Starchaser was the world's first full-length 3-D animated feature and after 40 years the rights are now available.
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin was the world’s first stereoscopic 3-D animated motion picture, and one of the first animated movies to mix traditional and computer animation. Produced and directed by Steven Hahn and written by Jeffrey Scott, it was released in 1985. Despite a narrow release due to the limited number of theaters that could project 3-D films it has garnered rave reviews from its admirers—
“Starchaser is a fun gem that entertains from beginning to end.” — Sean Mynster, The Action Elite
“If you like Sci-fi, 80's Animation, and fun films, then watch this. It's a masterpiece.” — Nick Box, Letterboxd
“A real traditional popcorn movie. One to watch. Our rating: 9 out of 10.” — Ridwan Hughes, 80's Movies
“Starchaser is one hell of a ride.” — Christopher Nadeau, The Movie Network
“It’s simply a great watch!” — Swords & Stitchery Blog
“Indeed, this film … has since become a Cult Classic.” — TVTropes.org
It has been 40 years since the release of the film and the remake rights for animated or live-action film or TV are now available.
Synopsis
The film opens in an oppressive, subterranean world where human slaves mine energy crystals for a "god" named Zygon. When Orin, a young miner, discovers a golden sword embedded in the rocks, the grandfather of Orin's girlfriend, Elan, recognizes its importance and gives his life to keep the sword a secret. When Orin takes the sword into his hands, the image of a strange looking man appears above it. He reveals there is a magnificent universe above them to which they can return if they have the courage. “Find the blade and you will find your freedom!” Then the image and the blade disappear, leaving only the bladeless hilt. Orin is intrigued, but others remind him of the mine worlds’ first commandment: “Never dig up. Up is hell!”
Orin is not deterred. He and Elan set out to discover the world above and find the blade. Chased by the deadly robot mine-masters, they find themselves in a futuristic crystal processing complex where they are confronted by Zygon himself. But he is not a god; he is human. To keep his secret secure, Zygon intends to kill them. He strangles Elan, but before he can kill Orin he is surprised at the sight of the golden hilt. Orin uses the moment to run. The robot guards open fire, accidentally hitting a load of crystals, causing a huge explosion. Zygon presumes Orin has been killed.
Alone in a seemingly endless shaft of solid rock, Orin digs for days on end. Exhausted and ready to give up, Orin finally breaks through the surface and finds himself in a mysterious swamp on the planet Trina. There he encounters strange creatures, including a hovering ball of light (Starfly). Orin is soon captured by a tribe of Mandroids, decaying half-organic, half-robotic beings who intend to use his “fresh” body parts to replace their own. When the Mandroids fight over Orin’s hilt they discover too late it has an invisible blade which kills two of them and allows Orin to escape.
Chased by the raving Mandroids, Orin is saved by a human crystal smuggler named Dagg DiBrimi who feels sorry for the lost boy and takes him along in his spaceship, the Starchaser. They attack the crystal shipping port where Dagg seizes a load of crystals from a hovering space freighter.
But they are counter-attacked by Zygon and his robot guards. Overcome with vengeance, Orin battles Zygon while Dagg seizes a fembot named SILICA and uses her as a shield against the incoming laser fire. As Dagg and Orin escape in the Starchaser, Zygon realizes who Orin really is and orders his secret police to find the boy—and kill him.
In the Starchaser, on their trip back to planet Bordogan, Orin meets Arthur, the talking onboard computer, while Dagg reprograms Silica’s artificial intelligence circuits from cold and clinical to hot and amorous. She suddenly finds Dagg irresistible. Before long, they arrive in the crime-infested city of Toga-Togo, where Dagg abandons Orin and hands a heartbroken Silica over to a robot auctioneer.
