The world can be a mighty confusing place sometimes, even more so if you're a child. Now imagine being the first child selected to ride the space shuttle, and that ship crashing back to Earth. You survive the catastrophe, but are alone in the frozen wastelands. Rescuers arrive, you believe, but they aren't there to save you - they want to kill you, ALICE. From director Kenichi Maejima comes the CGI-animated feature A-LI-CE, the moving tale of a girl who's out of time, both figuratively and literally.

Racing through the forbidding tundra on a modified snow speeder piloted by the shuttle's robot waitress, Alice is chased by unknown goons wishing her undue harm. They manage to shake off most of the hunters, but unfortunately collide with an unforgiving embankment. Doomed by the weapons of their pursuers, the fiends suddenly receive a transmission and leave abruptly. Alice and the robot are in bad shape, but a lone observer comes to their aid. In a dream, Alice remembers her best friend, who had committed suicide in order to see 'the real sky'. She bemoans the state of the Earth and asks Alice why people exist if they have no purpose but to destroy? Alice can't answer her then. In the snow, she wakes up in a sturdy cabin, the home of her rescuer Yuma. Confused by the events (and who wouldn't be?), Alice tries to escape by stealing Yuma's car. The boy manages to get inside the vehicle, and tries to calm Alice. Finding out you're 30 years in the future has a disconcerting effect on the mind, you know. Yuma explains the local town is deserted - all the populace has been taken away by Nero. Nero is the de facto ruler of the world, with his supercomputer SS10X controlling all the world's technology. He only survives by lying low in the artic wilds and not drawing attention - Yuma suggests Alice do the same.

The next day, Alice wakes to see the aurora boureolis, and a surprise. Yuma has repaired the shuttle's robot - which now is a hot babe. Reminding Alice of another friend in the past, she names the robot Maria. Suddenly, more jerks attack Yuma's settlement. It's the Liberation Front - the rebels fighting Nero - and apparently they want Alice dead too.

A-LI-CE is a very creative, entertaining production. Limited to only a handful of characters, the film nonetheless keeps up a brisk pace, and weaves a complex, compelling storyline. The three main characters - Alice, Yuma and Maria - are well defined and very engaging. The relationships between the three are intricate and well balanced, from Yuma's growing affection for Alice, to Maria's programmed instincts to protect her 'client'. The plot unfolds in such a way that the audience comes into the film cold - much like Alice. The truth is revealed in pieces like a puzzle, and we learn the truth along with Alice. This does lead to some long-winded exposition to tie everything together at the end, but that's a minor detriment. The secondary characters are fine - they do their 'part' - but Nero was rather underwhelming as a psuedo-world dictator.

The animation in A-LI-CE is complete CGI; computer-generated imagery (as opposed to 'cel' animation like most anime). Since the process is incredibly complex, this accounts for the decision to limit the number of characters. However, the overall effect is a cut above the CGI TV show "Reboot", but a step down from Pixar's "Toy Story". The animation of the figures is done very well, but their movements are a bit stiff and awkward at times. Facial nuances are handled exceptionally well though. I found the action scenes to look rushed - almost as if they dropped frames to increase the relative speed of the sequences. There's also a computer scene that is basically a lot of lights and effects - I felt like it was missing something more - it felt unfinished. However, despite these quibbles, the overall creativity in utilizing a complete CGI process is remarkable and the filmmakers should be commended for their hard work and ultimate success in bringing us a unique film like A-LI-CE.

As a computer- generated film, A-LI-CE has exceptional picture quality - bold, clean 3-D animation, and a powerful surround sound that leaps from the speakers during the battle scenes. I watched the film in English - the dub job is adequate, but Maria's accent keeps changing, which is kind of annoying. I recommend viewing in Japanese with the subtitles on instead. Artsmagic also included several nice extras on the A-LI-CE DVD. There's an interesting interview with director Kenichi, and an overview of CGI animation filmed at a London anime con. Included as well are an image gallery, original artwork, and trailers. A 'making of A-LI-CE' would have been nice, but at least there's the interview.

CGI animation seems to be the wave of the future, and A-LI-CE will be regarded as one of the pioneers of this new age of anime. With a compelling story and engaging characters, A-LI-CE brings us into a future where things may be bleak, but hope is not lost. Exciting and thoughtful, with a good dose of action, kudos to the team of A-LI-CE! And to Alice herself, you go girl!

http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/a.li.ce