Dragonball (film)
Encyclopedia
Dragonball Evolution is a 2009 American live-action film loosly based upon the Japanese Dragon Ball
media franchise
. It was directed, produced and written by James Wong
, and released by 20th Century Fox
. The story centers around the adventures of the lead character, Goku
, around his 18th birthday, as he is asked to gather seven Dragon Balls to save the world from evil alien forces. On his journey, he meets several different characters who all join the quest and help him in his task. The film stars Justin Chatwin
as Son Goku
, Emmy Rossum
as Bulma Briefs, James Marsters
as Lord Piccolo
, Jamie Chung
as Chi-Chi, Chow Yun-fat
as Master Roshi, Joon Park as Yamcha and Eriko Tamura
as Mai. It was released in Japan and several other Asian nations on March 13, 2009, and in the United States on April 10, 2009.
(James Marsters
) descended upon Earth wreaking havoc with his minion Ōzaru. Seven mystics created the Mafuba and sealed him away for what they thought was for good. However, Piccolo breaks free and with his beautiful follower Mai (Eriko Tamura
), proceeds to find the Dragonballs and kill anyone in the way. On his 18th birthday, a young high-school student and martial artist named Goku
(Justin Chatwin
) is given the 4-Star Dragonball by his grandfather, Grandpa Gohan (Randall Duk Kim
). After returning home from a party hosted by his crush Chi-Chi (Jamie Chung
), Goku finds his home obliterated and his grandfather near death in the aftermath of Piccolo's failed attempt to acquire the Dragonball. Before he dies, Gohan tells Goku to seek out the martial arts master, Muten Roshi (Chow Yun-fat
), who holds another one of the Dragonballs. Along the way, Goku meets Bulma Briefs (Emmy Rossum
) of the Capsule Corporation, who was studying the 5-Star Dragonball until it was stolen by Mai. Goku offers Bulma his protection in exchange for her help in finding Roshi and they ultimately find him in Paozu City. Under Roshi's wing, Goku begins training to harness his Ki
, now knowing that they must acquire all the Dragonballs before the upcoming solar eclipse
, when Ōzaru will return and join with Piccolo. In the midst of the group's search for the 6-star Dragonball, they fall into a trap set by the desert bandit Yamcha (Joon Park) but Roshi convinces Yamcha to join them. Together, the group fight their way through an ambush by Mai and successfully obtain the next Dragonball. As the group continues their quest, they travel to a temple where Roshi consults his former teacher Sifu Norris (Ernie Hudson
) and begins preparing the Mafuba enchantment so he can reseal Piccolo, while Goku must learn the most powerful of the ki-bending techniques: the Kamehameha.
During the night, Mai - disguised as Chi-Chi - steals the three Dragonballs that Goku and the others have acquired, adding them to the other four that Piccolo has gathered. With the Dragonballs successfully united, Piccolo begins to summon Shen Long, but is stopped by the timely arrival of Goku's team. During the battle that ensues, consisting of a Ki blast battle and some punches, Piccolo reveals to Goku that he is Ōzaru, having been sent to Earth as an infant to destroy it when he came of age. As the eclipse begins, Goku transforms into Ōzaru and terrorizes Bulma and Yamcha, while Roshi attempts to use the Mafuba, but weakens because of not having enough energy to live before he can re-seal Piccolo. Roshi's dying words restore Goku to his senses as he is choked to death by Ozaru, and he engages Piccolo in a final battle, seemingly defeating him with the power of the Kamehameha. Goku then uses the Dragonballs to summon Shen Long, and request that he restore Roshi to life. As they celebrate, they realize the Dragonballs have now scattered, and Bulma declares that they must seek the balls again. Before they head out, Goku visits Chi-Chi so they can truly begin their relationship, but first, they engage in a sparring match to see which of them is stronger.
In a post-credits scene
, Piccolo was revealed to be alive and in the care of a woman (possibly Mai in another form.)
approached Stephen Chow
to direct the film, and although he said he was deeply interested because he is a fan of Dragon Ball
, Chow declined the chance to direct. He, however, accepted a role as producer via his company Star Overseas. 20th Century Fox then went on to send the script to writer/director James Wong
who accepted. In 2007, James Wong
and Stephen Chow
were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled Dragonball. Ben Ramsey's first draft was deemed too expensive to shoot, and in the end he wrote about five different drafts of the script following notes from the studio. James Wong wrote the last draft, again according to notes from the studio. Chow was a Dragon Ball fan, citing its "airy and unstrained story [which] leaves much room for creation", but explained he would only serve as producer because he believes that he should only direct stories he had created.
