Topia

Topia is a 1981 American animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Jack Kromen. Featuring the voices of Michael Wildshill (who also produced the film and wrote the story with Kromen while serving as animation director), Lisa Maxwell, Hamilton Camp, Peter Cullen and Paul Winchell, the film tells a story of a boy who, after escaping from a horrific prison, discovers a girl with mystical powers who travel together through beautiful environments whilst being stalked by a hunter. The film was produced by Austrafilm as its first animated feature film with additional input by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Many CalArts graduates led by Wildshill under the name Toon Group Inc. were involved with this film.

Released by Universal Pictures on June 12, 1981, the film received critical acclaim from critics who praised its animation, musical score, and plot and was a modest box office success, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1981, as well as the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film before An American Tail, another Universal animated film, dethroned it in 1986. In recent years, the film has garnered a cult following.

Plot
In the forests, a rabbit becomes just another meal for a hunter and his fox, who cooks it to make a rabbit stew. Meanwhile, a boy attempts to escape from the prison he is currently at and is eventually captured by prison guards, who throw him back into the prison and threaten death upon him the next time he escapes. His job in the prison revolves around mining for valuable emeralds, which the gaoler has been finding for many generations.

Meanwhile, the hunter and his fox from earlier does some hunting and fails to catch a bird for dinner. He then returns home. A girl walks through the forest and arrives at the hunters cabin. She knocks on the door and when the hunter opens the door, the girl recognizes him and immediately runs off. The hunter and his fox chase after the girl but she eventually gets away.

During mining, the boy notices the hunter holding the girl in his arms. The gaoler notices this and scolds him, believing he was planning his next escape. While in his cell, the boy spots smoke in the background of the forest, alluding to the hunter's cabin. He then overhears some guards mentioning the gaoler having a guest for dinner that night. One of the guards foolishly drops their cell keys on the floor and leaves without noticing, the boy immediately picks them up and waits for the right moment to leave his cell.

The guest mentioned by the guards visits the prison and is greeted by a guard and the gaoler. The boy manages to escape from his cell with the keys he picked up. The girl is seen in the hunter's cabin passed out, her eyes spring open shining white and her whole body begins to elongate, with the sleeping hunter not being awoken. The prison's guest and the gaoler enter a room with a long table with chairs on each end, they sit down on them. The guest proceeds to criticize how the room is not well used for being such an expansive room.

The boy explores the prison looking for a way to escape from it and discovers a chef in a kitchen who happens to be making a meal, supposedly for the gaoler and guest. The chef notices the boy and gives him the job of helping him cook. During cooking, a guard hurts their self and the chef runs off the help him.

The boy looks through some spices and finds hot chilies. He gets the devilish idea of adding it to the food so he can sabotage the gaoler and guest's dinner. He puts what looks the hottest in and eventually the food has now become a nuclear weapon. The chef returns and is generally happy about the results of the food, not realizing that there are extremely spicy chilies in it.

The food is served to the gaoler and guest, the guest complains about it's spiciness, the head is embarrassed and he promises to fire the chef. The guest's condition gradually but quickly deteriorates. The guest becomes bright red as the head panics. The boy watches this all unfold. The head calls for the chef and he comes with no knowledge of what's happening. He suddenly becomes terrified upon seeing the guest and runs off while the head watches in confusion. He spots the boy and just as he spots him, the guest groans as the head turns his head. Completely red, a bump in the guest's throat comes up and gets larger and larger.

The boy runs off and manages to find an exit, he escapes once again from the prison. Meanwhile, the guest seems to have completely exploded with only a dress and black ash remaining.

The boy walks through a foggy forest and his vision is obscured by the fog. He steps into a small river and spots the hunter's cabin, which is illuminating a white light and has it's windows melted.

The boy enters the cabin, and is presented a rather frightening sight. Items flying all over the cabin caused by the girl's powers while the hunter and his fox are sitting in the corner in fear. She suddenly stops for whatever reason, and all the items and herself drop to the ground.

The hunter notices the boy, and a chase scene ensues.

