Dragonball Z: The Live-Action Movie
 

Yes, it's finally happening! Here's proof (courtesy of WorstPreviews.com):

CHUD got their hands on a casting notice for the upcoming live action "Dragon Ball Z" movie, which describes most of the characters we are to expect. In addition, the site learned that James Wong (Final Destination, The One) will be writing and directing the new film for 20th Century Fox.

The goal is to begin filming in November in Montreal, with the studio already budgeting over $100 million for the pic.

So all you Dragon Ball Z fans can relax! It will happen!!! :frankiesmile:

Oh jeez, it's really happening? I don't really have high hopes for this movie but it should certainly be fun to keep an eye on its development. Who knows, I could be pleasantly surprised with a good kung-fu type movie. ;) I hope that they get Scott McNeil as Piccolo.

Please make an over nine thousaaaaaaaaand reference in the script... XD

You know I was really hoping that this one would stay dead. Excremental shows can only yield hideous movies in my mind. No offense to anyone who does like the show.

I take offense at the use of the word "excremental" as I hold DBZ in the utmost HIGHEST of regards and don't appreciate it being associated with that word's meaning. I am beyond excited to hear this and I am finally happy that this show is getting the LIVE treatment.

It is an excellent anime series with enough visuals that could capture a whole new generation of fans with this release, it could also bomb but I don't knock anything until I try it. From what the cast list at CHUD indicates, this will take place actually before DBZ, towards the end of DB in the Piccolo saga.

I know there will probably be some changes and it won't absolutely be 100% accurate to the show (but then again, every movie based on something has the same things so I'm not worried). Praise the lord and THANK YOU! :bendy: This fan cannot wait to see DBZ in the way it should be, silver screen style.

i like the show, alot of people do. but a live action movie? ok, i dont have high hopes for this. it'll be waterworld all over again

Why can't Hollywood just use original ideas instead of adapting everything that they assumed would be big hits?

Anyway, I'm going to just skip watching the adaptation of the anime.

Because no producer in Hollywood wants to take that risk. You forget, Hollywood is still making original ideas it is just that producers are not accepting original ideas. Original scripts for movies come out every day and are being written by writers every day.

The trouble is that people don't want to invest their money into a project unless it is a guaranteed hit. That is why they remake movies, buy TV shows and turn them into movies, because it makes it easier for people to associate with those shows and films because they already know them.

Thus, producers don't have to worry about people feeling iffy about going to movies they are not familiar with. Face it, originality isn't dead it's just that business is alive and kicking a lot harder. Making movies means making money and sadly people don't want to invest 100 million dollars into something unless they are sure it's a smash hit.

It's a sad truth but it's the real truth.

I'm now only concerned about who's going to be playing who. This is going to be interesting! :bloogrin:

Heh me as well. This actually isn't the first time word of a DBZ live action movie has existed, years ago there was a huge buzz over a fake poster and a fake LIVE Piccolo image popped up over the web. More specifically, the big thing people wanted to know was who would play who, like you said FF.

There was a "list" that came out listing most voted and favored actors to play the DBZ characters. I don't agree with nearly any of them except for a couple, and Goku's choice: Robin Shou (Mortal Kombat's Liu Kang). For some reason I think that's PERFECT casting but that's me. Here are other choices fans voted on years ago:

Vegeta: Jet Li, Ray Park
Piccolo: Wesley Snipes
Bulma: Jessica Alba
Android #18: Camerian Diaz
Krillin: Danny Devito
Chi, Chi: Eliza Dushku
Master Roshi: Dana Carvey
Frieza: Vin Diesel

Now down here are the ones that I DO agree with that people voted on:

Nappa: Bill Goldberg
Trunks: Leonardo Decaprio
Android #17: Joseph Gordon Levitt
Yajirobe: Jack Black
Tien: Orlando Bloom

I read somewhere that someone suggested Hugh Jackman as Goku.

That is true, supposedly when they started doing this he was originally cast as Goku and he was fired just as quickly. Of what I understood, Ray Park, Jessica Alba, Hugh Jackman, and Bill Goldberg were the only celebrities who were actually confronted and MOST LIKELY to have discussed these roles.

While most of the names are just hearsay, those I listed above had the best chance of being accurate. They also mentioned rumors of George Lucas doing the special effects while Dean Devilin (producer of 1998 Godzilla, Independence Day, Day After tomorrow) was going to pay for the film.

