Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva
Encyclopedia
also known as , is a 2009 Japanese animated mystery film directed by Masakazu Hashimoto. The film is a continuation of the Professor Layton series. The film takes place directly after the events of Professor Layton and the Last Specter, as a flashback story three years before the events of Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.
According to Level-5
, the film stays true to the games, with music, puzzles, and characters. The film was released in Singapore on March 18, 2010, showing in Japanese with English and Chinese subtitles, and an English language version was released by Manga Entertainment
in the United Kingdom on October 18, 2010. The film was released in the United States on November 8, 2011.
Layton is invited by Janice to attend an opera in which she is performing, centered around the legendary lost land of Ambrosia and the secret of eternal life it claims to hold, which it is claimed will be rediscovered when its queen returns. Janice believes recent strange occurrences are somehow connected to the opera: in addition to girls disappearing from London, the opera's composer Oswald Whistler has recently adopted a young girl who has claimed to be Whistler's deceased daughter, and Janice's friend, Melina, restored to life. Layton and Luke attend the opera at the Crown Petone opera house, built on the White Cliffs of Dover
, and witness Whistler play the entire piece on an elaborate one-man orchestra machine known as the Detragan. Once the opera is complete, however, a mystery man (speaking through a marionette), informs the audience that they are to play a game, the winner of which will receive the secret of eternal life.
The Crown Petone is revealed to be a ship, which breaks off from the cliffs and sets sail to isolate the "game", after which the mystery man unveils a series of timed puzzles intended to progressively eliminate the players until one winner remains. The first two puzzles challenge the players to find "the oldest thing they can see", then go where they can "see the largest crown", but Layton's prolific puzzle-solving prowess allows him and a group of eleven others to quickly deduce the answers (the sky and the Crown Petone itself, respectively). To "see the largest crown", the group leaves the ship in two lifeboats, rowing out to a distance from which they can see the whole ship, at which point the lifeboats start moving on their own, taking the successful players to their next destination.
The next morning, the group finds that the boats have brought them to a mysterious island. Discovering a sculpted stone seal, party member and amateur historian Marco Brock realizes that they have discovered Ambrosia. Evading mentally-controlled wolves as they make their way towards the bizarre castle at the centre of the island, Layton, Luke and Janice become separated from the rest of the group and cobble together a makeshift helicopter that allows them to fly to the castle in short order. There, they solve the fourth and final puzzle that directs them to the final room of the contest, but Layton leaves Luke, Janice and the remaining two contestants (Brock and child prodigy Amelia Ruth) to enter it while he explores the rest of the castle.
Finding Melina in the castle and witnessing her apparently talking to herself, Layton realizes the truth of what is going on, and races to rejoin the others: Oswald Whistler is behind everything, having conspired with Layton's old foe, maniacal scientist Jean Descole, to abduct girls from London and use the Detragan to "program" them with his dead daughter's memories in order to resurrect her. This is the fate that befell "Melina" — actually named Nina — and it is the fate that Whistler has planned for Amelia... until Layton explains that Janice was also a victim to Whistler's experiments, and that unbeknownst to Whistler, he had succeeded. Janice was "possessed" by Melina's memories, and had invited Layton to stop her father from hurting any more girls, at which point Descole reveals himself to be the true villain of the piece, having always intended to use the Detragan in concert with Melina's voice to combine the melodies hidden in the seal of Ambrosia to raise the island itself. Melina complies, but when Ambrosia does not rise after two attempts (Both involving Descole playing the melody of the stars and Melina singing that of the sea), Descole loses patience and thinking music is not enough, resorts to drastic measures. The Detragan destroys the castle, unveiling and becoming the controls of a gigantic robot of mass destruction called the Detragiganto, which Descole commandeers and begins rampaging across the island in a desperate attempt to uncover Ambrosia by force.
During the fracas, Melina tries to stop Descole who, apparently having no further use for her, throws her off the robot and she clings on for dear life. Upon seeing this, Luke pleads to save her from falling. While Luke rescues Melina, Layton duels with Descole on top of the Detragiganto, and reveals that Descole had overlooked a third melody hidden in the seal (that of the sun, revealed by turning the seal upside-down). Again, Melina sings as Layton takes the Detragan's controls, and this time, Ambrosia does indeed rise, infuriating Descole even further. He lunges at Layton believing that the ruins only belong to him, but merely damages the control panel instead, throwing the Detragiganto out of control and causing it to heavily damage itself and him to fall off it and disappear. In the aftermath of the island's rise, Melinas thoughts and memories leave Janice's body (as Melina could not see a point in living anymore), and Layton and Luke wonder if Melina could have been a reincarnation of Ambrosia's queen.
