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Dragonball: Evolution (produced under the tentative title Dragonball) is an upcoming 2009 American live-action film adaptation of the Dragon Ball franchise being produced by 20th Century Fox. The story centers around the adventures of the lead character, Goku, from his childhood into adulthood. The film began development in 2002, and is directed by James Wong and produced by Stephen Chow. It was released in Japan on March 13, 2009, and is scheduled to screen in North America and the United Kingdom on April 8, 2009. Actor Justin Chatwin was cast as Goku, and James Marsters portrays Piccolo, the antagonist of the film.

Synopsis

Goku (Justin Chatwin) goes on a journey to find Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) and gather the seven mystical Dragon Balls before the evil Piccolo (James Marsters) can. Along his way, he meets Bulma Brief (Emmy Rossum) who then joins him to help him in his mission. When arriving at Roshi's place, he is not welcomed with an embrace but has to fight Roshi. Roshi soon learns that Goku is the grandson of Gohan (Randall Duk Kim) and thus trains him to prepare him for the ultimate battle with Piccolo to prevent him from collecting the powerful Dragon Balls.[1]

Cast

  • Justin Chatwin as Goku: A powerful warrior who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling the mystical namesakes of the film.[2]
  • Jamie Chung as Chi Chi: Goku's love interest.[3] Stephen Chow had been interested in casting Zhang Yuqi, whom he worked with on CJ7, in the part.[4]
  • James Marsters as Piccolo: The villain of the film.[2] Marsters explained that this incarnation of the character is "thousands of years old and a very long time ago he used to be a force of good, but [he] got into a bad argument and was put into prison for 2000 years. It got him very angry, and he finds a way to escape and then tries to destroy the world." Marsters is a fan of the television series, which he described as being "the coolest television cartoon in the last 50,000 years [because] it’s got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil."[5] Piccolo was intended to look handsome, but Marsters and the make-up artist chose to give him a decrepit complexion, having been trapped for thousands of years. Although the make-up process tended to take four hours, the first time it took seventeen hours to apply, and Marsters had difficulty breathing.[6] Ron Perlman was offered the role of Piccolo, but turned it down to work on Hellboy II: The Golden Army.[7]
  • Eriko Tamura as Mai: She is a chief enforcer of Piccolo's and a shapeshifter.[8][9]
  • Chow Yun-Fat as Roshi: Goku's mentor.[10]
  • Joon Park as Yamcha: A desert bandit that aids Goku and Bulma on their quest.[8] James Kyson Lee auditioned for the role.[11]
  • Emmy Rossum as Bulma Brief: She aids Goku after her father's Dragon Ball is stolen by Piccolo.[12]
  • Randall Duk Kim as Grandpa Gohan: The adoptive father and grandfather of Goku who teaches Goku everything he knows about martial arts.
  • Ernie Hudson as Master Mutaito: Roshi's former sensei and the one who sealed Piccolo away for centuries.
  • Luis Arrieta as Weaver: A classmate and friend of Goku. He is an original character created for the film.[13]
  • Texas Battle as Carey Fuller: A high school bully. He is an original character created for the film.
  • Richard Blake as Agundas: A high school bully. He is an original character created for the film.
  • Shavon Kirksey as Emi: A high school friend of Chi Chi. She is an original character created for the film.
  • Julian Sedgwick as Mr. Kingery: A professor at Goku's high school.

Production

DragonBallMovie

An early teaser poster bearing the original title, Dragonball.

In March 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the Dragon Ball franchise. In June 2004, Ben Ramsey, who wrote The Big Hit, was paid $500,000 to adapt Dragon Ball Z.[14] In 2007, James Wong and Stephen Chow were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled Dragonball: Evolution. Wong rewrote the script.[2] The first full color image of Justin Chatwin as Goku was released in the 24th issue of Weekly Young Jump.[15] 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.[4] 87Eleven, the stunt performance company that worked on The Matrix and 300, is working on the film.[2] Ariel Shaw, who worked on Wong's entries in the Final Destination series and 300, is visual effects supervisor.[16] Robert MacLachlan, who also worked on Wong's Final Destination films, serves as cinematographer.[17]

Shooting began on December 3, 2007[18] in Mexico City, Mexico. Locations included the Universidad Tecnológica de México.[19] From January 2, 2008[19] the crew shot at Durango. The crew will move to Estado de México in March for some shots at Nevado de Toluca.[16] Shooting is also scheduled at Los Angeles, California.[10] In adapting the Dragon Ball manga, the futuristic cities were kept, however, the anthropomorphic creatures and talking animals (such as Turtle, Oolong and Puar) were dropped.[20] Many of the locations are very Oriental,[21] and are some Aztec influence too, particularly from their temples.[22] It was thought that Rossum would wear a blue wig to resemble her anime counterpart, but due to some promotional images, it was turned out that she would not be wearing a blue wig. Instead she will have her natural brown with a blue streak down the middle of her hair. Chatwin will not wear a wig as the director felt Chatwin's hair resembled Goku's.[21] A large amount of Dragonball: Evolution was shot in an abandoned jeans factory, also located in Durango, Mexico.[23]