The original rumored film was supposed to start in the Saiyans saga, going straight through Raditz and stopping after the defeat of Vegeta to set up the Namek/Frieza saga. But if the casting sheet for this accurate DBZ movie is correct, were going way back to Dragon Ball to Piccolo's father and PILAF.

I recall seeing Mai being mentioned in there and Mai was apart of Emperor Pilaf's little gang of villains so we might even see him in there as well.

To me it looks more like they're doing Dragon Ball with Pilaf's gang but replaced Pilaf with Piccolo. This movie certainly does have a chance for greatness but I can see the purists and hardcore DBZ fans (wich there are a lot of from what I hear) are going to rip it apart every step of the way. This is starting to sound like Transformer all over again, and that movie did very well.;)

Well don't forget, that casting list was strictly for the primary actors they are looking for. Pilaf also had a dog like sidekick named Shou and I personally think the reason we didn't see them listed is possibly because they will be brought to life through different means.

Such as puppet displays or CGI. I don't think there going to bother hiring midget actors to play them so I think CGI or something will be the next logical step. Also don't forget that it was Pilaf who originally released Piccolo Daimiou from the Mafuba jar. Or perhaps they will tweak it and just have Mai appear.

I am also a hardcore DBZ nut but like Transformers, I won't have any problems or be so uptight to object to inevitable changes. So long as they don't completely butcher the characters personalities or appearances so drastically that we can't identify them, I think I'll be just fine.

But for anyone who is skeptical about a live DBZ movie I suggest you do as I do, wait until you see it before you knock it. Every movie based on a comic, anime, toon, or TV show is faced with skeptical looks and quips. Wait until you see some images, cast updates, and most importantly, a trailer.

I think people judge things too quickly before they see anything produced by the movie, and 9 times out 10 most people who hate the films they hear about change their mind once they get a glimpse of the trailer.

I agree. When I go onto YouTube, I see comments on the Get Smart trailer about how 'it's going to be like an American version of Johnny English', which really annoys me considering that I did enjoy Johnny English, and that Get Smart is no different to it! :frankiemad:

Thing is, there's already been a live action DB movie that was done years before. And it was utter trash. Even though it was low budget, I don't think it could have been helped having been trash even if it had a humongous budget.

Here's the thing: I adore Dragon Ball Z. I grew up watching this series. But I don't want a live action movie, because no matter who they cast (and, incidentally, no American actor can hope to correctly portray any character in that series realistically well) and no matter what the expense, it just won't go over well.

For one thing, I feel putting it in live action takes away part of the magic of the series that was made through Toriyama's artwork. In my mind, it NEEDS to be animated, otherwise it simply won't work, as I feel many of the combat sequences would seem extremely awkward in live action. I just don't feel it can be done very well, let alone by an American studio and by American actors. This is a complaint I also have with the Neon Genesis Evangelion movie that keeps popping up, and again this is something I have an argument against: having a primarily American cast portraying primarily Japanese characters simply doesn't work in my mind. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't. And the list of voted on actors, though unlikely they'd get/go for the roles, are simply terrible. None of them would truly work very well, and I couldn't imagine any of them in those roles.

Really, there are only two anime/manga franchises I can think of that could work if a movie was made by an American company: Cowboy Bebop and Hellsing (and even then, preferably a movie based on the OVAs and manga and not the godawful TV version with Incognito). There are a few other animes I could see being made by an American studio with American actors, but very, very few.

So I love DBZ, but I hope this project gets scrapped.

The thing is though it WON'T get scrapped, it's highly unlikely considering the fact they have a casting list and a director announced. The thing is while I can relate to you worrying about them butchering the show, the fact of the matter is if you followed that kind of formula we wouldn't have ANY movie based off anything.

No character can truly 100% accurately depict a character in a movie version of a book, cartoon, or comic book but it's just being shameful not to at least try. You will never get perfection and to be honest, I don't want perfection. No one wants to see a show translated completely to the big screen without changes.

Otherwise, you just watching the exact same thing, you need the differences and the changes. Granted some changes work better then others, I think it's too great an opportunity to ignore simply because they can't "portray Japanese". Dragon ball Z has a universe of powers, aliens, and worlds akin to Star Wars.

And if Star Wars can be accomplished, so can Dragon Ball. Also in regards to that Japanese Dragon Ball movie, I bet my life that there is NO WAY IN HELL they will blow it as badly as that movie did. Dragon Ball Z is one of the big top 3 famous world wide known anime in the US (other 2 being Sailor Moon and Pokemon).

