Plot
On the planet Trinia, human slaves have lived underground for millennia mining crystals for a "god" named Zygon and his robots. Orin, a young miner, finds a jeweled sword embedded in the rocks. Hopps, grandfather of Orin's girlfriend Elan, recognizes the sword and gives his life to save Orin and keep the sword a secret. Orin later grabs the sword, which levitates and buries itself in the cavern's floor. A projection of an old man appears from the blade, saying that above the caverns is a "magnificent universe". The blade then disappears, leaving only the hilt.
Orin and Elan set out to discover this universe and find the blade. Chased by robots, they emerge in an industrial complex and meet Zygon, who strangles Elan to death before Orin escapes.
Orin digs a tunnel to the surface of Trinia, where he is captured by Man-Droids, decaying half-organic, half-robotic beings who intend to kill him and use his body parts to replace their own. The sword's hilt apparently produces an invisible blade, killing two Man-Droids and helping Orin escape. Orin subsequently runs into human Dagg Dibrimi, who does not believe the former's tale about slaves in the mines. Dagg steals crystals from a hovering freighter before encountering Zygon and his robots. Dagg seizes Fembot Silica, uses it as a shield from laser blasts and escapes with Orin. Subsequently, re-programmed by Dagg, Silica becomes attached to him.
Dagg flies his spaceship to the planet Bordogon, abandons Orin and gives Silica to a slave auctioneer. Orin wanders through Bordogon, trying to find a clue that will lead to the blade's location. A fortune-teller eventually tells him to visit a place called Novaluna. Orin later sees Silica offered for sale, whereupon he offers high prices to buy her. When the auctioneer finds that Orin has no knowledge of local currency, he takes Orin's freedom in addition to Silica's; but Dagg, feeling guilty, frees them. Later, Dagg and Orin visit two desert-dwelling merchants, to whom Dagg sells the crystals. Because Zygon has placed a price on Orin's head, the merchants offer to buy Orin as well, but Dagg refuses. In response, the merchants place a bomb in Dagg's payment. Orin is forewarned by a mysterious "Starfly", and Dagg throws the bomb into their enemies' camp. Thereafter Dagg agrees to take Orin to Novaluna, but they are shot down by Zygon's robots. Dagg is captured; Orin is thrown clear out of the destroyed ship but is rescued by Aviana, the daughter of Bordogon's Governor.
Aviana's computer reveals that the hilt has historically been used by the Kha-Khan, a group of legendary guardians, to vanquish threats to humanity. Among these threats was the tyrant Nexus, after whose defeat the hilt vanished until Orin's discovery of it. Aviana takes Orin to Trinia, where he again faces Zygon. Orin attempts to kill Zygon and exposes him as a robot. Zygon reveals that he is Nexus, seeking again to rule over humanity with his robots. Zygon takes the hilt, while Orin and Aviana are imprisoned in the cell block wherein Dagg is also captive. After Orin and Aviana confess their feelings toward one another, she is taken aboard Zygon's flagship as a hostage. Orin is again approached by the Starfly, who has the hilt. Orin uses it to free himself and Dagg. They then take over Zygon's flagship, using it to destroy the enemy fleet. They are rejoined by Silica, who has restored Dagg's spaceship.
Orin and his friends penetrate Zygon's base, but are attacked by his remaining troops. While Dagg and Silica stay behind to fight off their pursuers, Orin enters his original cavern home and begins to denounce Zygon, who eventually appears and fights him. Three Starflies eventually appear and merge into one; it states that Orin has no need of the hilt, adding that "there never was a blade". The power to create a cutting force came from Orin himself. He uses such a force to kill Zygon. Orin's people revolt and win their freedom.
Above, Silica mistakenly attacks the accumulated crystals, which explode, triggering a chain reaction which threatens to collapse the mines. Aided by Orin, his people ascend to Trinia's surface, where he uses his new-found power to heal his brother Calli of his blindness. Several Starflies later reveal themselves to be the spirits of the previous Kha-Khan, including the man of the hilt's projection. Orin refuses to join them for the time being to live with his friends and family. The other Kha-Khan fly away.
Production
Steven Hahn, a veteran animator in TV animation, decided during the off-season to produce a feature film in order to give his South Korean animation studio something to work on. [2] Jeffrey Scott had served as a writer on several of Hahn's TV projects so Hahn contacted him about collaborating on a film with Scott writing Escape to the Stars which would serve as the foundation for Starchaser. [2]
Production on Starchaser began in 1982 with the intention of being released in 1983, but issues with the 3D process resulted in the film being delayed by two years and ballooning in budget from the initially planned $2 million to $6 million. [4] Director Steven Hahn said of the production:
Since there hasn't been an animated film of this magnitude before we really had to work from scratch. The 3D aspect doubled the amount of shooting required. There were often mistakes, some requiring retakes that normally wouldn't have been necessary on a flat animated picture. [4]
A digital plotter was used to transfer the CGI to paper, which had never been done in animation before. [2] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin is also identified as the world's first full-length animated project to be made in the 3D format, [5] although a prior film, Abra Cadabra (1983), was also produced in 3D.
Release
The film was released in the United States and Canada by Atlantic Releasing on November 22, 1985, grossing $1,614,660 on its opening weekend from 1,020 screens, making it number 6 at the US box office. [1] It grossed $3,360,800 overall in the United States and Canada. [1] The film did not fare well in South Korea, where animation production took place. [5]
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin was released on VHS and Laserdisc on March 25, 1986 by Paramount Home Video, and also by KVC Home Video. The DVD was released on June 21, 2005 by MGM Home Entertainment.
