From comic strip to live action, it seems Dragonball will be back in full force come 2009, and we hear it’s going to be big. Twentieth Century Fox has snatched up this moneymaker, which can only mean one thing … blockbuster. Now, what the heck is Dragonball?
Dragonball is an internationally known and loved Japanese comic and media franchise that was originally created, written and illustrated by manga artist Akira Toriyama in 1984. This franchise consists primarily of one comic book series, three different anime (animated television series) productions, seventeen animated feature films, an unofficial live-action movie, a collectible trading card game, a large number of electronic games, as well as other collectibles, like action figures. And now, as you’ve just been informed, a big-time, live-action film began production in 2002, and is scheduled to hit the big screen next year.
The story revolves around a young humanoid boy named Goku. He discovers that he was sent to Earth to blend in and destroy our population, but instead he chooses to protect it from an oncoming alien attack. Goku’s adoptive grandfather, Grandpa Gohan, has a dying request for Goku to seek out the great Master Roshi and gather all seven … guess what? Yep! All seven Dragon Balls. Of course, Grandpa Gohan has one of these Dragon Balls, in order to prevent the evil Lord Piccolo from succeeding in his desire to use the Dragon Balls to take over the world. Naturally, Goku must find and gather all seven of the Dragon Balls before Piccolo does.
If you haven’t heard of it, this particular comics story has a gigantic following. Some off-springs are Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. According to Wikipedia, in 2004 the original comic was re-released in a 34-volume collection, which included some moderate alterations. As of 2006, the distributing company, Viz Media, released all 42 volumes in English in the U.S., giving it title Dragon Ball Z to lessen confusion among North American readers.
Directed by James Wong (Final Destination), the Twentieth Century Fox adaptation of this film is certainly live-action. It will star Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as Goku, James Marsters (TV show Smallville) as Evil Piccolo, and randomly, Emmy Rossum (Phantom of the Opera) as Bulma. Not too surprisingly, there are plans for two sequels.
One thing I don't quite get; unless this movie is rated PG, how will it make money? Sure, I know that the kids eat this stuff up ... but will this film make the millions that Fox is so used to generating? I suppose the good news is they’ve got a solid year of publicity and promotion ahead of them to find out.
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