1995
After enjoying international success with his debut feature "Akira" (1988), Katsuhiro Otomo comes up with the idea for his second feature, "Steamboy," from an animated short, "Cannon Fodder." One of three segments in his 1995 animation omnibus "Memories," "Cannon Fodder" tells an Orwellian tale, set in what looks to be early 20th-century Europe, of a city fighting a perpetual war with giant cannons. Fascinated by the film's images of early industrialization, Otomo decides to expand on this in "Steamboy." Otomo successfully pitches the story to a Japanese backer in July and pre-production begins.
In April 1996, Otomo goes to England for research and in June starts working on storyboards. That summer, however, Otomo loses his backer, who balks at the vague production budget. Because "Steamboy" will be made entirely with digital effects, a first for Japanese animation, Otomo is unable to come up with a precise budget figure.
Otomo pitches "Steamboy" to Bandai Visual, a leading film and animation production company. Sharing Otomo's interest in digital animation and impressed with his track record and creative talent, Bandai Visual senior managing director Shigeru Watanabe signs on as executive producer and starts recruiting other backers for the 1.1 billion yen ($9.1 million) production budget.