Meanwhile, a naïve fish-out-of-water Orin wanders through the dangerous city, trying to find a clue to the whereabouts of the hilt's blade. But all he finds is a shady fortune-teller who says he will find what he is looking for in a rainforest called Novaluna. On his way back to the Starchaser, Orin sees Silica being auctioned off. Unaware of what he’s doing, he outbids a beautiful young lady named Aviana, daughter of the planet’s governor. When Dagg returns for his money, he and the auctioneer discover that Orin has no money. So the auctioneer threatens to auction Orin. Feeling sorry for the kid, Dagg pays off Orin’s bid and buys back Silica.
Back in the Starchaser, the three of them head off for the Vagee Desert where Dagg has a rendezvous to sell his crystals. Orin begs Dagg to take him to Novaluna, but Dagg isn’t interested. Nor is he interested in Silica, or so he thinks. But during their voyage, Dagg’s contempt for artificial intelligence is challenged by Silica’s beauty and heart.
They soon arrive at the desert dwelling of two cutthroat merchants to whom Dagg sells his stolen crystals. Because Zygon has placed a price on Orin's head, the merchants offer to buy Orin as well, but Dagg refuses. As they depart in the Starchaser, Orin is warned by the Starfly and discovers the wily merchants have placed a bomb in the money case. So Dagg jettisons it and nukes the merchants’ camp.
In exchange for saving his ship, Dagg agrees to take Orin to Novaluna. But before they get far they are chased by Zygon’s security forces who shoot down the Starchaser. Dagg is captured, while Orin is thrown clear and rescued by Aviana, on whose property the Starchaser has crashed. Upon awakening in Aviana’s bedroom, Orin tells her of his life in the mine world and discovery of the hilt. Like Dagg, she doesn’t believe it, until a computer search reveals that the hilt was used by a group of legendary guardians to vanquish an earlier threat to humanity by a tyrant called Nexus.
When Aviana takes Orin back to Trinia to meet the Minister of Mining, Orin is shocked to discover the minister is Zygon! Orin tries once again to kill his nemesis with his invisible blade, cutting away a piece of his artificial skin and revealing that Zygon, too, is a robot. But Zygon is not just any robot, he is Nexus, planning once again to conquer humanity with superior artificial intelligence.
While Orin and Aviana are imprisoned with Dagg, Zygon begins to coordinate his attack. After Aviana confesses her feelings for Orin she is snatched away and taken aboard the attack fleet’s flagship as a hostage. With the help of Starfly, Orin gets his hilt and uses the power of its mysterious invisible blade to free himself and Dagg. They sneak aboard the flagship in search of Aviana, ultimately taking control of the ship’s bridge and reprogramming the warheads to destroy the enemy fleet. Then, rejoined by Silica in the Starchaser, Dagg flies the flagship to Trinia’s mine world where Zygon is waiting.
The Starchaser and flagship penetrate Zygon’s base but are attacked by its overwhelming AI defenses. While Dagg and Silica battle the onslaught of robots and smart weapons, Orin returns to his mine world and tells his people of the world he has seen above—the world from which they came and can return. Then Zygon appears and attempts to kill Orin, battling above the mine world’s boiling lava river. Overpowered by a gloating Zygon, Orin hangs over the deadly volcanic chasm. But before he falls, Starfly returns. Orin begs it to get him his hilt. Instead, the Starfly speaks: “You don’t need the hilt. There never was a blade.” Orin realizes that the power of the invisible blade’s cutting force came from within himself. He pulls himself up, wills a new blade, and uses it to cut the horrified Zygon in half.
With Orin leading them, the people rise in revolt against their AI mine-masters and win their freedom. Then Orin uses the blade to open a fissure by which his people ascend to Trinia's surface, marveling at the cool night air and star-filled sky. As Orin rejoins Dagg, Silica, and Aviana, several Starflies descend on them. They reveal themselves to be the spirits of the guardians, including the strange being whose face appeared on the hilt. He invites Orin to depart his physical form and join them. But Orin refuses, preferring instead to spend some time with his friends and experience his newfound world—and freedom.
For more information contact Jeffrey via his website at www.JeffreyScott.tv
Copyright © Jeffrey Scott, All Rights Reserved
