Ama and the Mysterious Crystal

Ama and the Mysterious Crystal (or simply Ama) is a 1997 American animated fantasy-adventure film produced by Universal Feature Animation. The first feature film from the studio, it was directed by Michael Wildshill and written by Wildshill, Len Blum, Jonathan Roberts, and John August, and stars the voices of Christina Ricci, Jason Biggs, Jodi Benson, Martin Short, Patrick Stewart, and Jennifer Aniston. The film follows a young girl named Ama, who discovers a powerful magic crystal that came from the ancient city of Crystopia, where she learns that the ruthless sorcerer Lordous plans to place a spell that captures crystals from the city. Ama, along with her friend Edwin and her sister Shelly, embark on a journey to follow the crystal that prompts them to save the city and defeat Lordous.

Development of Ama began after Universal Feature Animation was established in 1993, when Wildshill conceived its original plot. James Horner composed the music for the film. It was Universal Pictures' first animated film to be produced at its in-house feature animation studio, which was formed by artists who had worked for the recently disbanded Multimedia Animation led by Wildshill, as well as Walt Disney Feature Animation and Amblimation. The animation of the film combines 2D traditional hand-drawn animation with extensive use of computer-generated imagery.

Ama and the Mysterious Crystal premiered in Los Angeles on December 10, 1997, and was released in the United States on December 19, 1997. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation, story, performances, and score, and earned over $324 million worldwide on its $44 million budget, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of 1997, the highest-grossing animated film of the year, and the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film at the time. The film was re-released in 3D on March 28, 2014. It later spawned an expanded franchise, with three direct-to-video follow-ups, a television series, video games, merchandise, and other media. A live-action remake was originally announced for a 2020 release, but was shelved indefinitely.

Plot
In the ancient city of Crystopia, a young sorcerer named Lordous steals a spellbook that he uses to make a large blue crystal in a cave do his bidding. The other sorcerers see this and try to stop him, only to be disintegrated by the crystal. Lordous manages to capture most of the crystals from the city, except one powerful crystal scattered away from Crystopia.

Years later, Ama is a 15-year-old girl living in a small village near a coastline with her older sister Shelly, her pet goat Pongo, and her widowed mother. Wanting to travel on an adventure of her own, she meets a nervous boy named Edwin, whom she helps excavate a mysterious crystal that he discovered. Curious to learn more about the artifact, Ama takes the crystal home with her. That night, she finds a message from the Crystopian elder Chief Urrkle, telling her of the crystal's hidden power. Wanting to use the crystal to find the ancient city of Crystopia, Ama sets off along with Edwin, Shelly, and Pongo.

The group takes a boat ride and then travels on foot before setting up camp for the night. Lordous, now elderly, senses that there is someone on his island. While Ama and her friends are sleeping, Lordous attempts to scare them by lifting Pongo and treating him like a party balloon, shaping him into various animals; this, however, does not awake the group.

The next morning, the group continues their journey and arrive at an enchanted forest, where they meet Hubble, a bird-like creature magically created by the Crystopians, who offers to lead them to Crystopia. However, Lordous creates a spell on a monstrous lizard to attack the group, which leads to Ama protecting herself with the crystal. She uses its power to destroy the creature, causing it to burst into dust upon defeat.

Reaching Crystopia, the group is greeted by Urrkle, who tours them around the city while they manage to help him retrieve most of the crystals. Soon, Lordous casts a spell that spawns several small vulture-like creatures which attack the group, who manages to escape. While they explore more in Crystopia, Ama and the group eventually discover an abandoned campsite which leads them to the cave where Lordous put the spell on the crystal years before.

The group then encounters Lordous and realizes that he was behind the strange events that occurred before. Eventually, Lordous becomes hostile towards the group and casts some spells towards them, before storming off into a deeper part of the cave. He then throws a spell at the group that turns them into crystal statues, except for Ama and Hubble. Enraged, Ama confronts Lordous and attacks him. As Lordous is about to destroy Ama, she and Hubble use the power of the crystals, including her crystallized friends, causing Lordous to turn into a statue. Ama runs back to her friends and finds them uncrystallized, since they are no longer under the influence of Lordous' spell.