In a post-credits scene
, back in the present day, Layton and Luke finish listening to the record, just as Janice arrives at Layton's office.
The film also features many short cameo appearances of many of the characters throughout the Professor Layton series including Flora Reinhold, Don Paolo, Inspector Chelmey, Constable Barton, Spring and Cogg, Stachenscarfen, Sammy Thunder, Mr. Beluga, Granny Riddleton, Babette, Claudia the CatDorothea and Dr. Andrew Schrader. The Elysian Box also makes an appearance on Dr. Schrader's office.
Tracks
has stated that the "second season" of the Layton series, (which begins with Professor Layton and the Last Specter) was originally imagined with another film.
during its opening weekend. By the weekend of March 24 to the 26th, the film had grossed $6,140,049 in both Japanese and overseas (Taiwan and Singapore) totals.
Critically, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva has been a general success in both Japan and Singapore. The film has been given generally good reviews. GameSync.net gave it a positive review, calling it "wholeheartedly entertaining and heartwarming, with a dash of British wit and eccentricity." IGN
UK gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising its plot, animation, and how the puzzles were incorporated into the film, but criticized its "overreliance of CG." The website also noted that it's one of the first "good" video game films.
UK has licensed the film for DVD and Blu-ray Disc release in the United Kingdom
in October 2010. The Manga Entertainment release is dubbed by the voice actors used in the UK releases of the game, including several new voice actors, like Sarah Hadland and Wayne Forester. As Last Specter was yet to be localised at the time, this is the first time Jonathan Keeble and Stuart Organ lend their voices to Descole and Grosky respectively. Several versions of the film have been released: a standard DVD release, a standard Blu-Ray release, a three-disc DVD and Blu-Ray combo pack, and a three-disc collector's edition that includes a 630 page book containing the complete storyboard.
When asked about a North American release, director Akihiro Hino stated "We don't have any plans to release the movies in America currently, but we'll make sure to let you know if that changes." Viz Media
announced they had licensed the movie at the 2011 Anime Expo
. The movie was released on DVD in North America on November 8, 2011.
This film was also released in German as Professor Layton und die ewige Diva and in Holland as Professor Layton en de Eeuwige Diva.
According to Level-5
Level-5
is an independent video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka, Japan. The company, which currently employs about 200 individuals, was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from the now defunct Japanese developer Riverhillsoft...
, the film stays true to the games, with music, puzzles, and characters. The film was released in Singapore on March 18, 2010, showing in Japanese with English and Chinese subtitles, and an English language version was released by Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
in the United Kingdom on October 18, 2010. The film was released in the United States on November 8, 2011.
Plot
In the present day, archaeologist and puzzle master Professor Layton and his young apprentice Luke Triton solve the mystery of the theft of Big Ben, deducing the culprit to be Layton's perennial adversary, Don Paolo. Following this resolution, the pair return to Layton's office, where they listen to "The Eternal Diva", a record by an old student of the professor's named Janice Quatlane, prompting them to recall one of their earliest adventures together from three years ago...Layton is invited by Janice to attend an opera in which she is performing, centered around the legendary lost land of Ambrosia and the secret of eternal life it claims to hold, which it is claimed will be rediscovered when its queen returns. Janice believes recent strange occurrences are somehow connected to the opera: in addition to girls disappearing from London, the opera's composer Oswald Whistler has recently adopted a young girl who has claimed to be Whistler's deceased daughter, and Janice's friend, Melina, restored to life. Layton and Luke attend the opera at the Crown Petone opera house, built on the White Cliffs of Dover
White cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...
, and witness Whistler play the entire piece on an elaborate one-man orchestra machine known as the Detragan. Once the opera is complete, however, a mystery man (speaking through a marionette), informs the audience that they are to play a game, the winner of which will receive the secret of eternal life.
The Crown Petone is revealed to be a ship, which breaks off from the cliffs and sets sail to isolate the "game", after which the mystery man unveils a series of timed puzzles intended to progressively eliminate the players until one winner remains. The first two puzzles challenge the players to find "the oldest thing they can see", then go where they can "see the largest crown", but Layton's prolific puzzle-solving prowess allows him and a group of eleven others to quickly deduce the answers (the sky and the Crown Petone itself, respectively). To "see the largest crown", the group leaves the ship in two lifeboats, rowing out to a distance from which they can see the whole ship, at which point the lifeboats start moving on their own, taking the successful players to their next destination.
