| Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Hiroki Shibata |
| Produced by | Toshihiko Arisako Go Yamamoto |
| Screenplay by | Yōji Enokido |
| Based on | Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi |
| Starring | Kae Araki Chika Sakamoto Kotono Mitsuishi Nobuo Tobita Rihoko Yoshida |
| Music by | Takanori Arisawa |
| Cinematography | Motoi Takahashi |
| Editing by | Yasuhiro Yoshikawa |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Distributed by | Toei Company |
| Release date(s) | December 23, 1995 |
| Running time | 62 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie is the third theatrically released Sailor Moon film. This simplified name is the one given to the English-dubbed edition released by Geneon Entertainment, while its full name in Japanese is in the style of the series' episode titles: Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Super S: The 9 Sailor Soldiers Unite! Miracle of the Black Dream Hole (美少女戦士セーラームーンSuperS セーラー９戦士集結！ブラック・ドリーム・ホールの奇跡 Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn Sūpāzu: Sērā Kyū Senshi Shūketsu! Burakku Dorīmu Hōru no Kiseki). The English dub is called Sailor Moon Super S the Movie: Black Dream Hole.
The film debuted in Japanese theatres on December 23, 1995. Its story seems to occur either in the middle of or at the very end of the Super S series. However, it can also be construed as appearing outside of the series continuity - Sailor Pluto is not present at all during SuperS, and upon her first appearance in Sailor Stars, Sailors Uranus and Neptune express their surprise at her still being alive after the events of episode 124. Pioneer Entertainment released it in the United States on August 15, 2000.[1]
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In Tokyo, Poupelin plays a song on his flute to hypnotize children, following him into a mysterious ship before sailing off into the sky. Meanwhile, Usagi, Chibiusa, and the other girls bake cookies together at Makoto's apartment. Usagi ends up with cookies that look perfect and taste terrible; Chibiusa produces the reverse. Chibiusa sets out to give her cookies to Mamoru, but is stopped by a winged boy in strange white clothing standing outside the sweets shop. They befriend each other, and he causes some of the treats inside the shop window to dance by playing a tune on his flute before revealing himself as Perle. Meanwhile, Usagi visits Mamoru with her cookies, and they argue over his friendship with Chibiusa. They hear a report on the radio about the mass disappearance of children all over the world. Around the same time, Chibiusa gives her bag of cookies to Peruru before going their separate ways.
That night, Chibiusa wakes up, and begins walking through the city. Diana wakes Usagi, who along with the other girls, follow Chibiusa, and the other children. They save Chibiusa, but get into a fight with Poupelin, and his "Bonbon Babies." Poupelin then hypnotizes the girls into seeing a Gingerbread House. In turn, Tuxedo Mask appears, and snaps the girls out of the spell. Queen Badiane orders her henchman Poupelin and the fairies to hurry up. Perle says outright that he does not believe in her anymore, but she seems unconcerned and orders that Super Sailor Chibi Moon be captured. The ship lands, along with two others, in Marzipan Castle. When the doors are opened, the children run out into the darkness, except for Chibi Moon. Looking into the shadows, she witnesses "Dream Coffins," each containing a sleeping child. Badiane lifts her into the air, commenting on the power she senses from Chibi Moon, and explains her purpose. In the castle's center, a Black Dream Hole is forming, gathering the "sugar energy" of the sleeping children. Eventually it will overtake Earth, and all humans will enter into Dream Coffins.
Meanwhile, Perle leads the other Sailor Soldiers to a flying ship of his own. He tells them that Badiane promised that the children would be happy and safe in her world of dreams and where they can remain children indefinitely, but he thinks also of Chibiusa, his friend. As they reach the castle, they are attacked, and after crash-landing fight Poupelin, Banane, and Orangeat, as well as three sets of Bonbon Babies. Just when the situation seems hopeless, the Senshi are saved by Sailors Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto. With this advantage, they are able to break the flutes of the three fairies, changing them into small birds. The Senshi infiltrate the castle and confront Queen Badiane, who has drained enough dream energy from the children, including Chibiusa, to create the Black Dream Hole. The power drain is enough to force all the Sailor Soldiers except Super Sailor Moon into a half-detransformation. Taking Chibiusa with her, Badiane enters the hole itself, and Super Sailor Moon follows. Sailor Moon then finds herself in Mamoru's apartment, carrying Chibiusa. Mamoru lays her on the bed, then wraps his arms around Super Sailor Moon and tells her not to worry about anything, just to stay there with him. She asks him again who is more important, herself or Chibiusa; he eventually tells her that she is. Super Sailor Moon lifts Chibiusa in her arms once again, and eventually realizes that this experience is a dream.
As Sailor Moon tries to flee, Badiane demands Sailor Moon to give back Chibiusa, but Sailor Moon refuses. Badiane assimilates herself into the black dream hole and attacks Sailor Moon. Hearing her mental cry, the other Senshi send their power to Super Sailor Moon, awakening Super Sailor Chibi Moon. Together, they destroy Badiane using a double Moon Gorgeous Meditation attack. After the battle, Marzipan Castle is destroyed, and with Perle's help, the Senshi escape. The airships, each carrying children, return to Earth.
Later, at a beach, Perle gives Chibiusa his glass flute, telling her that he is the fairy who protects children, and will always be with her. As Perle flies away, the Senshi watch the sun rise.[2]
Queen Badiane (女王バディヤーヌ Jo'ō Badiyānu, called Badiyanu in the dub to reflect the pronunciation of it in Japanese) is the main antagonist of the film. Her name is sometimes romanized Badian or Vadiane.
Badiane is a witch from another world whose plan is to gather all of Earth's children at Marzipan Castle to nurture her Black Dream Hole, a giant black hole of evil energy—under the guise of giving the children eternal happiness, peace, and comfort in a dream world. Once the Black Dream Hole is large enough, she will use it to swallow Earth, putting everyone into eternal sleep and taking over the world.
According to the Materials Collection Artbook her name is the Japanese approximation of the French word "Badiane," meaning "star anise". Star anise are attached all over her body as accessories and clothing; the books say that they are attached directly to her skin.[3]
In the Japanese version, she was voiced by veteran seiyū Rihoko Yoshida. In the English version, she is voiced by Kirsten Bishop.
Perle (ペルル Peruru, called Peruru in the dub) is a supporting character who originally allied with Queen Badiane. He is the younger brother of the more enthusiastic Poupelin. Like the other fairies, he possesses a magical flute.
Perle seems to feel sympathy for the children of Earth—unlike the others, he is never shown mesmerizing them with his flute. His loyalty to the evil queen wavers after befriending Chibiusa at the beginning of the movie. When his new friend is nearly captured, he decides to join the Senshi in their fight. His wings are revealed at the end of the film.
His name is a Japanese approximation of the French word perle, which means "pearl." Naoko Takeuchi's Materials Collection artbook states that the idea behind the character is "pearl, liqueur, and bonbons." Perle wears many pearl ornaments such as pearl earrings, and there are pearls inside his flute.[3] Also fitting with the food theme of the other character's names, a Perle is also a type of grape.
In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Chika Sakamoto. In the English version, he is voiced by Julie Lemieux.
Poupelin (ププラン Pupuran, called Pupulan in the dub) is an antagonist subordinate to Queen Badiane. He is a loyal servant, one of the fairies who lure children into her snare with his flute. Poupelin is the older brother of the more reluctant Perle.
He turns into a hummingbird when his flute is cut by Sailor Uranus.
His name is the Japanese approximation of the French word "Poupelin." A poupelin is a type of French pastry that was popular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is made with chou paste, cooked in a mold. During cooking, most of the paste spills out so that all that is left is a crust, which is then filled with cream or mousse.
In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Nobuo Tobita. In the English version, he is voiced by Robert Tinkler.
Banane (バナーヌ Banānu) and Orangeat (オランジャ Oranja), called Bananu and Oranja in the dub, are the remaining two fairies who work for Queen Badiane. Each plays a flute to help lure children out into their flying ships, and each is defeated fairly quickly in his encounter with the Sailor Senshi when this flute is destroyed, turning him into a cuckoo bird. Banane is named for the French word for Banana while Orangeat is named for the German word for a candied Orange Peel.
In the English dubbed version, both Bananu and Oranja were voiced by Susan Aceron.
Colorful candies thrown by the fairies enlarge and sprout babylike heads and limbs. They are able to levitate, and attack the Senshi by ramming into them at high speed. The color of a Bonbon Baby varies depending on which of the fairies summoned it. They disappear when each dream fairy turns into a bird. Bonbon is the French word for small, sweet candies.
Originally, Kunihiko Ikuhara envisaged that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were going to be the main characters in the Super S film, and it was going to be independent of the main series. Sailor Neptune was going to be in a deep sleep at the end of the world, and Sailor Uranus would have had to steal the talismans from the Sailor Senshi to revive her. However, both Ikuhara and producer Iriya Azuma left the series. Ikuhara's concepts were later used in Revolutionary Girl Utena.[4]
The film's English adaptation has had two versions: a cut format and the other version is a special uncut. The cut version, seen in the VHS and television formats, used the original DiC music from the series, and had the transformation sequences airbrushed to remove bodylines that were tracing the characters' breasts.[1] The uncut version, only seen in the DVD release, kept the original Japanese music and bodylines.[5] A special uncut subtitled version of the film was released on VHS on August 31, 1999.[6]
Japanese theaters showed a trailer before the Sailor Moon Super S film: a 16-minute short named Ami's First Love (Ami-chan no Hatsukoi),[7] in which Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury) struggles to focus on her studying amidst various distractions including a pruritus-inducing love letter found in her school locker and a rival known as "Mercurius" who ties Ami's perfect score in mock high school entrance exams, and who Ami believes is either a female monster that makes her forget math and English or a handsome boy who looks like a young Albert Einstein. The short featured a new transformation sequence ("Mercury Crystal Power Make Up!") and special power ("Mercury Aqua Mirage") for Sailor Mercury. The short is based on a side story from the manga of the same name, and was part of a series of side stories for each of the Guardian Senshi.
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