Imagine a Christmas where children across America receive nothing but socks. No toys. No candy. Just socks. Multiply that feeling by 100, and you’ve almost described the huge disappointment that accompanies Katsuhiro Otomo’s latest animated movie, “Steamboy.”

Mr. Otomo is one of Japan’s greatest animators, and his 1988 sci-fi masterpiece, “Akira,” is to Japanese anime what “The Wizard of Oz” is to American film: a technical and aesthetic achievement that never fades and never grows old. Mr. Otomo has been teasing fans with dribs and drabs ever since, but “Steamboy” is his first feature film since 1988.

The assumption was that he’s spent the intervening 17 years recharging his creative batteries. Wrong. Your average television show has more excitement and integrity than “Steamboy”; the only reason to call it a movie is because the distributor has packed it in cans and shipped it to theaters.

Set in 1851 England, “Steamboy” gives us a “steampunk” version of the 19th century: Victoria is on the throne and the entire country runs on water vapor. Dirigibles plow the skies, steam-driven cars cut through country lanes, and steam researchers are readying their latest inventions for the Great Exhibition in London. But this rich setup is hardly taken advantage of by the formulaic plot that follows.

Young Ray Steam (voiced, surprisingly, by Anna Paquin) receives the movie’s MacGuffin — a high-tech steam ball – from his grandfather. Bad guys are after the ball. Ray flees from them. Ray gets captured and imprisoned in the Steam Castle: The O’Hara family’s entry in the Great Exhibition, and also their secret headquarters.

It turns out that Ray’s father, presumed dead, isn’t; in fact, he’s built the Steam Castle for the O’Haras. Ray hooks up with the O’Hara’s daughter – named, no kidding, Scarlet. The O’Haras are arms dealers, and the steam castle is a weapon of mass destruction. During the monotonous, climax Ray must get the girl and save the world.

“Steamboy” is Japan’s most expensive animated film and it took 10 years to make. Its only limitation was Mr. Otomo’s imagination, which fails utterly. The cinematography, editing, and dialogue are as joyless as those of an aerobics video. Worse, Steve Jablonsky, who composed the music for “Pearl Harbor,” contributes an unbearably bombastic score.

Reviews of “Steamboy” are sure to end with clever plays on the title. “‘Steamboy’ runs out of steam long before it reaches its conclusion.” “It builds up a head of steam, but goes nowhere.” “Like steam, it’s full of hot air.” Here’s my contribution: It blows.