| Dragon Ball | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michael B. Jordan |
| Produced by | Akira Toriyama Michael B. Jordan Steven Spielberg |
| Executive producer(s) | Victoria Alonso Nikolas Korda Jeremy Latcham Norihiro Hayashida Akio Iyoku Atsushi Suzuki Hirotsugu Usui |
| Screenplay by | Justin Marks Christina Hudson Pete Docter |
| Story by | Justin Marks Christina Hudson Steven Spielberg Tom McCarthy Pete Docter Michael Arndt Phil Lord Christopher Miller |
| Based on | Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama |
| Starring | Neel Sethi Chloe Bennet Jackie Chan Simu Liu Dana Snyder Ming-Na Wen Bradley Cooper Paul Rudd Chris Cason Jason Douglas Christopher Sabat |
| Narrated by | Sean Schemmel |
| Score by | Michael Giacchino |
| Themes by | Shunsuke Kikuchi |
| Edited by | Fred Raskin Craig Wood Hughes Winborne |
| Production company |
Universal Pictures Toei Company Outlier Society Productions Amblin Entertainment Troll Court Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Release date | February 16, 2025 |
| Country | United States Japan |
| Next | Dr. Slump: Arale's First Live-action Movie |
Dragon Ball would be a 2025 American-Japanese road buddy fantasy action comedy-drama film directed by Michael B. Jordan and produced by Universal Pictures, Toei Company, Outlier Society Productions, Amblin Entertainment, and Troll Court Entertainment. It would be a live-action adaptation of the Japanese franchise of the same name, and the second official live-action adaptation of the franchise after Fox's Dragonball Evolution. Jordan would also produce the film alongside Steven Spielberg and the franchise's creator Akira Toriyama, while the film's screenplay would be written by Justin Marks, Chrsitina Hudson, and Pete Docter, from an story by Hudson, Marks, Docter, Spielberg, Tom McCarthy, Michael Arndt, and Phil Lord & Christopher Miller.
The film would star Neel Sethi, Chloe Bennet, Jackie Chan, Simu Liu, Ming-Na Wen, and the voices of Dana Snyder, Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Mark Hamill, Jason Douglas, Christopher Sabat, and Chris Cason, with the last two reprising their roles from the original anime's Funimation dub as Shenron and Shu, respectively, while Sean Schemmel would narrate the film. The film's score would be composed by Michael Guacchino, while Pharrell Williams would curate the soundtrack
Universal obtained the film rights of the Dragon Ball franchise after acquiring them in a bidding. Plans for a live-action adaptation of Dragon Ball would be announced in 2021, along with the hirings of Michael B. Jordan as director and co-producer, Tom McCarthy, Steven Spielberg, and Michael Arndt as co-screenwriters, and Spielberg and Akira Toriyama as producers, while the cast and additional screenwriters joining during the next 4 years.
In order to avoid developing a film similar to Evolution, which was highly criticized for its unfaithfulness to the franchise, the production team would develop the film similar to Disney's live-action remakes of animated films, while the team would adapt specifically the franchise's first saga in order to make sure audiences unfamiliar with the original manga would understand the film's events. The film's visual effects team would create new systems in order to create visual effects that resembled the original anime's designs.
The film would be released on February 16, 2025, and would became a critical and commercial success, grossing 977 million dollars over a budget of 177 millions, and being praised for its direction, screenplay, emotional depth, faithfulness to the source material, humor, performances (particularly Seethi, Bennet, Chan, and Snyder's), visual effects, and music, with many critics praising it as an improvement over Evolution, and some even calling it one of the best films based on an anime/manga. The film would also earn Academy Award and British Academy Film Awards nominations for its visual effects. The film would become the first entry in a live-action cinematic universe based on both Dragon Ball and the Dr. Slump franchise. A sequel, titled Dragon Ball: Krillin's Adventure, would be released on 2028 to similar critical and commercial success.