Dragonball: Evolution special effects are being done by Amalgamated Dynamics, while the visual effects are being done by Ollin Studios, Zoic Studios, and Imagine Engine. The film will also have the anime style of fighting in Dragon Ball Z, such as ki energy waves and auras.

On December 9, 2008 it was confirmed that the theme song would be "Rule" by Japanese pop icon Ayumi Hamasaki. The choice was because director James Wong wanted the movie adaptation of a series born in Japan to be sung by a Japanese person and was particularly impressed with Hamasaki. "Rule" is being used as the theme song for every country's release.[24]

The film was originally slated to be named Dragonball, however on December 10, 2008 a trailer was released using the name Dragonball: Evolution and Fox licensed the domain name "DragonballEvolutionMovie.com" indicating the film had been renamed.[25][26][27]

Release

Dragonball: Evolution was initially scheduled to be released in North America on August 15, 2008, then moved to April 10, 2009 to allow time to do additional filming and post-production work. On November 11, 2008 it was formally announced that the film's release had been changed to April 8, 2009.[28]

Though an American film, Dragonball: Evolution was released in Japan on March 13, 2009, nearly a month before its American release.[29]

Merchandise

A film novelization written by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon, Dragonball: The Junior Novel, has been solicited by Viz Media with a February 2009 release date.[30] A 16 paged sticker book based on the film is being published by Viz on February 3, 2009.[31] On January 19, 2009, Namco Bandai Games and 20th Century Fox announced that a PlayStation Portable video game based around the film titled Dragonball the Movie would be released in Japan in March 2009, with a North American release to follow in April. The game will include all of the major characters from the film and feature various playing modes, including an arcade mode for one-on-one combat, a story mode in which players will Goku through the film events, a mission mode where players attempt to complete specific tasks, and a training mode for practicing fighting moves. It will also offer an online battle mode.

Sequels

Actress Jamie Chung, who plays the role of Chi Chi in the film, has revealed in an interview with MTV that 20th Century Fox is preparing to produce two sequels to Dragonball: Evolution. "We're signed on for two more," she clarifies. "Hopefully, I hope the movie does well. There's lots of places that Fox wants to go with this."[32]

Comparison to Akira Toriyama's manga

Similarities

  • After escaping the container he is sealed inside by the Mafūba, Piccolo seeks the seven Dragon Balls for his plot to dominate the world.
  • As in the later chapters of the manga, Mai is a servant to Piccolo. However, the film depicts her as having the ability to shapeshift into another organism using a sample of their blood tissue (although this is more than likely done using the technology aboard Piccolo's spacecraft).
  • Roshi retains the lust for women he harbors in the manga.
  • Goku is instructed by Roshi to carry all of Roshi's luggage on his back, while keeping up with Bulma's vehicle. This is similar to when Master Roshi instructs Goku and Krillin to train while wearing 50-pound turtle shells on their backs in the manga.
  • Yamcha retains his status as a desert bandit who uses bribery to spare passersby. As in the manga, he joins the adventure with the intent of selling the Dragon Balls.
  • Although the World Martial Arts Tournament is absent from the film, a similar event called the Toisan Tournament of Champions appears in Dragonball: Evolution.
  • Perhaps mirroring King Piccolo's deformed Namek sons in the manga, in the film Piccolo uses a machine aboard his spacecraft to extract his blood and create several deviated creatures that are sent to stop Goku and friends.
  • Master Mutaito instructed Roshi, and Roshi instructed Grandpa Gohan, as in the manga.

