If there's an anime that were to come to anyone's mind right off the bat without a thought, it would be Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise. There's no shade being thrown at animes before it that paved the way for one's like this to exist like Gigantor (Tetsujin 28) or Astro Boy. They deserve their own acknowledgement. However, there's something about Toriyama's endearing story that has completely captivated its fans while creating new ones to this day. There's just something about the characters, the martial arts, the comedy and heart behind everything. With that said, it is no surprise that Japan would begin making films during the TV show run as well. After three seasons, Toei Animation released their first Dragon Ball film. Since the origins were from Japan, US audiences would get their own version but not a more proper one until much later, which is what's being reviewed here.
The story is very much a similar summation of some of the past seasons in the show. Introducing audiences to Goku (Colleen Clinkenbeard) and his innocent life being transformed into a chase for magical spheres that could grant any one wish. All this is kicked off when he meets Bulma (Monica Rial). One the way, they meet Yamcha (Chris Sabat), his pal Puar (Brina Palencia), Oolong (Bryan Massey) and the one and only Master Roshi (Mike McFarland). Together this crew of characters end up coming across a heavily frustrated community where a little girl named Pansy (Cherami Leigh) asks for help as the ruler, King Gurumes (Jeremy Inman) wants nothing but blood rubies. Written by Toshiki Inoue who worked with Akira Toriyama before and directed by Daisuke Nishio in his first credit put together a feature film that's alright for shear initial curiosity.
Readapted by Sean Teague who mainly does voice acting, made the English dub as good as it can get. Unlike other animes later like Pokémon or Sailor Moon which attempted to connect the movies to each season to make a flowing story, it seems like making truncated versions was the method here. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense as it just tells the story already seen through the show with different alterations. For one, when the third season ended Goku had only defeated muscle tower of the Red Ribbon Army. If the movie was supposed to recap parts of this, it did not. Just to the end of season one for the most part. To some, perhaps that's okay. Some scenes from the show are redone with minor changes as not every single character that appeared in the show appeared here like Chi-Chi (Goku's future wife).
The voice acting to this feature is a mixed bag even for the latest English redub. The plus side is some of the well-known North American cast have redone their lines. Actors like Chris Sabat and Mike McFarland make the film feel that much closer to the show. However, for whatever reason Stephanie Nadolny was not available to do kid Goku and Clinkenbeard filled in who is not exactly the best. Yet she's voiced kid Goku and Gohan versions in dragon ball before. Other actors like Monica Rial is sort of close to Tiffany Vollmer but doesn't quite get there. Similarly, Bryan Massey sounds sort of like Brad Jackson's way of speaking but not completely. It's disappointing that the complete cast from the show could not completely return, as consistency is what keeps fans coming back.
The visuals to the film are what one would expect from the show level of quality. It is a feature film but like many others, an extended episode or special of sorts. Minoru Maeda as animation director keep things looking decent except for one obvious scene in the beginning where a scene change happened right over an existing shot which was surprising. Cinematography was also in play from Motoaki Ikegami which for animation films doesn't make a whole lot of sense since there was no digital 3D modeling of any sorts yet. Lastly, the other good aspect to the film was the score provided by Shunsuke Kikuchi. There is absolutely nothing that beats classic dragon ball film score and Kikuchi's themes nail it.
As a first feature, it recaps some of the events of the show but mainly up to the first season even though by the time it was released, the show finished its third. Animation and music are spot on. And some of the voice acting is appreciated because it is the most widely known voices, while the others are less desirable but not bad.