Synopsis[]
Far away in the mountians of Mount Paozu, a young monkey-tailed boy named Goku is taking care of the dearest posetion of his late grandfather, the fourth-star Dragon Ball, all while believing that it has his grandfather's soul. However, the boy's life would change when a young girl named Bulma sudenly comes in search of the seven Dragon Balls, which, when gathered together, can invoke the wish-granting dragon Shenron. Finding themselves in a once-in-a-lifetime journey, Goku, Bulma, and martial artist master Muten Roshi must find the Dragon Balls before the evil emperor Pilaf finds them and uses them to take over the world. During the journey, Goku and Bulma develop a strong bond, and now Goku must choose between his "grandfather" or his new family.
Plot[]
In the mountains of Mount Paozu, a young monkey-tailed boy named Goku (Neel Sethi) lived and trained martial arts with his grandfather, Gohan. However, one day, Goku finds his grandfather dead. After buring him, Goku sees something is shinning in his house, and discovers that it is his grandfather's dearest posetion: The Fourth-Star Dragon Ball, causing him to assume the Dragon Ball has Gohan's soul.
Months later, a young girl named Bulma (Chloe Bennet) comes to Goku's house and takes his Dragon Ball. Having never seen anything from a city before, Goku assumes she's a demon and chases her car, which he believes is a monster. After a brief fight, Bulma mangaes to explain to Goku that she's a human being. Once in Goku's house, he explains that the Dragon Ball is his and that it "has" his grandfather's soul. Bulma then explains that the Dragon Balls are seven magical balls that, once reunited, can summon the wish-granting dragon, Shenron (Christopher Sabat), and get one wish, which she plans to use in order to get a boyfriend. However, Goku refses to give her his Dragon Ball, still believing it has his grandfather's soul.
Knowing that there's no other way to get his Dragon Ball, Bulma proposes Goku to travel together to gather them. Gou accepts, and both start to travel in Bulma's car. However, the two are suddenly attacked by a pterodactyl assasain named Claws (Clancy Brown), whom Goku effortlessly defeats. Claws soon triest to explains everything to his employer, Emperor Pilaf (Gilbert Gottfried), who himself plans to gather the Dragon Balls in order to take over the world. Pilaf hires desert bandits Yamcha (Simu Liu), Puar (Zeno Robinson), and Oolong (Aleks Le), to steal a Dragon Ball from a town near his desert, under the lie that he will use his wish to also remove Yamcha's fear of women, while he orders his minions, Shu (Chris Cason) and Mai (Ming-Na Wen), to follow them in case they find another Dragon Ball.
After a night in which Goku and Bulma become friends while Goku is introduced to city life, the two meet a turtle (Bill Murray), who begs them to help him return home. The two agree, and they take him too Kame House, a house in an island, where the two meet his owner, Master Roshi (Jackie Chan), whom Goku discovers was Gohan's martial artist master. As a gift for returning him the turtle, Roshi gives Goku the Flying Nimbus, while Roshi gives Bulma his own Dragon Ball, the Three-Star Ball. They are soon attacked by Pilaf's forces, who had been informed of their locaton by an spy. Roshi, Bulma, and Goku quickly defeat them, with Roshi showing Goku his most powerful techinque, the Kamehameha. Goku deseparetly asks Roshi to train him, which Roshi quickly agrees, and Roshi joins the group to protect them. The three then leave Kame House.
As they continue to travel, Goku and Roshi continue training, with Goku displaying incredible fighting skills, while they and Bulma soon develop a strong, family-like bond. After a fight with Yamcha and his friends in the dessert, Bulma reveals that her parents died in a car crash and that she inherited Capsule Corporation and her parents' fortune, leaving her unsure if people love her or her money, to which Goku relates to his fear of being without a family. After another fight with Pilaf's henchmen, the three soon arrive in a city, where they start enjoying their time together, and eventually find the Seven-Star Dragon Ball in the castle of the city's ruler, Ox-King, which Shu and Mai, set on fire to kill them and steal their Dragon Balls. Bulma and Roshi manage to escape, but Goku stays, as they managed to steal his Dragon Ball by pulling his tail, which they discovered was his weakness.
Still believing his Dragon Ball has his grandfather's soul, Goku deseperately tries to get it back, in spite of Bulma and Roshi's attempts to stop him. Yamcha, having developed a crush on Bulma, changes sides, along with Puar and a reclutant Oolong. The castle, with Goku still inside, eventually falls apart. Roshi and Bulma, who managed to escape, desesperately try to find him, while Roshi states that they should have told him "the truth", in spite of Bulma's statements that they can't do it. Goku, who managed to survive, overhears this, but when he asks Bulma about it, she denies it, causing him to grow suspicious of her.