Differences

  • Piccolo is sealed by the Mafūba for 2,000 years, whereas his manga counterpart, King Piccolo, was sealed for only centuries.
  • Goku attends high school, whereas in the manga, his lack of an education is a recurring theme.
  • The film also features several original characters created for this school environment, such as Weaver, Carey Fuller, Agundas, Emi and Mr. Kingery.
  • The film sees Goku turn 18 years old, although in the manga, Goku's adventure began when he was 11 years old. Chi-Chi is also presumably the same age as Goku in the film, as they are shown attending the same classes.
  • Grandpa Gohan is fatally wounded when Piccolo caves in his home with him still inside, whereas in the manga, he is killed when Goku, as a Great Ape, steps on him.
  • Bulma has brown hair with only a strand of blue, rather than the purple and blue hair her manga and anime incarnations are best known for sporting.
  • Roshi lives in a complex on a small island in the middle of the city, whereas in the manga he lived in a small house in the middle of the ocean.
  • Because anthropomorphic creatures and talking animals were dropped from the film, Roshi lives by himself rather than with Turtle, and Yamcha adventures alone rather than accompanied by Puar.
  • Yamcha does not exhibit any shyness around women.
  • Master Mutaito hasn't died as a result of conjuring the Mafūba against Piccolo.
  • While Master Mutaito's counterpart in the manga is Caucasian, in the film he is depicted as African. This is similar to the race alterations of Staff Officer Black in the 1996 film The Path to Power, where unlike his manga and anime counterpart, he was depicted as Hispanic rather than African.
  • The Kamehameha doesn't necessarily need to be channeled with its user's hands at their side (although it is still always launched the same way, with it's users hands spread opposite each other). The physical properties of the Kamehameha also vary; sometimes shown as being a wave of wind, and other times as the energy wave it is best known as. Another time, Roshi fires the technique into Goku's chest in order to resuscitate him.
  • Goku is revealed to have traveled to Earth on a meteor, rather than a spacecraft.
  • The Great Ape transformation is revised so that it is an actual character named Oozaru, who terrorized the Earth with Piccolo before the latter was banished by the Mafūba. In the film, an eclipse (rather than a full moon, as in the manga) transforms Goku into Oozaru, whose size is dramatically reduced from the size of Great Apes in Toriyama's series. This revision also drops the necessity for its user to have a Saiyan tail to transform.
  • Piccolo is killed by the Kamehameha, whereas his manga counterpart is killed by Penetrate!.
  • Shenron has no speaking roles. After being summoned by the Dragon Balls it waits for a wish to be declared, after which it disappears and the wish is granted.

References

  1. Tributemovies. Dragonball Story Outline Shared. Tributemovies.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tatiana Siegel (November 13, 2007). Dragonball comes to bigscreen. Variety.
  3. Chung goes live with 'Dragonball'. The Hollywood Reporter.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Dragon Ball to become live-action film. China.org (December 15, 2007).
  5. Rudolph, Illeane. James Marsters on Fame, Family and Life After 40. TV Guide.
  6. James Marsters: "You guys like watching me getting humiliated". Total Sci-Fi.
  7. Coe, Jackee. Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Movies.ie.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Simmons, Leslie. Rossum roars onto Dragonball: Evolution cast. The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. All About Dragonball. IGN.com Movies.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Leslie Simmons (December 19, 2007). Chow rolls to Fox for Dragonball. The Hollywood Reporter.
  11. Heroes Lee Auditions for Dragon Ball Z Movie. Anime News Network.
  12. Siegel, Tatiana. Emmy Rossum set for Dragonball: Evolution. Variety.
  13. "Teto, el mejor amigo de Goku es Mexicano"
  14. Claude Brodesser. Ramsey rolls Dragonball Z. Variety.
  15. First Color Image of Live-Action Dragonball's Goku. Anime News Network.
  16. 16.0 16.1 Dragon Ball Z to Shoot in Durango, Mexico. SuperHeroHype.com.
  17. Credits & Awards. Robert MacLachlan.
  18. Domestic film: In production. The Hollywood Reporter.
  19. 19.0 19.1 First Dragon Ball Z Set Photos Online. SuperHeroHype.com (December 19, 2007).
  20. Cesar Huerta (December 16, 2007). Filman Dragon Ball en escuela de Tlalpan (Spanish). El Universal.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Minerva Hernández (December 18, 2007). Justin es un Goku ‘nato’ (Spanish). El Diario.
  22. Cesar Huerta (December 19, 2007). Se suma a Dragon Ball. El Universal.
  23. Durango's non-traditional incentives - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety
  24. http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/081210/gnj0812100505015-n2.htm
  25. Marshall, Rick. New ‘Dragonball Evolution’ Trailer Appears Online. MTV.
  26. Parfitt, Orlando. IGN Premieres Dragonball Trailer. IGN.
  27. Friestad, Jerry. Dragonball Movie Renamed. IncGamers.
  28. Live Action Dragonball Pushed Up to April 8 in US. Anime News Network.
  29. U.S. Dragonball Film Site Launches with Updated Trailer. Anime News Network.
  30. Dragon Ball: The Junior Novel. Barnes and Noble.
  31. Dragonball The Movie Sticker Book. Amazon.
  32. http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/12/09/exclusive-details-of-dragonball-reshoots-revealed-cast-member-jamie-chung-talks-sequels/

External links

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