

[@darrelljohnson2499]

If you saw this movie back in 2001 when it premiered in theaters as I did. You were blown away by the graphics. [Edit] I was 9 years old & an avid gamer. This movie was amazing at that age.

[@wolfcraftianmusic4316]

i had watched it when I was small and youtube made me remember it now God I still get chills

[@jesse85]

I remember I thought the people were real the first time I watched this, I love how hyperrealism changes over time. We have way higher standards now.

[@Andromeister27]

This movie aged quite nicely, an underrated gem... a mix between Starship Troopers and Alien.

[@Bro-cx2jc]

This is cool, basically an FMV movie. I used to think about stuff like that as a kid.

[@alonzo9772]

It was such a good movie idea. The screenwriter really screwed up.

[@ONILEO00]

Not a great movie but very impressive in it's technical aspects. I remember seeing some promotional posters showing the human characters and I wasn't sure all of them were CGI.

[@johnmichaelreyes2587]

I can still remember the feeling of being awed at how beautifullu realistic her hair was rendered in CGI. This was a landmark in CGI making.

[@23Revan84]

I love this film it gets a lot of hate but it was really ahead of its time.

[@mbogucki1]

A cool movie that unfortunately fell apart in the third act with metaphysical mumbo-jumbo about the "spirit of the earth". In the end, I felt like I would have rather watched the initial attack, the "Phantom Cleansing Mission" and how they developed the shields to protect the cities. Still, it had some of the best industrial design and realistic looking future tech of any SciFi/anime movie. Visually stunning to this day IMO.

[@StrikeNoir105E]

It is a "Final Fantasy" film, and hence they stuck to the themes from the games. Unfortunately, imho this movie really would've benefited more from being its own thing instead of being saddled with the Final Fantasy name.

[@Natedawg38]

This movie is awesome. Great experience in the cinema.

[@catsndogs98]

Of course Aki Ross I believe posed for maxim magazine

[@tylersingleton9284]

I saw this in theaters. I remember the graphics being the best I'd ever seen. It aged well, but it still aged. Seems so flat compared to the 4k stuff out now.

[@BobSeptian]

The graphic looks pretty good for 2001 movie. It looks like ps3/ps4 graphic that we have now.

[@IsleOfFeldspar]

The animation for the polar express looked like this

[@rajendrabiswas]

such a well made movie even in 2024

[@larrycarls7221]

My friends put this after I had fallen asleep on the couch. This is the scene I woke up to

[@jasonpaul292]

they should remake the CGI for this movie for a 4K remastered edition, these graphics were sick in 2001, imagine how it would look with today's tech

[@BlurredVision18]

It'd look like Kingsglaive.

[@mkzhero]

I'ma remind you this thingy here is around 20 frigging years old now. Just let that sink in.

[@JayRM714]

Such an underrated movie..

[@candyland4517]

I’ve been trying to find the name of this movie for years and I mean 10+ years!! Now I can rest easy.

[@whutnowboo]

i dont know why people hated this movie. this was and still top tier. graphics, action and story

[@art_the_king02]

Finally after all these years I only saw this scene on TV and I didn't get to finish watching cuz I was busy But now I finally found it and know the name of the movie I never knew it was actually Final Fantasy I thought it was based on a different video game

[@koraodotv6950]

I remember starship troopers 3d on this movie which release in 90s i think. Damn old memories

[@АндрейОнищенко-з8х]

2:27 yeah, they new that having the highground makes it over

[@disneypatterson8667]

I really hope they would retexture and rerender this movie today

[@shada0]

So I've been studying CGI for a year now & my dad keeps referring back to this movie, so it got me thinking, this was 3 years before The Incredibles, how did they do it? I'm a big fantasy fan & I like a lot of people was disappointed that this was a Sci fi, but I don't think they had any other option, the tech just got in the way.

[@last90sdude7]

Happy 20th Year Anniversary 🎂 Original Release: July 11th, 2001

[@BigGeekEmpire]

How did this movie even happen? It's actually directed by the father of Final Fantasy with the story by Sakaguchi himself but yet there is nothing in this movie that remotely looks or feels Final Fantasy.

[@daniboy4153]

I think it was to make Final Fantasy known to Western audiences or something like that

[@ItsSauIGoodman]

This movie was something sakaguchi always wanted to make because he loves these kinds of movies. So why not make one with his up and coming franchise name on it and kill two birds with one stone. FF sales exploded after the release of FF7 and this movie. It's not even a bad movie, it flows like a FF, even has a Cid in it, airships, Gaia and a couple other Easter eggs.

