
In 2001, Square released a major motion picture, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The results were nothing short of disastrous for the company. The movie cost north of 130 million to make and barely made 30 million in the United States. It essentially killed Square's movie division, Square Pictures, who only went on to create one other short, The Final Flight of the Osiris for the Animatrix. Aside from financially, the movie was a bit of a misfit in terms of "what" it actually was. It was labeled Final Fantasy, but aside from Dr. Sid (a name-play on the recurring character Cid) and some vague imagery reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII, there's nearly nothing here for any fans of the series. No chocobos, no magic users, no spiky haired effeminate protagonists. On the other hand, for people unfamiliar with the games, all they know is that this is named after a video game they likely know little about and it may not be for them. While the movie may have been named completely wrong and marketed poorly, it's a good movie that deserves a little second look back at it.