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Voice cast

 * Michael Wildshill as the Boy
 * Lisa Maxwell as the Girl
 * Hamilton Camp as the Hunter
 * Peter Cullen as the Gaoler
 * Paul Winchell as the Old Man
 * Sherry Lynn as the Guest
 * Jack Kromen as the guards
 * Don Messick, Peter Renaday and Neil Ross as prisoners
 * Frank Welker as the Fox and Animal Vocal Effects

Development
In 1962, the then 17 year old Jack Kromen filmed a live action short by the name of Topia, that would inspire the animated feature. This project was related to his school work in film production at the time. It generally followed the same plot as the animated film. During the production in 1979, it vanished and is considered lost.

In mid-1971, shortly after the release of his debut The Widower, Kromen had been considering the possibility of making an animated film and then discovered the short that had been stored away for almost a decade. After watching it, he became convinced this was the animated film he wanted to make.

The screenplay was finished around late 1974, Kromen had extreme difficulty getting the film made, most studios rejected it due to it's length (The script was over 150 pages at that point) and overall sheer ambitiousness of the project.

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Writing
After deciding he wanted to remake his old short film, work on the script started immediately. The first draft was finished in December 1971, the script was a little different to the final film, one of the main differences being the ending, which was much darker then the more bittersweet ending used.

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Animation
Coming soon!

Home media
Topia debuted on Super 8 film and several home video formats in 1982, including VHS, Betamax, CED Videodisc, Video8 and LaserDisc, which were distributed by MCA Videocassette, Inc. With a $80 purchase price in the US, the VHS version sold approximately 22,000 copies within the first few months. On November 17, 1989, the film was re-released on both VHS and LaserDisc in a new advertising campaign with lower retail prices. It was this new wide availability on video, as well as broadcasts on cable, that helped Topia garner a cult following long after its theatrical debut. A 15th Anniversary VHS edition was released on November 19, 1996, alongside a Laserdisc release. This was followed by another VHS release under the Universal Family Features label on September 22, 1998.

The film was released on DVD for the first time on December 15, 1998, which was reprinted numerous times in the ensuing years, both as a stand-alone release or bundled with other animated movies from Universal or DreamWorks. On June 12, 2001, a 2-disc DVD set called the "20th Anniversary Edition" was released and included special features such as audio commentary from both individuals and an interview featurette. The film was also released on VHS and DVD under the Universal Animated Features Collection label on January 15, 2002, again on DVD on July 25, 2006 as a 25th Anniversary Edition, and later on Blu-ray on June 28, 2011. Both releases retained the special features of the 20th Anniversary Edition. Another Blu-ray release from Universal for the film was released on June 5, 2012, as a part of Universal's Universal 100th Anniversary releases.

Box office
The film's distributor, Universal Studios, barely did any promotion for the film, leading Austrafilm to finance the advertising campaign themselves. The financiers had expected the film to open in wide release in 1,000 venues, but Universal opted for a limited opening weekend in 100 theaters, with its widest release in only 700. Although in competition with the blockbusters Clash of the Titans and Raiders of the Lost Ark, it performed better in those theaters alone in its opening week than Friday the 13th Part 2, Dragonslayer and The Fox and the Hound. However, as a result of its release and competition with other summer fare, Topia became only a moderate success, grossing $47,934,719 in North America (making it the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film at the time), though it was more successful on home video, cable and foreign release, ultimately turning a profit.

Critical response
Despite having a limited release, Topia received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. It has a 95% "Fresh" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 7.11/10. The consensus states, "Jack Kromen's Topia may frighten younger audiences for its dark tale, but is likely enjoyable for older children and adults alike." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Accolades
Topia won Best Animated Film of 1981 at the 9th annual Saturn Awards, where it also received a nomination for Best Fantasy Film, losing to Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Legacy
Coming soon!

Live-action remake
On August 10, 2019, it was announced that Universal Pictures is developing a live-action remake of Topia.

Main
To see the main transcript of the film, click here.

Trailers
To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.

This film was originally created by MembrainTeksta.