With the city saved, Urrkle and the Crystopians thank those who helped Ama, who is crowned as the heroine of the city. Deciding to stay instead of returning home, Ama bids a heartfelt farewell to her mother, Edwin, Shelly, and Pongo, and begins a new life in Crystopia with Hubble. The film ends with Ama taking a crystal from the cave as a memento of sorts.

Voice cast

 * Christina Ricci as Ama, an adventurous 15-year-old girl who attempts to save the city of Crystopia with the mysterious crystal. Alexander Bates served as the supervising animator for Ama.
 * Jason Biggs as Edwin, a geeky and nervous boy who wants to help Ama on her journey to defeat Lordous. Randy Travelers served as the supervising animator for Edwin.
 * Jodi Benson as Shelly, Ama's older sister. Victor Eisenberg served as the supervising animator for Shelly.
 * Martin Short as Hubble, a bird-like creature magically created by the Crystopians who befriends Ama, Edwin, and Shelly. Bob Cokinn served as the supervising animator for Hubble.
 * Patrick Stewart as Lordous, a sorcerer obsessed with crystals who places a spell that captures them from Crystopia. He never liked people on the island and always stayed in the shadows. William Jennings served as the supervising animator for Lordous.
 * Jennifer Aniston as Ama and Shelly's Mother. Jack Reed served as the supervising animator for Ama and Shelly's Mother.
 * Jim Cummings as Urrkle, the chief of Crystopia. Phil Nibbelink served as the supervising animator for Urrkle.
 * Frank Welker as Pongo, Shelly's pet goat. John Madson served as the supervising animator for Pongo.
 * Welker also voices the Monstrous Lizard.
 * Edie McClurg as Edwin's Mother
 * Neil Ross as Oak
 * Michael Wildshill as Cal
 * Roger L. Jackson as Xan
 * Tress MacNeille as Native

Additional voices

 * Jack Angel
 * Bob Bergen
 * Rodger Bumpass
 * Philip L. Clarke
 * Kendall Cunningham
 * Jennifer Darling
 * Debi Derryberry
 * Bill Farmer
 * Jack Fletcher
 * Sherry Lynn
 * Mickie T. McGowan
 * Denise Pickering
 * Patrick Pinney
 * Phil Proctor
 * Jan Rabson
 * Erik Von Detten
 * Lillias White

Development
During the production of Multimedia's The Three Princes and Their Beasts in early 1993, then-MCA president Sid Sheinberg convinced Multimedia animator Michael Wildshill to launch a new animation studio for Universal Pictures, in which Wildshill agreed. Not long before the public announcement of Universal Feature Animation in May, Wildshill pitched several ideas to Universal, one of which immediately went into development under the title Legend of the Magic Crystal following the foundation of the new animation studio.

More coming soon!

Writing
Coming soon!

Animation
The film was mainly animated at the main Universal Feature Animation facility located in Universal City, California.

More coming soon!

Casting
Coming soon!

Release
Ama and the Mysterious Crystal was originally slated for release on November 26, 1997, but by February 1997, it was later pushed back a month later to December 19, 1997, to avoid competition with Flubber, as well as Anastasia and the re-release of The Little Mermaid. The release date change was a few days after Warner Bros. changed the release date of Quest for Camelot, from November 1997 to May 1998.

On September 29, 1997, Universal screened the film's first 30 minutes, which received a positive reaction. The film held its premiere at Los Angeles on December 10, 1997, with its wide release occurring on December 19. It was also screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. After the success of the 3D re-release of Jurassic Park, Universal announced a 3D re-release of Ama scheduled for January 31, 2014, but this was pushed back to March 28, 2014. The film later played a limited engagement in the Microsoft Theater at Los Angeles, California from December 2017 to January 2018 for its 20th anniversary. AMC Theaters screened the movie from February 7-13, 2020.

Marketing
Marketing for the film included $40 million spent by Universal for advertising, as well as partnerships with Mattel, Pizza Hut, Oreo, Motel 6, Kellogg's, Gingo, and NBC. It also partnered with Random House to produce children's books based on the film.

Home media
Ama and the Mysterious Crystal was released by Universal Studios Home Video on VHS, LaserDisc and DIVX on May 26, 1998, with no bonus material. In the first week of this release, VHS rentals totaled $4.8 million, debuting Ama as the week's No. 1 video. Over 19.5 million VHS copies were sold in the first year.