Differing costs to produce the film have been reported. In January 2008, Marsters spoke to TV Guide
that he was told the film had a budget of approximately $100 million. In April 2009, the Spanish television station Telecinco
reported that the budget was $50 million. Marsters would later claim that the film in fact was produced for $30 million.
. From January 2, 2008, the crew shot at Durango
. The crew moved to Estado de México in March of that year for some shots at Nevado de Toluca
. Shooting has also been scheduled at Los Angeles
, California
. In adapting the Dragon Ball manga, the futuristic cities and flying vehicles were kept, however, the anthropomorphic
creatures and talking animal
s (such as Turtle, Oolong and Puar) were dropped. Many of the locations are very Oriental, and there was some Aztec
influence too, particularly from their temples. It was thought that Rossum would wear a blue wig to resemble her anime counterpart, but it was ultimately decided that such a look was too unrealistic. Instead she had her natural brown with blue streaks. Chatwin did not wear a wig as the director felt Chatwin's hair resembled Goku's. A large amount of Dragonball Evolution was shot in an abandoned jeans factory, also located in Durango, Mexico.
Dragonball Evolution special effects were done by Amalgamated Dynamics, while the visual effects were done by Ollin Studios, Zoic Studios, and Imagine Engine.
" by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki
. James Wong, the director, wanted the film adaptation of a Japanese work to be sung by a Japanese singer, and Hamasaki was chosen due to her massive popularity in Japan. "Rule" was used as the theme song for every country's release. However, it is American pop artist Brian Anthony, whose remixed song "Worked Up" was released as a single in English territories, and is featured on the home video releases as a bonus feature. The score to Dragonball Evolution was composed by Brian Tyler
, who recorded the score with an 82-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony
at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox
.
on March 13, 2009, nearly a month before its American release. It was released in Australia on April 2 and in the United Kingdom on April 8.
Its release in its home country has changed dates multiple times. Initially scheduled to be released in North America on August 15, 2008, it was later moved to April 2009 to allow time to do additional filming and post-production work. The specific date has changed back and forth between April 10 and April 8, with the final release date being April 10. The marketing of the theatrical release included a viral "personal expressions" campaign created by digital agency Red Box New Media., that ran on the Windows Live Messenger application. Alongside that campaign, Fox hired Picture Production Company to develop a PC
/Wii
flash game under the name "Can you Ka-Me-Ha-Me-Ha?". This game was released just prior to the film in conjunction with another viral campaign that encouraged fans to send in their renditions of the fighting move.
The film was released on Region 1 DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
in North America on July 28 and on Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray Disc
in the United Kingdom
on August 31. The Region 4 DVD and Blu-ray Disc
was released on November 18.
will reprise his role as Piccolo
, and Vegeta
will appear. Justin Chatwin
, Eriko Tamura
, Jamie Chung
and Emmy Rossum
are rumored to reprise their roles as Goku, Mai, Chi Chi and Bulma On IMDB, Jason Scott Lee is added as Tien Shinhan, Bill Goldberg
as Nappa, Shaobo Qin
as Krillin, Isaac Jin Solstein as Gohan
and Hiro Super as Raditz, Super will also write the film. James Kyson-Lee and Tatsuya Fujiwara
are up to replace Joon Park as Yamcha. Matt Mullins
is rumored to appear as Vegeta. James Wong
is not going to direct the sequel, Dragonball Evolution producer Stephen Chow
and Takeshi Kitano
are rumored to direct the film.
Scream Award for "Best Comic Book Movie," but lost to Watchmen
. It was a pre-nominee finalist for Worst Picture for the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards
.