They soon discover that Mai and Shu stole Bulma's car, which had their Dragon Balls, during the incident. The two villains try to escape the city throught the airport. As they search for the Dragon Balls, Goku and Bulma's friendship slowly begins to fall apart. Thanks to Yamcha, they discover Mai and Shu's whereabouts. The group manages to arrive in time to avoid their escape. A fight soon ensues and eventually, thanks to Goku trying to avoid his Dragon Ball from being stolen again, Mai and Shu manage to escape.
The group try to follow them, but they eventually are forced to rest in another desert. Bulma soon yells at Goku, blaming him for their loss. The two soon argue, and an enraged Bulma soon reveals the truth: His grandfather's soul was never in the Dragon Ball, as well as that the Dragon Balls shall split all over the world once their are used. In denial, devasted and unwilling to be left alone, Goku runs away in the Flying Nimbus back to Mount Paozu. Goku stays inside his house for days, unwilling to leave in fear of somebody stealing his Dragon Ball. Bulma, Yamcha, and Master Roshi soon find Goku, but he refuses to listen to them. Roshi enter throught a window, and tells Goku that, even his grandfather is gone, he will stull have a family in Bulma, him, and Yamcha. In the meantime, Bulma realizes that her parents' love will always exist, even in death. The two reconcilie, and conclude that they must take the fight to Pilaf before his minions try to steal their Dragon Ball.
The group eventually arrives at Pilaf's castle, where they fight his forces, but they are eventually captured. Pilaf now plans to roast them with the Sun in the morning to prevent them from intefiring witr his plans any further. Goku then remembers that the beast that clearly killed his grandfather appears in the full moon, before re-calling a strange order fro his grandfather: To never watch the full moon, but he never knew why. The group becomes worried, fearing that he may be the beast, and also instruct him to never watch the full moon. Goku, however, chooses to watch it anyway, arguing that he should do it as he may not have another chance to watch it. Goku then suddenly transforms into a Great Ape.
Great Ape Goku then goes on a destructive rampage, attacking both his friends and Pilaf's army, starting a three-sided battle between Pilaf's forces, Goku's friends, and Great Ape Goku, during which Oolong cowardly tries to run away, only to be saved by Puar. Great Ape Goku eventually corners the group, but Bulma manages to break througth him. While overhearing this, Pilaf and his gang don a gigantic robot and fight off Goku, eventually cutting off his tail, assuming the pain would weaken him enough to shoot him to death. However, this actually cause Goku to turn him back to normal, while the Pilaf Gang's robot explodes due to the damages and being overheated. Pilaf and his ganf then eject througth the head, withe the excplosion sending them to a river.
As morning arrives, the group agree that Goku can't know that he is most likely the monster that killed Gohan, knowing that it will break the young boy's heart. They soon give to Goku new clothes, and then he wakes up, not remembering what happened last night, asks about the castle and his tail. The group then claims that he fell unconcious because Pilaf cutted off his tail so he could die faster, and then lie that they used the incident to escape. Goku uses the Dragon Balls to see briefly his grandfather. Goku asks Gohan if he would life to be ressurrected in one year with the Dragon Balls, but he refuses, feeling his time is done and knowing Goku will be fine without him. Goku accepts this, and Gohan vanishes. A confused Bulma asks why Goku wanted Gohan's blessing for his ressurrection instead of just ressurrect him. Goku then explains that he did it only because he wanted to know if his grandfather would be happy if he's alive again, as Goku claims that he no longer needs him, as he already has a family in his friends.
Goku then attempts to say goodbye to Bulma, but then she reveals that she will soon arrange everything so she could move to an island near Kame House so she could be with Goku, having come to care for him as a brother. Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong then reveal that they will move too, as he wants to train and be as strong as Goku. The group, having settled down, now trains and live together, as a family.
In a mid-credits scene, a young boy named Krillin arrives at Kame House, as he wants Master Roshi to train him, and soon gets annoyed by Goku's naivety, before being shocked to discover that they will have to train together.