The film was released for the first time on DVD on December 12, 2000, as a 2-Disc Collector's Edition, in both Widescreen and full-screen versions. It included an audio commentary track recorded by the filmmakers, behind-the-scenes footage, and supplements that detailed the film's development. On April 17, 2001, the film was re-released on both VHS and DVD, but this time as the first release to be part of the Universal Animated Features Collection. This release sold two million copies. On June 19, 2007, a 2-disc "10th Anniversary Edition" DVD was released featuring much of the bonus material from the 2000 DVD with new extra features added. Ama was first made available on Blu-ray on September 13, 2011. It was later released on Blu-ray 3D on June 17, 2014.

An Ultra HD Blu-ray was released on December 19, 2017, for the film's 20th anniversary containing a new 4K restoration and a DTS:X audio remix.

On September 1, 2017, Ama became available on Netflix.

Box office
The film was released on December 19, 1997, in the United States and Canada, and made $22,474,839 in its opening weekend from 2,483 theaters, ranking as #3 behind Titanic and Tomorrow Never Dies. It closed on May 21, 1998, after earning $107,214,113 in the United States and Canada with an additional $217,432,840 overseas for a worldwide total of $324,646,953. Ama became the first non-Disney animated feature to gross over $100 million in the US. It remained the top-grossing non-Disney animated film until being surpassed by DreamWorks' Shrek in 2001 and remained the highest-grossing traditionally animated non-Disney film until 2007 when it was out-grossed by 20th Century Fox's The Simpsons Movie.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on March 13, 1998, and opened at number three, Titanic and Good Will Hunting.

Critical reception
Ama and the Mysterious Crystal received mostly positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 81% based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads, "It may feel unpolished in some spots, but Ama and the Mysterious Crystal is, in the end, a vivid, adventurous, and charming experience." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 70 out of 100 points, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, calling it "beautifully animated and very entertaining for the whole family." Richard Corliss of Time reviewed the film positively, calling it an "absolute classic". However, Anita Gates of the New York Times gave a negative review of the film, saying, "Universal's Disney wannabe feels bland and flat-out predictable."

Accolades
Coming soon!

Legacy

 * See also: Ama (franchise)

Sequels

 * Main articles: Ama II: Return to Crystopia, Ama III: The Lost Crystals and Ama: The Secret Palace

In January 1998, Universal announced it was planning a sequel to Ama. The sequel titled Ama II: Return to Crystopia was released on DVD and VHS on March 21, 2000, with Kath Soucie replacing Ricci as the voice of Ama. The film also served as the pilot for the television spin-off.

A third direct-to-video sequel titled Ama III: The Lost Crystals was released on DVD and VHS on March 19, 2002. A fourth film, titled Ama: The Secret Palace, was released on DVD on February 5, 2008.

Television series
A spin-off animated series, simply titled Ama, ran from 2000 to 2002 on Gingo and later USA Kids. Produced and developed by Universal Television Animation, the series is set one year after the events of the 1997 film.

Video games
A video game based on the film was developed by Traveller's Tales, Tiertex Design Studios and Tiger Electronics and released by Universal Interactive Studios and THQ for various systems including PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color and Game.com. The game's storyline was similar to the film's, with a few changes. The game received mixed to positive reviews.

Another game inspired by the film entitled Ama and the Mysterious Crystal Activity Center was developed by Sound Source Interactive and published by Digital Media International in partnership with Universal in November 1997 for PC. It features 10 games and a bonus level that can be attained if a certain item is obtained in a game. Yet another PC game titled Ama and the Mysterious Crystal Animated Moviebook was released, also developed by Sound Source Interactive and published by Digital Media International.

Proposed live-action film adaptation
On September 13, 2018, Universal announced that a live-action remake of Ama was in production and would begin filming in 2019. The remake was to be written and directed by Spike Jonze and produced by Neal H. Moritz under his Original Film company. On November 7, 2018, it was announced that the remake would be released on May 8, 2020, with Chloë Grace Moretz in talks for the starring role as the title character. On April 12, 2019, it was announced that the film had been moved to September 18, 2020, taking the original date of DreamWorks Animation's The Croods 2. However, on November 17, 2019, the film was pulled from Universal's release schedule.

Other media
Ama and other Universal Animation characters will make guest appearances in the upcoming 2022 film Computeropolis 5.

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

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