Since its release, Dragonball Evolution was universally panned by critics and fans alike. On Rotten Tomatoes
it scored 15% based on 55 reviews, while on Metacritic
it received a rating of 45 out of 100 based on 10 reviews. Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network
, originally disgusted at otaku
of the franchise who decried the film via leaked set shots and trailers before the film's release, gave the movie an overall failing grade and stated "the fans were right." He criticized the film's lack of explaining plot elements, its hackneyed storyline and lackluster effort by the actors. Variety
s Russell Edwards found the film "passable", "pleasing if paint-by-numbers," noting it "doesn't take itself too seriously, but avoids campiness," that "the climactic clash between Piccolo and Goku offers a faithful CGI representation of the ethereal powers as drawn in the original manga" and that the climax offers an "impressive character twist for Goku that will warm the cockles of every young Jungian's heart." Luke Thompson of E! Online
referred to the film as a "surreal mess" that would only make sense to fans of the original series. He questioned the use of a Caucasian in the main role and felt Chow Yun-Fat was "overacting like never before", but did consider it "fun in a train-wreck kind of way" and that while it was never boring it was also never "logical, coherent [or] rational".
Christoper Monfette of IGN
gave the film a somewhat positive review, stating that it "is perhaps the most successful live-action film to date to utilize costume, production and audio design – not to mention some inspired fight choreography – to provide the flavor of anime without becoming overly cartoonish.". He praised the main cast for "creating characters the audience can actually care about" and felt Chatwin was particularly likeable as Goku. Slant Magazine
s Rob Humanick considered the film "uninspired" and implausible with an "aimlessly hyperactive construction and complete lack of substance" and "cobbled-together FX fakery". Reviewing the film for Australia's ABC Radio National, Jason Di Rosso stated the film was "lacking the visual panache of recent graphic novel adaptations". He agreed the film was uninspired and also felt it had dull "high school movie banter" dialog and was "cliché-ridden". The Village Voice
s Aaron Hillis called the film a "loony live-action adaptation", but felt it was "more entertaining than it deserves to be" and would likely appeal to ten-year old boys. Alonso Duralde of MSNBC
found the film to be "both entertainingly ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining" and noted that "kids will have such a blast that you can turn this movie into the gateway kung-fu drug that makes them want to watch the earlier work of Stephen Chow and Chow Yun-Fat, that is if Stephen Chow and Chow Yun-fat had a Caucasian actor in the starring role." Jeffrey K. Lyles of The Gazette
found the film to be "a fairly entertaining martial arts adventure for the younger audiences" and tolerable to adults. He felt Chatwin was ill-cast as Goku, a white kid raised by his Asian Grandfather Randall Duk Kim
and that director Wong failed to capture the "frenetic sense of the anime" in the action scenes, leaving them an effort to understand. Passable."
, Dragonball Evolution: The Junior Novel, was written by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon. Aimed at children ages 8–15, the novel was released by Viz Media
on February 24, 2009. The same day, a series of chapter books for readers 7-10 was released. The three volumes, subtitled The Discovery, The Search, and The Battle were also written by Deutsch and Cohan. A 16 paged sticker book, Dragonball: Evolution Sticker Book, followed on March 24, 2009. Released a week later on March 31, 2009 by Viz was a 22 page Dragonball: Evolution Posterzine featuring eleven posters, cast interviews, and merchandise previews.
On January 19, 2009, Namco Bandai Games
and 20th Century Fox announced a tie-in PSP
video game
, which was released in Japan on March 19 and North America on April 7. The game includes all of the major characters from the film and features various playing modes, including a local multiplayer battle mode, production stills, and storyboards from the movie.
The film's soundtrack
, Dragonball Evolution: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
, was released in the United States on March 17, 2009 by Varèse Sarabande
. It contained 23 tracks from the score composed by Brian Tyler
. The Hong Kong based company, Enterbay, produced a 1:6 scaled line for Dragonball Evolution. A 1:6 Goku figure was made along with Lord Picollo. Bulma was planned to be the third figure of the series in addition of being the first female figure Enterbay has ever done. Prototypes of the Bulma figure was shown at Enterbay's blog but in November 2010, Enterbay confirmed that Bulma is canceled. Bandai America released a mass market toyline based on the movie in time for the theatrical release. The figures came in 4-inch, and 6-inch versions. Lastly, Japanese toy company Medicom created stylized Goku, and Piccolo Be@rbrick
toys to coincide with the release of the film.
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
media franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
. It was directed, produced and written by James Wong
James Wong (producer)
James 'Jim' Wong is a Cantonese-American television producer, writer, and film director notable for his screen works of The X-Files, Space: Above and Beyond, Millennium, Final Destination 1 & 3, The One, and the remakes of Willard and Black Christmas along with writing partner Glen...
, and released by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. The story centers around the adventures of the lead character, Goku
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
, around his 18th birthday, as he is asked to gather seven Dragon Balls to save the world from evil alien forces. On his journey, he meets several different characters who all join the quest and help him in his task. The film stars Justin Chatwin
Justin Chatwin
Justin Chatwin is a Canadian film actor. He played the son of Tom Cruise's character in the Steven Spielberg-directed War of the Worlds, a leading role in the 2007 mystery/thriller The Invisible, and Goku in Dragonball Evolution...
as Son Goku
Son Goku
Son Goku or Son-Goku may refer to:*Son Goku or Sun Wukong, the main character in Journey to the West*Son Goku , the main character in Dragon Ball media*Son Goku, a lead character in Saiyuki media...
, Emmy Rossum
Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first starred in a string of movies including Songcatcher , An American Rhapsody, and Passionada . However, it was her role in Mystic River that garnered her wider recognition...
as Bulma Briefs, James Marsters
James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
as Lord Piccolo
Piccolo (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the primary...
, Jamie Chung
Jamie Chung
Jamie Jilynn Chung is an American actress known to reality television audiences as a cast member on the MTV reality television series, The Real World: San Diego and its spin-off show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II, and for her appearances in TV and films, such as I Now...
as Chi-Chi, Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
as Master Roshi, Joon Park as Yamcha and Eriko Tamura
Eriko Tamura
is a Japanese actress and singer. The animated television show Idol Densetsu Eriko was created as a result of her popularity. The show has been syndicated world-wide, airing in such countries as Spain, Italy, and France...
as Mai. It was released in Japan and several other Asian nations on March 13, 2009, and in the United States on April 10, 2009.
Plot
Two thousand years ago, a demon named PiccoloPiccolo (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the primary...
(James Marsters
James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
) descended upon Earth wreaking havoc with his minion Ōzaru. Seven mystics created the Mafuba and sealed him away for what they thought was for good. However, Piccolo breaks free and with his beautiful follower Mai (Eriko Tamura
Eriko Tamura
is a Japanese actress and singer. The animated television show Idol Densetsu Eriko was created as a result of her popularity. The show has been syndicated world-wide, airing in such countries as Spain, Italy, and France...
), proceeds to find the Dragonballs and kill anyone in the way. On his 18th birthday, a young high-school student and martial artist named Goku
Son Goku
Son Goku or Son-Goku may refer to:*Son Goku or Sun Wukong, the main character in Journey to the West*Son Goku , the main character in Dragon Ball media*Son Goku, a lead character in Saiyuki media...
(Justin Chatwin
Justin Chatwin
Justin Chatwin is a Canadian film actor. He played the son of Tom Cruise's character in the Steven Spielberg-directed War of the Worlds, a leading role in the 2007 mystery/thriller The Invisible, and Goku in Dragonball Evolution...
) is given the 4-Star Dragonball by his grandfather, Grandpa Gohan (Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim is a Korean-American stage, television and film actor. Kim was also the artistic director and mainstay lead actor at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which he founded with Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright...
). After returning home from a party hosted by his crush Chi-Chi (Jamie Chung
Jamie Chung
Jamie Jilynn Chung is an American actress known to reality television audiences as a cast member on the MTV reality television series, The Real World: San Diego and its spin-off show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II, and for her appearances in TV and films, such as I Now...
), Goku finds his home obliterated and his grandfather near death in the aftermath of Piccolo's failed attempt to acquire the Dragonball. Before he dies, Gohan tells Goku to seek out the martial arts master, Muten Roshi (Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
), who holds another one of the Dragonballs. Along the way, Goku meets Bulma Briefs (Emmy Rossum
Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first starred in a string of movies including Songcatcher , An American Rhapsody, and Passionada . However, it was her role in Mystic River that garnered her wider recognition...
) of the Capsule Corporation, who was studying the 5-Star Dragonball until it was stolen by Mai. Goku offers Bulma his protection in exchange for her help in finding Roshi and they ultimately find him in Paozu City. Under Roshi's wing, Goku begins training to harness his Ki
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
, now knowing that they must acquire all the Dragonballs before the upcoming solar eclipse
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
, when Ōzaru will return and join with Piccolo. In the midst of the group's search for the 6-star Dragonball, they fall into a trap set by the desert bandit Yamcha (Joon Park) but Roshi convinces Yamcha to join them. Together, the group fight their way through an ambush by Mai and successfully obtain the next Dragonball. As the group continues their quest, they travel to a temple where Roshi consults his former teacher Sifu Norris (Ernie Hudson
Ernie Hudson
Ernest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American actor known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Albrecht in The Crow, and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz.-Early life:...
) and begins preparing the Mafuba enchantment so he can reseal Piccolo, while Goku must learn the most powerful of the ki-bending techniques: the Kamehameha.
During the night, Mai - disguised as Chi-Chi - steals the three Dragonballs that Goku and the others have acquired, adding them to the other four that Piccolo has gathered. With the Dragonballs successfully united, Piccolo begins to summon Shen Long, but is stopped by the timely arrival of Goku's team. During the battle that ensues, consisting of a Ki blast battle and some punches, Piccolo reveals to Goku that he is Ōzaru, having been sent to Earth as an infant to destroy it when he came of age. As the eclipse begins, Goku transforms into Ōzaru and terrorizes Bulma and Yamcha, while Roshi attempts to use the Mafuba, but weakens because of not having enough energy to live before he can re-seal Piccolo. Roshi's dying words restore Goku to his senses as he is choked to death by Ozaru, and he engages Piccolo in a final battle, seemingly defeating him with the power of the Kamehameha. Goku then uses the Dragonballs to summon Shen Long, and request that he restore Roshi to life. As they celebrate, they realize the Dragonballs have now scattered, and Bulma declares that they must seek the balls again. Before they head out, Goku visits Chi-Chi so they can truly begin their relationship, but first, they engage in a sparring match to see which of them is stronger.
In a post-credits scene
Post-credits scene
A post-credits scene is a short clip that appears after some or all of the closing credits of a film have run...
, Piccolo was revealed to be alive and in the care of a woman (possibly Mai in another form.)
Development
20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
approached Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
to direct the film, and although he said he was deeply interested because he is a fan of Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
, Chow declined the chance to direct. He, however, accepted a role as producer via his company Star Overseas. 20th Century Fox then went on to send the script to writer/director James Wong
James Wong (producer)
James 'Jim' Wong is a Cantonese-American television producer, writer, and film director notable for his screen works of The X-Files, Space: Above and Beyond, Millennium, Final Destination 1 & 3, The One, and the remakes of Willard and Black Christmas along with writing partner Glen...
who accepted. In 2007, James Wong
James Wong (producer)
James 'Jim' Wong is a Cantonese-American television producer, writer, and film director notable for his screen works of The X-Files, Space: Above and Beyond, Millennium, Final Destination 1 & 3, The One, and the remakes of Willard and Black Christmas along with writing partner Glen...
and Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled Dragonball. Ben Ramsey's first draft was deemed too expensive to shoot, and in the end he wrote about five different drafts of the script following notes from the studio. James Wong wrote the last draft, again according to notes from the studio. Chow was a Dragon Ball fan, citing its "airy and unstrained story [which] leaves much room for creation", but explained he would only serve as producer because he believes that he should only direct stories he had created.
Differing costs to produce the film have been reported. In January 2008, Marsters spoke to TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
that he was told the film had a budget of approximately $100 million. In April 2009, the Spanish television station Telecinco
Telecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
reported that the budget was $50 million. Marsters would later claim that the film in fact was produced for $30 million.
Filming
Shooting began on December 3, 2007, in Mexico City, Mexico. Locations included the Universidad Tecnológica de MéxicoUniversidad Tecnológica de México
The Universidad Tecnológica de México is a private university with several campuses scattered throughout Mexico...
. From January 2, 2008, the crew shot at Durango
Durango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
. The crew moved to Estado de México in March of that year for some shots at Nevado de Toluca
Nevado de Toluca
Nevado de Toluca is a large stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is generally cited as the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, although by some measurements, Sierra Negra is slightly...
. Shooting has also been scheduled at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In adapting the Dragon Ball manga, the futuristic cities and flying vehicles were kept, however, the anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
creatures and talking animal
Talking animal
A talking animal or speaking animal refers to any form of non-human animal which can produce sounds resembling those of a human language. Many species or groups of animals have developed forms of Animal Communication Systems which to some appear to be a non-verbal language...
s (such as Turtle, Oolong and Puar) were dropped. Many of the locations are very Oriental, and there was some Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
influence too, particularly from their temples. It was thought that Rossum would wear a blue wig to resemble her anime counterpart, but it was ultimately decided that such a look was too unrealistic. Instead she had her natural brown with blue streaks. Chatwin did not wear a wig as the director felt Chatwin's hair resembled Goku's. A large amount of Dragonball Evolution was shot in an abandoned jeans factory, also located in Durango, Mexico.
Dragonball Evolution special effects were done by Amalgamated Dynamics, while the visual effects were done by Ollin Studios, Zoic Studios, and Imagine Engine.
Music
On December 9, 2008, it was confirmed that the theme song would be "RuleRule/Sparkle
"Rule/Sparkle" is Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki's forty-fifth single and it was released on February 25, 2009. The song "Rule" was used as the international theme song for Dragonball Evolution. "Sparkle" is used in advertisements for the Honda Zest Spark...
" by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to...
. James Wong, the director, wanted the film adaptation of a Japanese work to be sung by a Japanese singer, and Hamasaki was chosen due to her massive popularity in Japan. "Rule" was used as the theme song for every country's release. However, it is American pop artist Brian Anthony, whose remixed song "Worked Up" was released as a single in English territories, and is featured on the home video releases as a bonus feature. The score to Dragonball Evolution was composed by Brian Tyler
Brian Tyler (composer)
Brian Tyler is an American composer, producer, conductor, and film producer most known for his scores of Eagle Eye, The Expendables, Battle: Los Angeles, The Final Destination, Rambo, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Final Destination 5. Tyler is a symphonic conductor and conducts his own scores....
, who recorded the score with an 82-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony
Hollywood Studio Symphony
The Hollywood Studio Symphony is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Sucker Punch, Jurassic Park 3, Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean, We Are Marshall, Spider-Man 2, Lost and The...
at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
.
Release
Though an American film, Dragonball Evolution was released in Japan and Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
on March 13, 2009, nearly a month before its American release. It was released in Australia on April 2 and in the United Kingdom on April 8.
Its release in its home country has changed dates multiple times. Initially scheduled to be released in North America on August 15, 2008, it was later moved to April 2009 to allow time to do additional filming and post-production work. The specific date has changed back and forth between April 10 and April 8, with the final release date being April 10. The marketing of the theatrical release included a viral "personal expressions" campaign created by digital agency Red Box New Media., that ran on the Windows Live Messenger application. Alongside that campaign, Fox hired Picture Production Company to develop a PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
/Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
flash game under the name "Can you Ka-Me-Ha-Me-Ha?". This game was released just prior to the film in conjunction with another viral campaign that encouraged fans to send in their renditions of the fighting move.
The film was released on Region 1 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
in North America on July 28 and on Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on August 31. The Region 4 DVD and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
was released on November 18.
Sequel
It was confirmed that a second movie called Dragonball 2: Reborn will be made. They is no scheduled release datebut it is said that James MarstersJames Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
will reprise his role as Piccolo
Piccolo (Dragon Ball)
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga, authored by Akira Toriyama. Piccolo was first introduced as the reincarnation of the evil Piccolo Daimao in chapter #167 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on April 4, 1988, making him a demon and archrival of the primary...
, and Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
will appear. Justin Chatwin
Justin Chatwin
Justin Chatwin is a Canadian film actor. He played the son of Tom Cruise's character in the Steven Spielberg-directed War of the Worlds, a leading role in the 2007 mystery/thriller The Invisible, and Goku in Dragonball Evolution...
, Eriko Tamura
Eriko Tamura
is a Japanese actress and singer. The animated television show Idol Densetsu Eriko was created as a result of her popularity. The show has been syndicated world-wide, airing in such countries as Spain, Italy, and France...
, Jamie Chung
Jamie Chung
Jamie Jilynn Chung is an American actress known to reality television audiences as a cast member on the MTV reality television series, The Real World: San Diego and its spin-off show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II, and for her appearances in TV and films, such as I Now...
and Emmy Rossum
Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first starred in a string of movies including Songcatcher , An American Rhapsody, and Passionada . However, it was her role in Mystic River that garnered her wider recognition...
are rumored to reprise their roles as Goku, Mai, Chi Chi and Bulma On IMDB, Jason Scott Lee is added as Tien Shinhan, Bill Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....
as Nappa, Shaobo Qin
Shaobo Qin
A member of the internationally acclaimed Peking Acrobats, Shaobo Qin made his motion picture debut in 2001, playing The Amazing Yen, Danny Ocean's "grease man" in the remake of Ocean's Eleven. He reprised the role in 2004 in Ocean's Twelve and again in the sequel Ocean's Thirteen. He has no other...
as Krillin, Isaac Jin Solstein as Gohan
Son Gohan
is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama as a protagonist for the media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, movies, television specials, video games, and other collectibles...
and Hiro Super as Raditz, Super will also write the film. James Kyson-Lee and Tatsuya Fujiwara
Tatsuya Fujiwara
is a Japanese television and film actor.-Biography:Born in Saitama, Fujiwara has had an interest in acting from a young age.He is famous for acting the part of Shuya Nanahara in the controversial 2000 film Battle Royale and continues the character as a leader of the Wild Seven in the sequel, Battle...
are up to replace Joon Park as Yamcha. Matt Mullins
Matt Mullins
Matthew "Matt" Mullins is a 5-time martial arts world champion. At the age of 16 in 1997 he had won his first WKA title in Dublin, Ireland, this would be his first of 5 championships in the next 3 years in his career...
is rumored to appear as Vegeta. James Wong
James Wong
James Wong may refer to:* James Wong * James Wong * James Wong * James Wong , Malaysian politician* James Wong * James Wong Howe, cinematographeralso:* Wong Jim, lyricist...
is not going to direct the sequel, Dragonball Evolution producer Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
and Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
are rumored to direct the film.
Reception
On its opening weekend in the United States, the film grossed $4,756,488 ranking #8 at the box office. In its second weekend, it dropped to eleventh place. The film had a gross earning in the United States and Canada of $9,362,785 and a foreign gross of $48,134,914 for a combined box office gross of $57,497,699. It was nominated for a 2009 Spike TVSpike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
Scream Award for "Best Comic Book Movie," but lost to Watchmen
Watchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
. It was a pre-nominee finalist for Worst Picture for the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards
30th Golden Raspberry Awards
The 30th Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies were held on March 6, 2010 in Hollywood to honor the worst films of 2009. The nominations were announced on February 1...
.
Since its release, Dragonball Evolution was universally panned by critics and fans alike. On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
it scored 15% based on 55 reviews, while on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
it received a rating of 45 out of 100 based on 10 reviews. Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
, originally disgusted at otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
of the franchise who decried the film via leaked set shots and trailers before the film's release, gave the movie an overall failing grade and stated "the fans were right." He criticized the film's lack of explaining plot elements, its hackneyed storyline and lackluster effort by the actors. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
s Russell Edwards found the film "passable", "pleasing if paint-by-numbers," noting it "doesn't take itself too seriously, but avoids campiness," that "the climactic clash between Piccolo and Goku offers a faithful CGI representation of the ethereal powers as drawn in the original manga" and that the climax offers an "impressive character twist for Goku that will warm the cockles of every young Jungian's heart." Luke Thompson of E! Online
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
referred to the film as a "surreal mess" that would only make sense to fans of the original series. He questioned the use of a Caucasian in the main role and felt Chow Yun-Fat was "overacting like never before", but did consider it "fun in a train-wreck kind of way" and that while it was never boring it was also never "logical, coherent [or] rational".