Cast[]
- Neel Sethi as Goku:
A monkey-tailed boy who has spent his whole life in the mountains, and who thinks his Dragon Ball has his late grandfather's soul. Producer Steven Spielberg would describe the film's take on Goku as "someone whom everyone can relate to" arguing that kids would relate to the character's "innocence, naivety, and open-wided vision of the world outside the mountains", while more adult audiences would relate to "the emotional arc of grief" the character goes througth in the film. According to director Michael B. Jordan, the filmmakers would choose to expand on the idea of Goku thinking his Dragon Ball has his grandfather's soul for his arc in the film "because [they] felt that little joke held so much potential, and now [the are] taking the chance to use that potential". Jordan would allow Sethi to eat food during filming, as well as personaly give him food, in order to feature Goku's love for food from the manga. Seethi and the cast would also improvise certain scenes involving Goku eating. - Chloe Bennet as Bulma:
A highly intelligent girl from the West City who meets Goku during her journey to gather the Dragon Balls in order to wish for a boyfriend. Bennet would describe the character as "more emotional" than the original version, which she said would be because "[the filmmakers would feel] a need to explain why, of all, things, she wants a boyfriend". Producer Akira Toriyama would describe the film's version of the characters as "complex", as they had to feature both elements from the original version "while still potraying her as a lonely girl desesperate for love". - Jackie Chan as Master Roshi:
An old martial arts master who trained Goku's grandfather, and whom Goku and Bulma meet during their journey to gather the Dragon Balls. Producer Akira Toriyama would say that the character's perverted traits in the manga would be toned down in the film "to keep it more PG", througth the film would still feature several "subtle" allusions to his pervertion. Additionally, Toriyama would say that Roshi "becomes Goku's substitute grandpa" in the film, and that the project would allow the character "to be more than the old perverted man he's known to be". while still featuring elements from the original version. - Simu Liu as Yamcha, a desert bandit who agrees to help Emperor Pilaf to gather the Dragon Balls under the assumption thet they will use them to cure Yamcha's fear of womens.
- Ming-Na Wen as Mai, Emperor Pilaf's gun-wielding right-hand woman and most trusted minion. According to Wen, the role would allow her to "display her comedic range like few other roles did".
- J.J. Abrams as Sabanto, Emperor Pilaf's majordomo.
Voices[]
- Dana Snyder as Emperor Pilaf:
An small, alien-looking, short-tempered "emperor of crime" who plans to use the Dragon Balls to take over the world. Snyder would describe Pilaf as "a spoiled brat who wants to get what he wants", and that his performance would be that of "a combination of an spoiled brat and a guy with over-the-top anger issues". According to producer Akira Toriyama, the writers would aim to make Pilaf "the less-threatening, funniest, most enjoyable villain in cinematic history". PIlaf's characterization in the film would be based on the Disney Villains Cruella DeVil, Hades, and Prince John. - Chris Cason as Shu, an antropomorphic dog who is Emperor Pilaf's personal ninja, assistant, and second most trusted minion, after Mai. Cason would reprise his role from the Funimation dub of the original anime.
- Zeno Robinson as Puar, an antropomorphic cat and shapeshifter who is one of Yamcha's two accomplices and his best friend, whom Puar always tries to advice to make the right choice, to various degrees of success. The character would be explicity potrayed as a man because director Michael B. Jordan would feel it would be weird to potray Puar as a woman due to Yamcha's fear of women. Robinson previously voiced Ganma 2 in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
- Aleks Le as Oolong:
An antropomorphic pig and shapeshifter who is one of Yamcha's two accomplices and Puar's bully, and who only wants Yamcha to make the choice that shall give them more money. Le previously voiced Gamma 1 in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. - Jason Douglas as Claw, an antropomorphic pterodactyl and assassin who is hired by Emperor Pilaf to help in his plans to gather the Dragon Balls by killing any possible owner they may have. Claw would be loosely inspired by an unnamed pterodactyl who appeared in the first Dragon Ball manga. Douglas also voices a monkey near the start of the film and a rabbit chef. He has voiced Beerus in the English dub for multiple Dragon Ball projects.
