So, it turns out that Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder loves Ramayana. Specifically, the 1992 animated Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Ram. In fact, he loves it so deeply, he has been ‘borrowing’ from it as far back as his break out movie 300. Don’t believe us? We don’t blame you. But look what we found.
The first thing that caught our attention was the amazing animation. But then, that was easily explained. The film was animated in Japan and co-directed by Japanese director Yugo Sako with Ram Mohan. This version of the Ramayana looks like something Hayao Miyazaki would have made. Or Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), or maybe Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies). Long story short: It looks amazing.
But we digress. We’d just realised how Zack Snyder’s movies had been influenced by this film. And as we discovered more, it became clear that Snyder wasn’t the only one. We noticed similarities in movies by Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim, Hellboy), Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit) and even The Wachowskis (The Matrix). Check this out.
Remember the 300 Spartans? What is their profession?
And here’s Lord Ram going all King Leonidas on his troops. Ahoo! Ahoo! Ahoo!
How about a flying chariot? Have you seen one of these before?
Yes you have. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire anyone?
And this? This flying golden spaceship thing? There’s no way you’ve seen this anywhere right?
Might we point you in the direction of Jupiter Ascending, that insane psychedelic atrocity by The Wachowskis?
These creatures seem familiar, don’t they?
If they don’t, allow us to remind you. The eagles from The Hobbit?
No? How about the parademons from Batman v Superman?
So now you’re convinced, aren’t you? But wait! There’s more. We’re just getting started. Let’s do some more easy stuff first. Here’s a battle scene you seen in many movies:
Like Lord of the Rings perhaps?
Or some more Lord of the Rings…
Or, the Hulk going smash in Avengers: Age of Ultron:
And look at this now: The classic faceoff. Two adversaries running at each other, immovable objects and unstoppable forces.
Even Tarzan got inspired!
And this throwdown between Kumbhkaran and Lord Hanuman?
Guillermo Del Toro sure loved it, he put it in Pacific Rim:
And you know what else Guillermo Del Toro loved? This plant monster:
Here it is, playing the villain in Hellboy 2:
But let’s get down to the really impressive stuff now. Check out this amazing shot of Lord Ram attacking Kumbhkaran with a sword. It’s straight out of anime isn’t it? Reminds you of Dragon Ball Z doesn’t it?
But you know what it reminds us of? Aside from Wonder Woman chopping off Doomsday’s limb in Batman v Superman, this shot is almost exactly the same as this one from Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch:
Especially when you see what comes right after:
Shot for shot:
So we’re sure you won’t look at any of these movies the same way again. Especially since we’ve now discovered that this obscure 1992 Japanese Ramayana – whose English voice cast was led by Bryan Cranston (!) by the way – is the most influential movie of all time.
Hindustan Times