I think they will do this movie at least some justice because of the popularity of DB here in America, DBGT alone did WAY better here in the US then it did from Japan so that already shows you different nations reactions. I also believe that this is good because it will help make people more aware of DBZ.

It generates interest into things people are not familiar with, like V for Vendetta or Hellboy. I knew nothing about either of those series and yet the movies inspired me to read up a little on them. Dragon Ball is an amazing story with an incredible cast of characters and the BEST fighting scenes ever.

Considering I've seen plenty of US movies depict some of the greatest fighting sequences in RL, I can only imagine how a DBZ fight can look on the big screen. And on top of it all, no one is forcing you to watch it Nathander. The film does not have to be junked to avoid it, you simply don't pay to go see it.

Movies don't hold you at gunpoint hostage, people choose to drive to the theaters and pay to see them and if what you see from DBZ's live movie upsets you then don't see it. Making this DBZ movie will not kill my love for DBZ nor will any fan die from the film itself so don't stress over it.

In regards to Hellsing, I loved the TV version and Incognito as I think he is one of the few cool anime villains that don't come from DBZ (DBZ has the BEST anime villains I've seen compared to any other series).

I think the major concern people have is how to portray all the signature DBZ action in a live movie. Flying, shooting energy blasts, and powering up with a fiery aura and golden hair could end up looking very goofy.
I would feel bad if they use the Matrix movies as a template for the fighting. All the Matrix effects have become so cliche'd and almost a parody of itself. The fight in the third Matrix film is a good example. It was hard not to laugh when the characters were flying around and duking it out. But that's just me, I'm sure many people loved it.
I'm not a big DBZ fan by any stretch, but I would like to see this movie done well. The series has a huge and devoted following and deserves to be done justice. There is the chance that it could end up being the break through movie of the decade. Like Mr.M said, we just need to wait for a trailer to get an idea of how it's coming along.

I agree, and I don't ask for perfection. I simply ask that they at least make the cast they assign believable when in comparison to the source material, something I just don't see possible with an American cast. However, there are indeed stories I'd like to be portrayed on the screen without too many changes due to how wonderful the story presented by the actual author is, but that's just me.

It's not necessarily not just because they aren't Japanese, but the fact that I can't imagine a single American actor in any of those roles, as well as keeping the same names of the characters. It just doesn't add up, and it asks for the audience, especially those familiar with the source material, to make too much of a suspension of disbelief.

As for the reference to Star Wars....what's your point, exactly? That several stories can be told in that universe? I agree. However, this still doesn't change the fact that this movie will most likely have an unsuitable cast, as well as an unsuitable script and director. Unless the argument your making is that they could make entirely new characters and cast to fit an American cast, at which point why bother to even call in Dragon Ball Z?

I never said it couldn't be accomplished; I simply said it couldn't be accomplished well. Look at Star Wars: Episodes 4-6 were wonderful, but 1-3 were some of the worst tripe ever printed onto film.

And of course there's a chance that they can blow it. In fact, there's a much higher chance they'll blow this even worse then the original Japanese movie. While we now have much better graphics, this still doesn't change the fact that the American film is being written by an entirely different culture then the source material, and thus might have a completely different view from the original manga/anime, which could ultimately ruin the spirit of it. The original Japanese film was trash because it was low budget and camp; this will be trash because, despite it's high budget, it will practically have to use a cast unsuited to the characters they'd be playing, and the film may very well lose the spirit and sense of wonder of the comic.

And just because something is well known and well respected and loved doesn't mean that it'll be given a good movie adaptation. The Final Fantasy game series, for example, is well respected and love, and the first film treatment it got was terrible, and the second (based around FF VII) was only eye candy with utterly nothing else going for it. Being loved and respected does not guarentee quality when it is adapted into a film.

Which is especially sad, as DBGT was a terrible series. Toriyama himself was disgusted with it, as it was a continuation of his story that he had no part in and that he hadn't wanted to continue. While it has it's moments like any story, that doesn't change the fact that DBGT was an insult to DB and DBZ fans. Maybe this just goes to show that American consumers are more willing to watch something that's terrible, but I hope that isn't the case.

And I highly doubt there's many people except for those in their forties who don't know what DBZ is in this country by now.

Unfortunately, the V for Vendetta comic surprised those who saw the movie first, as both are fairly different. And that's the thing that bothers me: when stories are changed so much in their adaptations that they no longer become the stories they were adapting. I haven't read Hellboy, so I can't comment on that though.