- Christopher Sabat as Shenron, a wish-granting dragon who can only be called once the seven Dragon Balls are gathered. Sabat would reprise his role from the Funimation dub of the original anime. Sabat also voices one of Pilaf's minions, a restaurant client, and a guard on Ox-King's castle.
- Travis Willingham as Turtle, Master Roshi's pet and long-time friend who lives with him in Kame House.
Additionally, Sean Schemmel, who voices an adult Goku in the anime, would act as the film's narrator, in addution to voicing a guard in Ox-King's house. Producer and Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama would provide the voice of a Dalmatian on a TV. Producer Steven Spielberg would voice a toy soldier. Linda Young, who voices Frieza in the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z, would voice Sewanin, a monkey who took care of Goku after his grandfather's death. Tom Kenny would make a vocal cameo as a radio announcer. Kyle Herbert, Gohan's voice actor in the Funimation dub, voices Pilaf's alert system. Ian Sinclair, who voiced Whis in the English dub for Dragon Ball Super, voices a sabertooth tiger. J. Michael Tatum, who voiced Mira in the videogame Dragon Ball: Xenoverse, makes a cameo as the AI voice in Bulma's tech.
Frank Welker would provide the vocal effects for Goku's Great Ape form. Steve Blum would make a vocal cameo as a monkey near the start of the film; he previously voiced Goku in the videogame Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout. Monica Rial, who has been Bulma's English voice since the Dragon Ball Kai Funimation dub, would make a vocal cameo appearance as a caterpillar waiter in a restaurant. Stephanie Nadolny, who voiced Goku as a kid in the original Funimation dub, would make a brief cameo as the voice of a wolf child watching the battle against Boss Rabbit's forces, while Chi-Chi's original Funimation voice actress Laura Bailey would make a voice cameo as the child's mother. Dee Bradley Baker would provide animal vocal effects.
Production[]
Development and writing[]
In early 2020, noticing the franchise's popularity, Universal Pictures would pitch an idea for a live-action Dragon Ball cinematic universe, starting with a new live-action film, to creator Akira Toriyama. Toriyama would at first be hestiant, having been dissapointed by the franchuse's previous live-action film, Dragonball Evolution due to its unfaithfulness to the manga. However, he would authorize the project after Universal would promise him to have a heavy creative influence on the film as a producer.
Universal would first approach Toei Company, whose subsidiary Toei Animation adapted the manga into anime, to co-produce the film, agreeing to work on the project in exchange of 25% of profits. By mid-2020, Universal, Toei, and Toriyama would be meeting with several directors for the film, with Dragon Ball fan Michael B. Jordan approaching the studio with a vision for the film that "combined the plot of the first saga, the over-the-top action from Z, and the heart and sensibilities of a buddy movie". With the three parties liking Jordan's pitch, he would be hired as the film's director. Toriyama would approach Steven Spielberg to produce the film, feeling that "his work on E.T. and Indiana Jones makes him the perfect guy to help us keep the action and story balanced".
On August 25, 2021, Toriyama would reveal that Universal Pictures would be developing a live-action film based on Dragon Ball, with Jordan being set to direct the film with Tom McCarthy, Spielberg, and Michael Arndt writing. Gunn would also be set to co-produce the film with Toriyama, Jordan, and Spielberg producing, with the latter producing the film througth his company, Amblin Entertainment, while Toriyama would also serve as script coordinator. The film would be set to be the first on a cinematic universe based on Dragon Ball, as well as the related mangas Dr. Slump and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman.
In December 12, 2021, Jordan would reveal that he wrote the film similar to a live-action Disney remake in order to make sure the film is faithful to the original manga. On January 12, 2022, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller would reveal that they would help with the film's screenplay. On March 1, 2022, during an interview, Spielberg would reveal that the film would adapt the Emperor Pilaf Saga, a decision he said would be taken by the studio in order to make sure both fans and the rest of the audience "[were] on the same page", as the Emperor Pilaf Saga is the franchise's first. During the same interview, Jordan would reveal that the film would focus on themes such as grief and family, which he would say "are the best kind of emotional part this saga can have". In June 3, 2022, Toriyama would further explain that, while the film would be "superficially the same fantastical story in which fans first met these characters, on the inside is the most relatable and emotional Dragon Ball story".
