Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (ファイナルファンタジーVII アドベントチルドレン Fainaru Fantajī Sebun Adobento Chirudoren?) is a 2005 Japanese computer-animated science fantasy film directed by Tetsuya Nomura, written by Kazushige Nojima, and produced by Yoshinori Kitase and Shinji Hashimoto. Developed by Visual Works and Square Enix, Advent Children is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series, which is based in the world and continuity of the highly successful 1997 role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII. Advent Children takes place two years after the events of the original game and focuses on the appearance of a trio that kidnaps children infected with an unknown disease.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was released on DVD in Japan on September 14, 2005, and a year later in North America and Europe. Special DVD editions of the film contain official tie-ins depicting events both prior to and after the period covered by the film. On April 16, 2009, Square Enix released a director's cut version entitled Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete for the Blu-ray Disc format. Advent Children Complete was also released outside Japan on Blu-ray.
The film received mixed reviews, with critics praising its animation and CGI work, but criticizing how non-Final Fantasy VII gamers would not understand the plot. It received the "Maria Award" at the Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya in 2005 and the "Best Anime Feature" at the 2007 American Anime Awards. As of May 2009, the DVD and UMD releases had sold over 4.1 million copies worldwide.
