Starchaser: The Legend of Orin...
I was revisiting Starchaser: The Legend of Orin when I realized, for some reason that defies description, I hadn't actually mentioned this feature before...
Years, later, when the DVD was released, and before the Ultimate Otaku Fall Cleanup, I compared both formats side-by-side. The DVD version, in addition to being widescreen, had a higher resolution which allowed me to clearly see a spot in the animation, at approximately 44:23, where a couple of cells were not fully painted. As Dagg, Silica and Orin are preparing to leave Toga-Togo, a person with three arms, wearing a dark green cloak and using a walking stick, crosses their path. There are a couple of frames where the dark green cloak isn't fully painted, which causes the cloak itself to flicker during the brief scene. This issue existed in the VHS version, but, the resolution wasn't high enough to see the issue clearly.
The only other difference I observed, was in the title sequence. In the VHS version, the star field in the background is moving and the titles are not aligned correctly, from frame to frame, causing the titles to move slightly. In the DVD version, the star field is not animated at all and the titles are perfectly still.
Although, Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, has been accused of paying too much homage to Star Wars, even after more than thirty years, the feature, in my humble opinion, stands reasonably well on its own. The story centers on Orin, a slave, who embarks on an epic quest to free his fellow people. Along the way, Orin encounters a smuggler who acts a lot like another well known smuggler from a galaxy far, far, away, but, bears some resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. Of course, there are also talking robots, an Excalibur-like sword that can cut through walls like the light sabers featured in a galaxy far, far, away, and a number of other cliches.
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin is Rated PG, presumably for violence, a couple of brief scenes with scantily clad women and, of course, Silica's infamous personality change. But, of course, there are no naughty bits and no bloodshed or gore. From a technical standpoint, the animation is actually very well executed with a combination of traditional animation and some early CG effects. The animation does show its relative age in comparison to newer productions.
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, has also been accused of using rotoscoping in the animation process. Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Rotoscoping is frowned upon by some animation fans because it's seen as a lazy method of animating and a cheap means of cutting corners. Rotoscoping, when done well, can be a benefit to the production, but, there are any number of examples of poor rotoscoping that make animation fans cringe at the thought of using rotoscoping in the animation process. According to an interview with members of the production team published on The Robot's Voice, rotoscoping was not used in the feature. This is actually quite an impressive feat, as, even today, with all of the advances in the technology of animation, drawing people and having them move realistically, is still quite challenging.
Overall, Starchaser: The Legend of Orin is a very entertaining space-based fantasy that draws inspiration from a variety of sources. I wasn't particularly enamored with how the feature ended as the ending seemed, in my humble opinion, a bit contrived. But, warts and all, I still enjoy watching and re-watching the feature. I would give Starchaser: The Legend of Orin a 4 out of 5. I used to have the VHS version of this feature and in the aftermath of the Ultimate Otaku Fall Cleanup, I repurchased it on DVD.
Way back in the misty dawn of time, I had seen theatrical previews for Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, but, at the time, I never bothered to see the feature during its theatrical run. It wasn't until the feature was released on VHS, that I took the opportunity to see it.Get ready to blast into hyperspace with Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, an exhilarating, animated sci-fi saga hailed as an excellent special treat for families (Screen International) that brings interplanetary excitement and adventure to an all-time high! Deep within a subterranean Mine-World, a tribe of humans forced into a grim life of servitude by the malevolent overlord Zygon knows nothing of the surface world or of hope until a brave young boy named Orin discovers a sword with mysterious powers that only he can unlock! After escaping the Mine-World with his weapon, Orin teams with rogue smuggler Dagg, a beautiful princess and some trusty robots on an intergalactic mission to free his enslaved people and defeat the evil Zygon!
The only other difference I observed, was in the title sequence. In the VHS version, the star field in the background is moving and the titles are not aligned correctly, from frame to frame, causing the titles to move slightly. In the DVD version, the star field is not animated at all and the titles are perfectly still.
Although, Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, has been accused of paying too much homage to Star Wars, even after more than thirty years, the feature, in my humble opinion, stands reasonably well on its own. The story centers on Orin, a slave, who embarks on an epic quest to free his fellow people. Along the way, Orin encounters a smuggler who acts a lot like another well known smuggler from a galaxy far, far, away, but, bears some resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. Of course, there are also talking robots, an Excalibur-like sword that can cut through walls like the light sabers featured in a galaxy far, far, away, and a number of other cliches.
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin is Rated PG, presumably for violence, a couple of brief scenes with scantily clad women and, of course, Silica's infamous personality change. But, of course, there are no naughty bits and no bloodshed or gore. From a technical standpoint, the animation is actually very well executed with a combination of traditional animation and some early CG effects. The animation does show its relative age in comparison to newer productions.
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, has also been accused of using rotoscoping in the animation process. Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Rotoscoping is frowned upon by some animation fans because it's seen as a lazy method of animating and a cheap means of cutting corners. Rotoscoping, when done well, can be a benefit to the production, but, there are any number of examples of poor rotoscoping that make animation fans cringe at the thought of using rotoscoping in the animation process. According to an interview with members of the production team published on The Robot's Voice, rotoscoping was not used in the feature. This is actually quite an impressive feat, as, even today, with all of the advances in the technology of animation, drawing people and having them move realistically, is still quite challenging.
Overall, Starchaser: The Legend of Orin is a very entertaining space-based fantasy that draws inspiration from a variety of sources. I wasn't particularly enamored with how the feature ended as the ending seemed, in my humble opinion, a bit contrived. But, warts and all, I still enjoy watching and re-watching the feature. I would give Starchaser: The Legend of Orin a 4 out of 5. I used to have the VHS version of this feature and in the aftermath of the Ultimate Otaku Fall Cleanup, I repurchased it on DVD.