The next morning, the group finds that the boats have brought them to a mysterious island. Discovering a sculpted stone seal, party member and amateur historian Marco Brock realizes that they have discovered Ambrosia. Evading mentally-controlled wolves as they make their way towards the bizarre castle at the centre of the island, Layton, Luke and Janice become separated from the rest of the group and cobble together a makeshift helicopter that allows them to fly to the castle in short order. There, they solve the fourth and final puzzle that directs them to the final room of the contest, but Layton leaves Luke, Janice and the remaining two contestants (Brock and child prodigy Amelia Ruth) to enter it while he explores the rest of the castle.
Finding Melina in the castle and witnessing her apparently talking to herself, Layton realizes the truth of what is going on, and races to rejoin the others: Oswald Whistler is behind everything, having conspired with Layton's old foe, maniacal scientist Jean Descole, to abduct girls from London and use the Detragan to "program" them with his dead daughter's memories in order to resurrect her. This is the fate that befell "Melina" — actually named Nina — and it is the fate that Whistler has planned for Amelia... until Layton explains that Janice was also a victim to Whistler's experiments, and that unbeknownst to Whistler, he had succeeded. Janice was "possessed" by Melina's memories, and had invited Layton to stop her father from hurting any more girls, at which point Descole reveals himself to be the true villain of the piece, having always intended to use the Detragan in concert with Melina's voice to combine the melodies hidden in the seal of Ambrosia to raise the island itself. Melina complies, but when Ambrosia does not rise after two attempts (Both involving Descole playing the melody of the stars and Melina singing that of the sea), Descole loses patience and thinking music is not enough, resorts to drastic measures. The Detragan destroys the castle, unveiling and becoming the controls of a gigantic robot of mass destruction called the Detragiganto, which Descole commandeers and begins rampaging across the island in a desperate attempt to uncover Ambrosia by force.
During the fracas, Melina tries to stop Descole who, apparently having no further use for her, throws her off the robot and she clings on for dear life. Upon seeing this, Luke pleads to save her from falling. While Luke rescues Melina, Layton duels with Descole on top of the Detragiganto, and reveals that Descole had overlooked a third melody hidden in the seal (that of the sun, revealed by turning the seal upside-down). Again, Melina sings as Layton takes the Detragan's controls, and this time, Ambrosia does indeed rise, infuriating Descole even further. He lunges at Layton believing that the ruins only belong to him, but merely damages the control panel instead, throwing the Detragiganto out of control and causing it to heavily damage itself and him to fall off it and disappear. In the aftermath of the island's rise, Melinas thoughts and memories leave Janice's body (as Melina could not see a point in living anymore), and Layton and Luke wonder if Melina could have been a reincarnation of Ambrosia's queen.
In a post-credits scene
Post-credits scene
A post-credits scene is a short clip that appears after some or all of the closing credits of a film have run...
, back in the present day, Layton and Luke finish listening to the record, just as Janice arrives at Layton's office.
Characters
- Professor Hershel Layton : A tea-loving professor of archaeology from London's Gressenheller University, and an avid puzzle solver. He is no detective, but there are no mysteries he cannot solve. His adventures around the world solving cases brought him much fame, and a very good reputation.
- Luke Triton : The self-proclaimed "number one apprentice" of Professor Layton. Luke follows his teacher everywhere, and is always trying to learn from him. Luke has a special talent that allows him to speak to animals.
- Emmy Altava : The appointed assistant of Professor Layton. She is quite knowledgeable, and is described as a heroine. She leaves Layton and Luke to investigate about kidnapped children from London with Dr. Schrader.
- Janice Quatlane : A famed opera singer who requests Professor Layton's aid. She is known to have a beautiful voice. It is interesting to note that her Japanese voice actress also serves as her singing voice, even in the English version.
- Jean Descole : The true villain of the film. He is an intelligent scientist, who draws people to his side with his empty promises.
- Inspector Clamp Grosky : Head of Scotland YardScotland YardScotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, he investigates the Crown Petone to find out about the abductions. - Oswald Whistler : The 54 year-old pianist who runs the music in the opera house. He built the Crown Petone opera house with the help of Dr. Andrew Schrader, but built the Detragan with Descole's help.
- Melina Whistler : Oswald's daughter and Janice' best friend who died one year prior to the start of the film at the early age of 22.