On November 1, 2022, Justin Marks, Pete Docter, and Christina Hudson revealed that they helped Gunn with the final version of the screenplay, with Gunn stating that he would hire Docter for the project due to his love for animes. In order to avoid potential criticsm for the scene in which Bulma breaks througth Great Ape Goku, the production team watched the Dragon Ball Z episode "Mercy" for inspiration. Similarly, the production team would watch several Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z episodes for inspiration for the film's emotional scenes, particularly the episode "True Colors of the Masked Man" for Goku and Gohan's brief reunion. The writing team would also research on grief counseling for Goku's story arc, with Gunn describing the film as "one big, crazy, action packed grief counseling sesion".
Casting[]
On April 14, 2022, Jordan would reveal that Neel Sethi would be cast as Goku, whom he would confirm would have a tail in the film. On May 24, 2022, Chloe Bennet and Jackie Chan would reveal that they would be cast on the film as Bulma and Master Roshi, respctively. During the San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Jordan would reveal that Simu Liu and Ming-Na Wen would be cast as Yamcha and Mai respectively, while Dana Snyder and Aleks Le would be revealed to be voicing Emperor Pilaf and Oolong, respectively, and Sean Schemmel would be announced as the film's narrator. During August 2022, Jordan and Toriyama would reveal that Christopher Sabat and Chris Cason would be reprising their roles as Shenron and Shu in the film. On January 23, 2023, Zeno Robinsom would reveal that he would be voicing Puar.
Filming[]
Filming for the film would start on November 20, 2023, in Pinewood Studios, and would last until June 24, 2024. During filming, an animatroic tail would be used on Neel Sethi, in order to represt his character's tail in the movie. While filming scenes featuring the Flying Nimbus, Sethi would use a small gonodola, which would serve as an stand-in for the Nimbus, which would be created enterily in CGI.
The film would make heavy use of practical efects and puppetry during filming, with puppets and effects created by the Jim Henson Creature Shop, which Jordan would say would be done because "[he] wanted that film to have not only the manga's magic, but also Jim Henson's". However, the film would still "use CGI when needed", according to Jordan. Characters such as Claws and Sewanin were created by combining puppetry and remote-controlled animatronics, while others such as Turtle were creared with traditional puppetry. For the giant mecha-octopusi, two puppets were created: Smaller puppets that would interact with the miniature sets, and gigantic puppets of their body parts for the close-up sequences. Jordan said he was inspired by Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for the octopus sequence. In order to "keep that part within the DB family", the octopusi were based on the cyborg octopusi from Dragon Ball Online.
As part of the meassures to avoid an overuse of CGI, filming for multiple svenes took place in location. Filming for the scenes at Mount Paouzu where filmed at the Island of Kaua'i, Hawaii, with Jordan feeling "the natural beauty of the island easily captures the magic of the manga". Sets for exterior shots were built carefully to avoid damaging the enviroment. Filming for the dessert sequences took place at the Rub' Al Khali, with sets for entire cities being built. Additional filming took place at the Black Forest, Germany.
For the scene where Great Ape Goku rampages througth Pilaf's castle, the filmmakers would use similar techniques to those used to film the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man in Ghostbusters, with an stunt artist potraying Great Ape Goku via a costume and being filmed in a miniature set for shots were he is shown fully, while remote-controlled plane toys would be used during said shots as Pilaf's attack planes. Meanwhile, Pilaf's robot would be potrayed thorugth a motion-capture performance
Recording sessions[]
Voice recording for the film would begin in July 1, 2023. Unlike most films, the voice cast would record their voices together, throught not all the voice cast would be together, instead only doing their recording sessions with any other voice cast member the scene would feature.
The voice actors would record their lines before filming began, in order to allow them to improvise, with the wroters subsequently adding their addlibs to the script. Most of Pilaf's angry tatrums would be improvised by Snyder, with the script only showing in which moments his character would be angry. Similarly, Le would improvise some of his lines during recording, particulatly the sequence at the climax in which Oolong tries to run away.
