Rating: 
Summary: Dream, dream, dream...
Review: "Beautiful Dreamer" is the second Urusei Yatsura movie, and universally accepted as the best UY movie of them all. While not my favorite UY movie (that honor goes to "Only You"), I still throughoutly enjoyed "Beautiful Dreamer", and am glad that it's a part of my collection.Comedy wise, this movie is full of the wacky antics we've come to expect from UY. Fans of Mendou will probably enjoy this movie a lot, since he gets plenty of screen time. Two scenes of his that especially stand out are: 1) where he giggles like a madman while trying to find an exit; 2) where he suddenly prances around in joy, laughing and giggling "Oh, you really don't know??!" at Ataru. Both scenes are hilarious because they were unexpected YET expected -- expected because this is Urusei Yatsura, and unexpected because of how unpredictable the character of Shutaro Mendou is. Mendou aside, there are also many characters that get to showcase their unique personalities. Unlike the first movie, "Beautiful Dreamer" focuses on the humans rather than the aliens this time around. In fact, other than Lum and Ten (which are main characters, anyway) + a few other really small cameos, you don't see any other aliens in the movie. The spotlight is mostly put on Lum, Sakura, Mendou, Megane + Fan club, and even Onsen-Mark. Ataru Morobishi, the main character himself, gets a piece of the action during the last third of the movie. My only grip is that some of the other funnier supporting characters don't get much slice of the pie -- Ryuunosuke gets a few lines, but doesn't contribute anything and disappears early on; her father, Mr. Fujinami, gets about two or three lines at most, and isn't seen again. Worse of all, Cherry, of whom would've been extremely useful in regards to this movie's plot, goes completely AWOL for most of the film (which sucks, as I'm a big fan of the deranged monk). Anyway, moving on: the english dubbing is quite good. While there'll probably never be another person who can play Ataru as well as his original seiyuu, the english VA here comes very close. Vinnie Penna captures Ataru's sleaziness perfectly, and even adds another dimension to the character in some scenes. His Mendou is also great (especially at the comedy scenes mentioned above), although I personally would've given the character a slightly deeper voice. Marnie Head plays a PERFECT Sakura. I've always found the original seiyuu's voice to be a bit.. old, and thus slightly unfitting for a character that's supposed to be jaw-droppingly beautiful. Marnie's voice is younger, yet maintains the maturity and sophistication that we expect from Sakura. Honorable mentions are Megane, Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi, and Mujaki. Unfortunately, the dub has its flaws. Lum's voice does not have the spunk that the seiyuu had; Shinobu sounds like she's supposed to be in college; Cherry's voice is too high (I personally WOULD give him a high voice, but not THAT high..); and Ten just sounds weird. The film's music is excellent. The score sets the mood for a lot of the scenes -- you have the bizarre music for the wacky scenes, cheesy music for the [intentionally] cheesy scenes, and happy music for the happier scenes. The ending song, "Ai wa Boomerang", is a catchy piece of pop music that'll stay in your head for a long time. Finally, if you're hesitant to pick this movie up because of its age, then let me tell you that it's really a non-factor. For a film that's about 20 years old, the animation here is superb. The quality is much better than the TV show (which, unfortunately, does show its age -- well, the early episodes, anyway), and it should certainly be able to satisfy today's anime audiences.
Rating:
Summary: "Dream, dream, dream..."
Review: "Beautiful Dreamer" is the second Urusei Yatsura movie, and universally accepted as the best UY movie of them all. While not my favorite UY movie (that honor goes to "The Final Chapter"), I still throughoutly enjoyed "Beautiful Dreamer", and am glad that it's a part of my collection.
Comedy wise, this movie is full of the wacky antics we've come to expect from UY. Fans of Mendou will probably enjoy this movie a lot, since he gets plenty of screen time. Two scenes of his that especially stand out are: 1) in his car with Shinobu where he giggles like a madman while trying to find an exit; 2) where he suddenly prances around in joy, laughing and giggling "Oh, you really don't know??!" at Ataru. Both scenes are hilarious because they are things that were unexpected yet ALSO expected from an insanely wacky series like UY.