[@cubdukat]

I honestly have to wonder if Sony didn't lean on Square to make it more marketable to American audiences. This movie is basically the world's most expensive anime feature, and unless it's either "Akira" or Studio Ghibli, anime's a tough sell. It certainly wouldn't make the kind of money Sony and Square needed for this to be profitable. Still, I'm glad they tried. Now if only we could get a 4K version of this....

[@ItsSauIGoodman]

@@cubdukat yeah. Check sales reports in american after this was released

[@donisiswanto8248]

Most ppl say that Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within wasn't true Final Fantasy, said "it has no connection". In fact, every Final Fantasy series are separated from each other-exception for some that have it's own sequel-and even with a different theme too: medieval fantasy, steampunk(?), modern, even futuristic. Imo, this film actually still have the formula to become *Final Fantasy* 1. Heroes of young that destined to save the world. 2. Collecting "things" to save the world. Instead of crystals, they are looking for Spirits. But yeah, still the same purpose. 3. Dr. Sid = Cid 4. Airships 5. Gaia And many others.

[@jamespressman1202]

Its 2024 but the CGI of this movie is way better than the latest movies that was released.

[@caosonnguyen3336]

holy crap this was 2001. Damn

[@Chickenworm9394]

This movie is underrated

[@mrconspiracyunsolved2737]

This is pretty good for a 2001, it just looks like one does movies from 2010 to 2020

[@evelic]

This movie still looks great imo.

[@triplets5683]

I have been on the hunt for this movie for so long since i was a kif and tgis hust popped up

[@rauldurand]

Best animation movie ever!

[@himmelektronik]

This movie was a canon event for me

[@ChilupaKing]

I love that armor!!!

[@uknowwhatimean5000]

I came here because they say it is somewhat similar from a netflix original movie "spectral" .. and yes it is pretty dope

[@johnrafaelb.garcia269]

VERY NOSTALGIC FOR ME SEING THIS

[@djgabucay]

Have you guys wonder about yourself why did they look real but the same time doesn't real? When i was a kid im so amazed i didnt know semi realistic animation back then so this is the first time I've watch CG movies. Man looking back at this and comparing the games this days this still could be a candidate.

[@Dudeified43091]

Not to be Confused with Final Fantasy xD

[@outercast9532]

i miss this movie

[@SkinnyEMedia]

They don’t make animated films like this anymore. PG films with stronger violence and even some rough language. Haven’t seen this in ages!

[@droopy935]

This was way ahead of its time... if only this came out around the time of avatar

[@matpocob]

Damn 20 years ...

[@joshuacalderon1837]

Didnt know this was a final fantasy back then when I watch this

[@orionknott9877]

Telethon at night showed me this!

[@logout1337]

Wow, this is what gameplay looks like nowadays.

[@JustMabember]

Ah...yes... this intro was shown to me when i was just 5 or 6yo at 144p and i got confused af... the nostalgia

[@dartmada9733]

With their helmets on they look like Gears.

[@ReMeDy_TV]

I've always been a huge Final Fantasy fan, and when I was a kid I knew I had to see this. I remember falling asleep in the theater at some point, no joke. The visuals looked awesome, but by the end you forget about the visuals and focus on everything else... which falls flat. Another problem I had with it is I felt there wasn't enough combat. It's a Final Fantasy game! There should be a fight scene every ten steps they take!

[@himanshugupta325]

This is the standard of graphics of 2010s games.

[@sceanlyonz4571]

Cool parachutes!!

[@k.baller5140]

I remember I went to the theaters to watch this. Everyone was lined up more for Training Day instead... that was a better movie

[@MrCheezeNip]

Never knew the cast was this good lol. Alec Baldwin and Steve Buscemi???

[@projectmungo]

Ah now i see where the Desing for Star Citizen‘s Espiria Prowler came from.

[@briansmith2739]

Also, if you played Mass Effect 2, this is where the inspiration for the helmets on the Mercenaries such as Blue Suns and Eclipse came from this movie.

[@ilijabosnjak76]

I still have Original DVD with Extras playing it on my PS2 hooked up to projector 📽..This movie was ahead of the time..Graphics and story is beautiful…I would buy 4K remastered version…

[@peppermint1968]

This can pass as a movie cutscence in a PS5 video game

[@CittizinKane]

Still looks good, great flick

[@quadiamond_yt8731]

2:12 May i have this plz? thank u Me: I was gonna use that, but sure, u can have it. i'll just buy another one

[@yuiNuj2013]

The soldier suit fits the one i crashed in ffxv

[@deepangelmx]

wow now it looks so old that CGI