Visual effects[]
The Moving Picture Company (MPC) and Framestore would create the film's visual effects, with Toriyama and Dragon Ball Super manga's illustrator Toyotaro acting as visual effects consultants. Unlike previous anime adaptations, which aimed for more realistic designs, Dragon Ball would feature character and visual designs closely resembling those featured in the source material, with Jordan stating that "not only because [the film] is live-action means it has to look realistic", and arguing that the original designs are "too iconic" to be altered. Framestore would creat a new software system for the Flying Nimbus, in order to create a Nimbus that looked like a cloud yet still would look believable when being ridden.
Music[]
Score[]
Michael Giacchino would compose the film's score, which would contain motifs and elements from the anime's original score by Shunsuke Kikuchi. Guacchino wanyed the score to have echoes of John Williams' work for Star Wars and Alan Silvestri's Super Mario Bros. score while being reminiscent of Kikuche's work for the anime. According to Giacchino, Goku's theme would be composed of an instrumental orchestra "with a jungle vibe", while Bulma's would be composef of a more technological orchestra. According to Giacchino, the difference in Goku and Bulma's themes would be due to the "opposite places where these two live", so they would create a score that could "showcase those differences". Giachinno would work closely with the film's screenwriters in order to create a score "that focuses more on what the characters feel than in what they do".
Track list[]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Storytelling This All Over Again | 1:54 |
| 2 | A Wild Goku Chase | 1:02 |
| 3 | Goku's Wild Life | 3:45 |
| 4 | To Be Right On The Bulma | 2:45 |
| 5 | Goku Has A Fishy Business | 1:32 |
| 6 | So Weird We Crashed Into Each Other | 2:56 |
| 7 | You've Got Dragon Balls, Kid | 4:59 |
| 8 | Dragon Soul Search | 1:49 |
| 9 | Jurassic Fight | 2:51 |
| 10 | Steal, Plunder, and Pilaf | 3:54 |
| 11 | Goku Round the House | 1:54 |
| 12 | A Heart-to-Hearty Breakfast | 5:46 |
| 13 | Turtle Tracks | 1:56 |
| 14 | Okie, Dokie, Roshi | 1:37 |
| 16 | Old Ties Connect Us | 1:45 |
| 17 | Crashing the House | 1:37 |
| 18 | 100 Nimbus Dash | 1:23 |
| 19 | You Have a Big Train to Catch | 2:11 |
| 21 | He Stole My Desert | 5:40 |
| 22 | I Picked The Wrong Week To Quit Food | 3:45 |
| 23 | Pilaf Pissed | 1:25 |
| 34 | World's Worst Full Moon | 1:32 |
| 35 | Great Ape-ctations | 6:45 |
| 36 | Bulma's Monkey Business | 4:54 |
| 40 | You're Dragon Me Around | 2:30 |
| 41 | Grandpa, Can You Hear Me? | 2:45 |
| 43 | KamehameHouse | 1:45 |
Soundtrack[]
Pharrell Williams would be hired to produce the film's soundtrack. Jordan wanted the film to have its own original songs in the vein of Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "but with a modern edge", so he hired Williams, an anime fan, to work on the soundtrack. Williams would hire multiple collaborators "to have multiples ideas on how to make the best soundtrack possible". The soundtrack would feature covers of the anime's songs "Mystical Adventure" and "I'll Give You Romance".