I agree the cast is remarkable. However, while the story is entertaining, from the perspective of a fiction writer it's fairly bare bones and basic. It's hardly something new or inventive, and has a tendency to be bare or especially simple in plot. Despite this, it makes itself endearing due to the likeable characters and Toriyama's art. It is hardly a great story, though the story is still entertaining.

As for the fight sequences....while wonderful, there are several anime they have surpassed DBZ by this point in terms of the details of fight sequences, such as Bleach and Hellsing Ultimate.

I'm not saying there aren't good fight choreographers and stuntsmen; there are several, and many of them are magnificent. It's just like what Medikor says, though; I have a hard time picturing real life humans performing the actions shown in the anime due to how outrageously goofy it would look.

And so, despite being a fan of the series, when I say I have no intention of seeing this film I have to immediately stop commenting on it? I have no idea where I said I was being forced to go see this film, and I didn't say it had to be junked in order to be avoided. I'm simply saying that it will be a calamity, and that I have no intention of paying to see it.

Neither did I say this movie would kill my love for the series; I'm simply lamenting the fact that it's being put in less then capable hands for the material, as well as the fact that its not a show you can realistically ADAPT to the movie screen in live action. Nor am I stressing over it being made: rather, I'm simply stating my opinion on how I feel it will end.

My problem with Incognito is that he came off like a bad fanfic villain while in comparison to the villains of the actual manga and the recent OVA series. He was basically just an inverted version of Alucard. Alucard has pistols with blessed bullets, Incognito had chainguns with bullets infused with black magic. Both are vampires, and both are controlled by humans. In the end, Incognito gains the abilities of fusing with Set, which put him slightly on par with Alucard. Like the entire series after episode 6 (the Valentine Arc), the original Hellsing series became less an adaption of the manga and more a bad fanfiction based around it with meaningless new characters (the only good one of the original characters added to the series being Helena) and a convoluted plot about Super Produced Vampires.

The original series of Hellsing is guilty of several more crimes against the original series, such as changing the deep, complex and dynamic characters of Father Alexander Anderson, Alucard, and Integra into flat, one dimensional characters, constantly changing animation studies (which is the reason for the constantly fluctuating animation quality between episodes seven to thirteen), and many more, the only redeeming part being the soundtrack. There are several other things I could say and explain, but I'll leave that for another thread, and simply say that you should buy the OVA series in order to see what you missed due to the hackjob that was the initial TV series. I had a soft place in my heart for the TV series still, despite my warring against it (it introduced me to Hellsing), but after reading the manga, it's hard to take the series seriously anymore.

As for DBZ having the best villains....well, each villain is basically exactly the same. They're all evil for evil's sake, and no other reason (except to show how strong they are occasionally, or again, simply to be evil). While they're entertaining while they're being evil, none of them are especially deep or fleshed out (except for Androids 16, 17 and 18, who really aren't villains anyway). There are several series that have better villains, such as Millennium (Hellsing), the Arrancar and Sosuke Aizen (Bleach), the Millennium Earl and Clan of Noah (D.Gray Man), Udo Jin-e, Shishio Makoto, and Yukishiro Enishi (Rurouni Kenshin), and the Akatsuki (Naruto). All of those characters are much better, fully realized villains then the villains in DBZ.

I'm not gonna pick apart what you said for several reasons:

1. It doesn't help anything.
2. Your already negatively calling the film trash and not even giving it a benefit of a doubt so that already is a step backwards.
3. I never said they couldn't blow it, I said they couldn't blow it as bad as the Japanese movie. This movie will be far from boring no matter what they do.
4. I HIGHLY disagree to GT being a bad series, I've been to several cons with people saying they liked it and I consider that a gross missassumption that American consumers like "bad taste" when what is considered bad is debatable.
Also for the record, I never found any record Toriyama saying he personally disliked GT, just that he didn't want to be involved.

Finally in regards to the villains, that one I do want to talk about because I love any talk about villain related issues. DBZ villains are not the same nor do they desire the same thing. Frieza was a monster who enjoyed killing everything that existed, he was a sadistic abomination who enjoyed that.

Cell acted quite different, he didn't mercilessly kill everyone he met nor did he originally desire to take over the world. If you recall, Cell's only mission in life was to become perfect, after that his programming came to an end and he could choose his own life. Gero never told him what to do after that.

The Ginyu Force alone are unique, original villains. