For years now there has been speculation as to if and when there would be a live action version of the hit animé series Dragonball Z. Last year 20th Century Fox seemed to answer this question when they announced that they had purchased the rights to the film in back in 2002, and soon the production began. However it was soon revealed that the long anticipated film would not cover the sagas released as ‘Dragonball Z’ but instead would be loosely based on the shows precursor, ‘Dragon Ball’.

In Dragonball Evolution, the central character is still Goku. Fans of the original Dragon Ball series will be familiar with the story of how Goku and Bulma met, how they met Yamcha the Desert Bandit and many more characters that make their appearances in the later Dragonball Z series. The film will stay relatively faithful to the series however a more “grown-up” approach will be taken to make sure that it is reasonably believable

For years now there has been speculation as to if and when there would be a live action version of the hit animé series Dragonball Z. Last year 20th Century Fox seemed to answer this question when they announced that they had purchased the rights to the film in back in 2002, and soon the production began. However it was soon revealed that the long anticipated film would not cover the sagas released as ‘Dragonball Z’ but instead would be loosely based on the shows precursor, ‘Dragon Ball’.

In Dragonball Evolution, the central character is still Goku. Fans of the original Dragon Ball series will be familiar with the story of how Goku and Bulma met, how they met Yamcha the Desert Bandit and many more characters that make their appearances in the later Dragonball Z series. The film will stay relatively faithful to the series however a more “grown-up” approach will be taken to make sure that it is reasonably believable

Cast

Goku – Justin Chatwin
Chi Chi – Jamie Chung
Yamcha – Joon Park
Bulma – Emmy Rossum
Piccolo – James Marsters
Roshi/Turtle Hermit – Chow Yun-Fat
Gohan (senior) – Randall Duk Kim
Mai – Eriko Tamura

 In the original story, Goku was a child who lived with his grandfather (Gohan) in the middle of nowhere. In the movie it seems that Goku is a high school student (18 years old) and although he does live with his grandfather, the similarities end from there on. After his grandfather’s death at the hands of Piccolo, Goku sets off on a trail to find the Legendary Dragonballs to help him stop Piccolo. Now the Piccolo we see in the movie is not the same Piccolo as the one in Dragonball Z it is in fact his father. The Piccolo in Dragonball Z is actually the spawn of Lord Piccolo, an evil ruler in the original manga.

Along the way, Goku meets many acquaintances including Bulma, Yamcha and eventually Master Roshi (also known as the Turtle Hermit). No further information has been released as to the remainder of the plot but we have been told through interviews that it will include a world martial arts scene, plenty of flying and the legendary ‘kamehameha wave’.

Speculation

In a recent interview Emmy Rossum, who plays Bulma, revealed that a large monster that appears in the Animé would also feature in the film. She goes on to explain that it is actually an 8ft humanoid shaped monster. One of the Androids? Perhaps Cell? Some even believe Raditz or Ozaruu, which would mean the end of the movie spilling over into Dragonball Z. If this happens you can be sure there will be a sequel.

All in all, people have mixed views on what the movie will be like. Many hardcore fans of the original (now primarily in their late 20’s early 30’s) will be worried that it messes up the story much in the same way Madonna covered up Don Mclean’s American Pie. Kids now say “American Pie? Yeah that Madonna song it’s great”. Of course there is a young target audience for the movie which means that a lot of the original action, gore and especially humour will be cut out.

I personally was a big fan of Dragonball Z and didn’t really get in to Dragon Ball until much later on but I still have my reservations about the film. On the other hand it could be a hit but I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. See you in the Cinemas!