Christoper Monfette of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the film a somewhat positive review, stating that it "is perhaps the most successful live-action film to date to utilize costume, production and audio design – not to mention some inspired fight choreography – to provide the flavor of anime without becoming overly cartoonish.". He praised the main cast for "creating characters the audience can actually care about" and felt Chatwin was particularly likeable as Goku. Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
s Rob Humanick considered the film "uninspired" and implausible with an "aimlessly hyperactive construction and complete lack of substance" and "cobbled-together FX fakery". Reviewing the film for Australia's ABC Radio National, Jason Di Rosso stated the film was "lacking the visual panache of recent graphic novel adaptations". He agreed the film was uninspired and also felt it had dull "high school movie banter" dialog and was "cliché-ridden". The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
s Aaron Hillis called the film a "loony live-action adaptation", but felt it was "more entertaining than it deserves to be" and would likely appeal to ten-year old boys. Alonso Duralde of MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
found the film to be "both entertainingly ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining" and noted that "kids will have such a blast that you can turn this movie into the gateway kung-fu drug that makes them want to watch the earlier work of Stephen Chow and Chow Yun-Fat, that is if Stephen Chow and Chow Yun-fat had a Caucasian actor in the starring role." Jeffrey K. Lyles of The Gazette
The Gazette (Maryland)
The Gazette publishes weekly community newspapers serving Montgomery, Frederick, Prince George's and Carroll counties in Maryland, including a subscription-based weekend edition covering business and politics throughout the state. The group of papers consistently wins awards from the Suburban...
found the film to be "a fairly entertaining martial arts adventure for the younger audiences" and tolerable to adults. He felt Chatwin was ill-cast as Goku, a white kid raised by his Asian Grandfather Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim is a Korean-American stage, television and film actor. Kim was also the artistic director and mainstay lead actor at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which he founded with Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright...
and that director Wong failed to capture the "frenetic sense of the anime" in the action scenes, leaving them an effort to understand. Passable."
Merchandise
A film novelizationNovelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
, Dragonball Evolution: The Junior Novel, was written by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon. Aimed at children ages 8–15, the novel was released by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
on February 24, 2009. The same day, a series of chapter books for readers 7-10 was released. The three volumes, subtitled The Discovery, The Search, and The Battle were also written by Deutsch and Cohan. A 16 paged sticker book, Dragonball: Evolution Sticker Book, followed on March 24, 2009. Released a week later on March 31, 2009 by Viz was a 22 page Dragonball: Evolution Posterzine featuring eleven posters, cast interviews, and merchandise previews.
On January 19, 2009, Namco Bandai Games
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
and 20th Century Fox announced a tie-in PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
video game
Dragonball Evolution (video game)
Dragonball Evolution is a fighting game for the PlayStation Portable based on the live-action film of the same name. The game was released in March 2009 in Japan, followed by a North American release on April 8, 2009. It is the first Dragon Ball video game to feature Bulma as a playable...
, which was released in Japan on March 19 and North America on April 7. The game includes all of the major characters from the film and features various playing modes, including a local multiplayer battle mode, production stills, and storyboards from the movie.
The film's soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, Dragonball Evolution: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Dragonball Evolution: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Dragonball Evolution: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the licensed soundtrack to the 2009 Twentieth Century Fox film Dragonball Evolution by composer Brian Tyler...
, was released in the United States on March 17, 2009 by Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
. It contained 23 tracks from the score composed by Brian Tyler
Brian Tyler (composer)
Brian Tyler is an American composer, producer, conductor, and film producer most known for his scores of Eagle Eye, The Expendables, Battle: Los Angeles, The Final Destination, Rambo, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Final Destination 5. Tyler is a symphonic conductor and conducts his own scores....
. The Hong Kong based company, Enterbay, produced a 1:6 scaled line for Dragonball Evolution. A 1:6 Goku figure was made along with Lord Picollo. Bulma was planned to be the third figure of the series in addition of being the first female figure Enterbay has ever done. Prototypes of the Bulma figure was shown at Enterbay's blog but in November 2010, Enterbay confirmed that Bulma is canceled. Bandai America released a mass market toyline based on the movie in time for the theatrical release. The figures came in 4-inch, and 6-inch versions. Lastly, Japanese toy company Medicom created stylized Goku, and Piccolo Be@rbrick
Be@rbrick
Bearbrick is a collectible toy designed and produced by the Japanese company MediCom Toy Incorporated. The name is derived from the fact that the figure is a cartoon-style representation of a bear, and that it is a variation of MediCom's Kubrick design...
toys to coincide with the release of the film.