Mendou aside, there are also many characters that get to showcase their unique personalities. Unlike the first movie, "Beautiful Dreamer" focuses on the humans rather than the aliens this time around. In fact, other than Lum and Ten (which are main characters, anyway) + a few other really small cameos, you don't see any other aliens in the movie. The spotlight is mostly put on Lum, Sakura, Mendou, Megane & Fan club, and even the usually neglected Onsen-Mark. Ataru Morobishi, the main character himself, gets a piece of the action during the last third of the movie. My only gripe is that some of the other funnier supporting characters don't get much slice of the pie -- Ryuunosuke gets a few lines, but doesn't contribute anything and disappears early on; her father, the ways funny Mr. Fujinami, gets about two or three lines at most, and isn't seen again. Worse of all, Cherry, a character that basically screams to be put in the plot, goes completely AWOL for most of the film and is only seen in about 30 seconds combined (which really sucks to me, because I'm a big fan of the deranged monk).
Moving on: the english dubbing is quite good. While there'll probably never be another person who can play Ataru as well as his original seiyuu, the english VA here comes very close. Vinnie Penna captures Ataru's sleaziness perfectly, and even adds another dimension to the character in some scenes. His Mendou is also great (especially at the comedy scenes mentioned above), although I personally would've given the character a slightly deeper voice. Marnie Head plays a PERFECT Sakura. I've always found the original seiyuu's voice to be a bit.. old, and thus fairly unfitting for a character that's supposed to be jaw-droppingly beautiful and in her 20's. Marnie's voice is younger yet maintains the maturity and sophistication that we expect from Nurse Sakura. Honorable mentions are Megane, Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi, and Mujaki.
Unfortunately, the dub has its flaws, mainly: 1) Lum's voice does not have the spunk that the Japanese seiyuu had; 2) Shinobu sounds like she's supposed to be in college; 3) Cherry's voice is too high (I personally WOULD give him a high voice, but not THAT high..); and 4) Ten just sounds weird.
The music for the film is excellent. The score sets the mood for a lot of the scenes -- you have the bizarre music for the wacky scenes, cheesy music for the [intentionally] cheesy scenes, and happy music for the happier scenes. The ending song, "Ai wa Boomerang" performed by UY anime music regular Hiroko Matsuya ("Lum no Love Song"; "Space Is Super Weird!"), is a catchy piece of pop music that'll stay in your head for a long time.
Finally, if you're still hesitant to pick this movie up because of its age, then let me tell you that it's really a non-factor. For a film that's about 20 years old, the animation here is superb. The quality is much better than the TV show (which, unfortunately, does show its age -- well, the early episodes, at least), and should certainly be able to satisfy today's anime audiences.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely, dark, and deep. One of the BEST MOVIES ever.
Review: "Beautiful Dreamer" will be enjoyed best after getting some familiarity with the TV series, to get to know the characters and general flavor of Urusei Yatsura. Set in a gloomy atmosphere, this work dwells on some mind-provoking themes, in sharp contrast to the TV series. It feels very much like a distinct creation based on the UY characters and art, as opposed to the last movie "Only You," which was more of an extended TV episode. What I enjoyed most is that from the first minute you can feel the darkness that pervades the film throughout, contrasting with the usual halcyon world that is UY. This feeling is largely created through skillful artwork and direction, and since aspects other than the atmosphere have remained the same, we find a dreamy, surreal setting that adds to the constant tension as the story unveils. The effect is almost scary and helps enormously in getting the viewer to ponder the ideas developed by absorbing him into the world portrayed. As a UY movie, "Beautiful Dreamer" lacks the wackiness and humor that abound in the show, although this is only fitting to the content and presentation. As an animated drama, it is superb movie-making that would be an enjoyable experience for anyone. (If you noticed that no one is too specific about what ideas are involved, just trust that it's not to spoil any aspect of the movie for you.) Technical note: The DVD picture is beautiful, but otherwise the tape version actually offers better-looking subtitling. Do NOT watch this film dubbed in English. Watch the original with subtitles.
Rating:
Summary: LUM!
