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40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This reminds me of a puzzle..., 12 Oct 2010
I was lucky enough to be able to view Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva at an anime festival. The film was dubbed, though the titles and credits were in Japanese. Obviously this won't be the case for the British DVD release version, but the titles and credits were beautiful and reminiscent of the game's titles and credits. The animation was exactly as it is in the games, and despite its cartoonish simplicity, it looked spectacular on the big screen. Elaborate CGI for more tricky sequences did not look out of place next to the flat characters and scenery, which is a relief more than anything.
If you've ever played a Professor Layton game, you might be wondering how they manage to incorporate the puzzles and gameplay elements into the film. Not wanting to spoil it too much, let me assure you that the way the first obvious puzzle is introduced will bring a smile to your face. Don't worry too much about solving the puzzles; the trivial ones you'll get within seconds. The important plot points you might guess, but the story manages to stay exciting and entertaining all the way through.
As with the games themselves, the movie's story is captivating and beautifully animated, with plenty of laughs and gasps to be had. The audience enjoyed the screening so much that there was loud applause once the credits had ended. Since the film deals with dark topics - death is a big factor and plays a big part in a very symbolic fashion - very young children may not understand or enjoy the film. There were very small children at the screening, and every so often you could hear them asking in confusion what was happening. They did not seem to understand the symbolism and were often puzzled by certain characters. However, though the action sequences are relatively intense, the children did not appear frightened by them. It's very much a case of "your mileage may vary" as far as showing the film to children is concerned.
The voice acting is a little tricky to describe. Luckily for us, it was Maria Darling as Luke, as it's supposed to be for British audiences. Just as well, really, as Lani Minella's Luke is simply atrocious. Christopher Robin Miller is wonderful as always as Professor Layton. The rest of the cast is somewhat hit-and-miss, many of the supporting characters sounding very American-pretending-to-be-British. This doesn't actually make the film any less enjoyable though.
All in all, it's a beautifully animated film with some superb voice acting and a captivating story. Whether you're a fan of the game or not, this is perfectly viewable and enjoyable. Do give it a watch - preferably while drinking tea.
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eternal Diva Review, 3 Oct 2010
I watched this film during the summer in Japanese with the english subtitles.
I was wary after loving the games that the film would be dull but I coulden't have been more wrong~!
The animation is completley beautiful and mindblowing~!
Not only that, but during the story you have several puzzles to solve along the way with ample time to think about them like the games~!
I would recommend this film to anyone who has played and enjoyed Pandoras Box and the Curious Village~!
Xx
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet and charming - a gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved..., 19 Jan 2011
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
I have loved the Nintendo DS games, and their beautiful little animation sequences that serve to move the story on (and, I always felt, act as a little 'reward' for successfully solving the puzzles). Of course, the characters are somewhat clichéd, with Layton's perennial pontifications on the nature and role of a "gentleman" and apprentice Luke's unbounded enthusiasm and admiration.
I was not sure how the animation would work on a stand-alone basis, but was pleased to see that the look and charm had been fully retained. And it was nice to see it played out on a bigger screen than the postage-stamp DS one!
The main voice actors are the same as the game (or sound so), which was also a relief. And the lovely trademark music is also present.
The story of the film is a reasonable one. As usual, it follows the detective genre of the whodunit, with Layton taking the place of Sherlock Holmes / Poirot / etc. The test of a whodunit is always whether it can keep you guessing until the final 'reveal', and this one was not bad. I did guess the answer before the end, but not too early to be dissatisfying.
The story does manage to weave in a few puzzles, which resolve themselves after a short period of action/dialogue long enough for you to be able to shout out your guesses to friend/family, if you so wish!
At one point, the tone of the piece takes a turn to the darker, and for a brief (alarming!) moment I thought we were heading into psycho / mass-murder territory. However, this soon passed and I would not hesitate in watching this film with a young child. My 6-year old had no problems with it, and was less scared than the average classic Disney.
So - why only 3 stars?
I knocked one off because this is really only for fans of the Layton games. I cannot imagine anyone else being very interested in it.
And the other is because the film has lacked 'repeat viewing' appeal. It is clearly a 'kids/family' movie, and my children have not requested it once since their first viewing, which counts as a failure compared to most such DVDs we own.
I hope you find this review useful - please let me know if you do.
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