Why did you get actors like James Woods and Steve Buscemi to supply the voices?

When we started casting we did worry their voices may be too familiar but at the same time we really wanted to work with talented actors. It was important to find actors who took an interest in our project as a story. We didn't cast actors based on what our characters looked like - that was not our intention at all. We were simply looking for very talented actors

How is "Final Fantasy" different from most animated features?

It's not an animated feature for younger children. There is a mature story and we wouldn't be able to tell the story with cartoon-like characters. The photo-realism of the animation was necessary because of the subject matter we were trying to introduce to the audience.

Your heroes have been likened to Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock. Was this intentional?

I think what you're seeing when you look at these characters is our artists emulating our concept of a movie star. For my money I like Dr Sid, the Donald Sutherland character, because he's got wrinkles and age spots, and he's much more interesting to look at.

What can we expect to see in the future?

I think that we'll be seeing more and more digital characters in live action films. Already you've seen "Stuart Little" and Jar Jar Binks, and recently Ang Lee announced he wanted to do "The Incredible Hulk" as a digital character within a live-action context.

Check out our "Final Fantasy" mini-site.

"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within " is released in UK cinemas on Friday 3rd August 2001.