Review: A great movie. Well written and very funny. Though I do suggest wathing or getting the information on the series or it might not be as wonderful as a movie *thinks* maybe
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and kinda confusing at first
Review: A wonderful anime. Some of it didn't make sense if you missed part of it or you didn't get the ledgend.Otherwise it was something I didn't move the whole time I was watching it. END
Rating:
Summary: Rockin
Review: After I saw this movie, I was hooked! Can't beat it! After I saw this, I went and got movies 1 and 3. They weren't as cool, but still REALLY awesome. This is an ultimate recommend to anyone. Just could someone tell me what that Duel Language thing it says on the cover means? Does that mean dubbed, subbed...What?
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story
Review: After the fantastic Only You I expected the second Urusei Yatsura movie to be another laugh-a-second romp through outer space. It isn't. What it is is a little odd actually. It's a story which focuses on the human cast of Urusei Yatsura, leaving the aliens (except Lum and Ten) out, apart from the odd namecheck and cameo in Ataru's dream sequence. Instead we're treated to a surreal, seemingly post-apocalyptic mystery world inhabited only by the core Urusei Yatsura characters. And very strange it is too. I don't want to give anything away, although the title does that very well on its own, but this story is not what you expect at all. Which is a good thing in many ways. It's full of surprises and odd twists. But beneath it all, supporting it like a stone collossus (sorry, in joke) is the old Urusei Yatsura humour. Because the jokes, puns and slapstick are there, the rest of the film feels fun, not complex and heavy. And in the end you come out having been entertained, and perhaps a little disturbed. An utterly fantastic film. Just make sure to watch in Japanese!
Rating:
Summary: High Quality Cartoon by any Standards!
Review: Although not a film I'd recommend for someone who isn't familiar with the cast of characters of 'Lum,' I nonetheless now place it among my all-time favourite animated features. It this curious film, Lum, Shinobi, Ataru, and the rest of the central cast of the series find themselves the only beings left in perhaps the entire world. They later realize that the entire world has been reduced to a 2 km area around Ataru's house... and that's when things start to get really strange. This film grabbed my attention immediately. The plot seemed to be something well beyond the standard 'Lum' wacky comedy that I'm used to from the graphic novels... there was a mystery here, and from the outset I was interested in seeing how it would be resolved. As the mystery deepend, the film actually started to get rather creepy--something I'd never thought possible for this particuarly property--and the mix of humour and mild horror was extremely effective. Even as the mystery reached its resolution, the creepiness deepened and for a time I wondered if it was going to be possible for the filmmakers to restore the light-hearted Lum-verse to its previous state. They managed to do just that... and they managed to deliver a highly satisfying ending. What's even more remarkable, over the course of 'Beautiful Dreamer,' they breathed more life into Lum and Ataru than I thought could be possible; they've always been rather one dimensional characters to me--not it a bad way, but that's all they needed to be. But in 'Beautiful Dreamer,' we are shown another facet of Ataru, and Lum's character deepens as well. This is a fine addition to any Rumiko Takashasi and/or Lum fan's collection. However, just stick with the subtitled Japanese version. The voice actors in the English language one leave a lot to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: Asian Folklore + Surrealism + Tiger-stiped Bikini
Review: B.D. captures the essence of what made this long-running animated Japanese romantic tv-sitcom the success it was at home and abroad. All of the main characters are here in force! Each scene in which the characters interact presents, in miniature a summation of what their relationship has been over the 180+ TV episodes. At the same time, the plot is not a rehash old ideas but rather it uses the time a feature film has over a half-hour episode to create a story of such deep and vast implications that you need to watch and rewatch B.D. several times over. As always, be sure to view it at least twice just watching the background scenes and reading the signs. For those of you who are Anime fans but have never seen any episodes of U.Y. please understand ... Lum, Ataru and the rest were the First. They laid the groundwork for Tenchi, Dirty Pair and anyone else. Thank You for your time.
Rating:
Summary: A superb film
Review: Back in the mid-80s, at a science fiction convention, I happened to run across a showing of this film (in Japanese), and it triggered a long interest in Japanese Animation. It's well written, funny, visually entertaining, and surreal (with references to Escher) at times. It's the best of the UY films and OAVs (although UY4 comes close). I still have my original Laserdisc, and now happily have a DVD to play as well. It's a pity there aren't any real extras on the DVD, however. Still, a definate must-buy if you like Japanese Animation.
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