- Nina : Seven year old girl who claims to have been granted the gift of Eternal Life. She also claims to be Janice' friend, Melina brought back to life.
- Curtis O'Donnel : 65 year old adventurous sea-captain. He wants to win Eternal Life in order to navigate the seas forever.
- Marco Brock : 45 year old amateur historian who has studied the legend of Ambrosia extensively. He wants to win Eternal Life in order to solve all the mysteries of the ancient world.
- Amelia Ruth : The 16 year-old, talented, and beautiful young lady. She is a champion chessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player, known throughout all Britain. She's the only character not wanting Eternal Life for herself, but rather wants to give it to her sick grandfather to keep him alive. - Frederick Bargland : Wealthy CEO of the World Fleet Corporation, who lives in London. His doctor gave him six months to live, and he wants to win Eternal Life so his companies will remain successful.
- Annie Dretche : A famous British author, who wrote famous mystery novel, 'Murder on the Thames'. She wants Eternal Life in order to write novels forever.
- Celia Raidley : The beautiful 32 year-old widow of a former millionaire, who often appears in the gossip columns of newspapers. She wants Eternal Life so she will never age, and be pretty forever.
- Pierre Starbuck : The young 25 year-old talented Football player nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Left Leg", who had to give up playing due to a leg injury. He wants Eternal Life in order to play again.
The film also features many short cameo appearances of many of the characters throughout the Professor Layton series including Flora Reinhold, Don Paolo, Inspector Chelmey, Constable Barton, Spring and Cogg, Stachenscarfen, Sammy Thunder, Mr. Beluga, Granny Riddleton, Babette, Claudia the CatDorothea and Dr. Andrew Schrader. The Elysian Box also makes an appearance on Dr. Schrader's office.
Music
Two albums were released in Japan containing the music of the film. One titled The Eternal Diva: Janice Quatlane, containing all the vocal songs, and the other titled Layton Kyouju To Eien no Utahime Original Soundtrack, containing the main music from the film (most of which is reorchestrated versions of music from the first four games). Unlike the games, an actual orchestra was used for most of the music. Also unlike the games, the film's ending theme, The Eternal Diva, is included on both albums with its lyrics.Tracks
Sequels
Level 5 has recently stated that they wish to release a Professor Layton film every winter, and that they are already producing the next film. Besides the animated films, an American/Japanese live-action film is in the works as well. While not committing to a second film, director Akihiro HinoAkihiro Hino
is president and CEO of Japanese video game developer Level-5.- Biography :Prior to founding Level-5 in October 1998, Hino began his career in the video game industry in the early 90's at the now defunct Japanese developer Riverhillsoft, specifically on the Overblood series for the original...
has stated that the "second season" of the Layton series, (which begins with Professor Layton and the Last Specter) was originally imagined with another film.
Reception
Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva debuted at number 6 at the Japanese box office, grossing $1,074,959 USDUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
during its opening weekend. By the weekend of March 24 to the 26th, the film had grossed $6,140,049 in both Japanese and overseas (Taiwan and Singapore) totals.
Critically, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva has been a general success in both Japan and Singapore. The film has been given generally good reviews. GameSync.net gave it a positive review, calling it "wholeheartedly entertaining and heartwarming, with a dash of British wit and eccentricity." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
UK gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising its plot, animation, and how the puzzles were incorporated into the film, but criticized its "overreliance of CG." The website also noted that it's one of the first "good" video game films.
Home media
Manga EntertainmentManga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
UK has licensed the film for DVD and Blu-ray Disc release in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in October 2010. The Manga Entertainment release is dubbed by the voice actors used in the UK releases of the game, including several new voice actors, like Sarah Hadland and Wayne Forester. As Last Specter was yet to be localised at the time, this is the first time Jonathan Keeble and Stuart Organ lend their voices to Descole and Grosky respectively. Several versions of the film have been released: a standard DVD release, a standard Blu-Ray release, a three-disc DVD and Blu-Ray combo pack, and a three-disc collector's edition that includes a 630 page book containing the complete storyboard.
When asked about a North American release, director Akihiro Hino stated "We don't have any plans to release the movies in America currently, but we'll make sure to let you know if that changes." Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
announced they had licensed the movie at the 2011 Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
. The movie was released on DVD in North America on November 8, 2011.
This film was also released in German as Professor Layton und die ewige Diva and in Holland as Professor Layton en de Eeuwige Diva.