Track list[]
| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Me and You | Pharrell Williams | Pharrell Williams and Donald Glover | 2:31 |
| 2 | Mystical Adventure | Fall Out Boy | Takeshi Ike and Yuriko Mori | 3:42 |
| 3 | My House | Pharrell Williams and SZA | Donald Glover and SZA | 3:41 |
| 4 | Take It All | Blush | Austin Zudeck and Justin Thunstrom | 2:54 |
| 5 | Getting Tough | Eli "Paperboy" Reed | Raphael Saadiq and Pharrell Williams | 1:57 |
| 6 | Time | Diamond White | Taura Stinson | 3:43 |
| 7 | Ballroom Blitz | The Sweet | Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman | 4:06 |
| 8 | Let's Go | Jane Haddock | Taura Stinston | 4:16 |
| 9 | Dragon Ball | Pitbull | Pitbull | 3:23 |
| 10 | Get Up, Rise Up, Fight On | Bobby Brown | Babyface and Bobby Brown | 2:34 |
| 11 | Tarzan Boy | Baltimora | Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett | 3:50 |
| 12 | I'll Give You Romance | Anna Akana | Takeshi Ike and Takemi Yoshida | 3:45 |
Reception[]
Critical reception[]
The film would have an aproval rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7/10. The critical consensus would read, "A heartwarming and wonderful visual spectacle that stays faithful to its roots, Dragon Ball goes close enough to the original manga to leave fans pleased, yet still working as a good introduction to those unfamiliar with it." On Metacritc, the film would have an weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Franchise and sequel[]
- Main article: Dragon Ball: Krillin's Adventure
- Main article: Dragon Ball Live-action Universe
While announcing the film at the D23 2021, director Michael B. Jordan would reveal Dragon Ball would be expected to become "the first in a very large universe of films". On September 22, 2022, producer Akira Toriyama would confirm Jordan's statements, stating that they would have "a plan for the first twenty years of movies" set in the same unverse as Dragon Ball, which would say would "expand the Dragon Ball unverse, expand the franchise's mytholgy, and expand other franchises' too", and would reveal that films based on Dr. Slump and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, set in the same universe as Dragon Ball, would be in development. While promoting the film in a San Diego Comic-Con 2024 panel, Toriyama would reveal that a Dragon Ball sequel, based on the first part of the Red Ribbon Army Saga and starring Krillin, would be in development.
Trivia[]
- While not an official Disney Remake, the film would be developed similarly to a remake in order to make sure is faithful to the source material.
- While the film would a reboot of Dragonball Evolution, it would contain a small in-joke to the previous film: When being explained about the Dragon Balls by Bulma, Goku would ask if a ritual would be needed to invoke Shenron, an idea Bulma would dimiss as "ridiculous" and "no sense". The line would be a reference to the ritual needed to call Shenron in Evolution.
- At one point in the film, Bulma would refer to the Power Pola as a "magic stick", a reference to its name in the infamous "Big Green Dub" of the original anime.
- A brief reference to his character in Aladdin would be seen during Pilaf's first scene, in which, after Shu ruined his introduction, he would ask himself "Where i picked this bozo up?", a reference to one of Iago's first lines in Aladdin.
- The scene where Pilaf, Mai, and Shu argue while flying on an out-of-control plane would be inspired by a similar scene at the end of Aladdin, where Iago and Jafar were heard arguing while being thrown inside their lamp to the Cave of Wonders by the Genie.
- Many cast and crew members of the film would have been involved in the Marvel CInematic Universe: James Gunn wrote and directed the Guardians of the Galaxy film series, Kevin Feige has produced/co-produced every MCU film to date, Simu Lui will potray Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Chloe Bennet and Ming-Na Wen potrayed Daisy "Skye" Johnson/Quake and Melinda May, respectively, in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Benedict Wong potrayed Wong in Doctor Strange and the Avengers films, Michael B. Jordan played Killmonger in Black Panther (2018), Bradley Cooper voiced Rocket Raccoon in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers films, Clancy Brown potrayed Ray Schoonover in the Netflix series Daredevil and voiced Surtur in Thor: Ragnarok, Paul Rudd potrayed Scott Lang/Ant-Man in multiple films in the franchise, and Henry Jackman scored Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War.
- The opening logo Walt Disney Studios would feature a Dragon Ball instead of a glowing arch flying over the castle.
- Two possible second post-credits scenes would have been considered by the studio:
- The Red Ribbon Army preparing themselves to gather the Dragon Balls in a year.
- An unknown person scaning Arale Norimaki's house, and discovering her Android nature, foreshadowing a Dr. Slump film.
- The hand-drawn shots featured in the end-credits would be real-life drawn shots drawned by Toyotaro.
- The film's logo would be an exact re-creation of the original manga's logo.
- This would be the Flying Nimbus' first live-action appeareance.
- The film would feature the first time in the franchise that Bulma would actually be involved in a fight, with the use of an armor, which would also mark the first time a character uses a battle armor that actually has weapons.
- During the final battle, Puar would shapshift into a Dilophosaurus to save Oolong, a nod to producer Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993). According to Gunn, the reason a Dilophosaurus would be used instead of a Tyrannosaurus Rex would be because he would want "a little nod to Jurassic Park without distractig people or doing something more in the lines of what would happen in Dr. Slump".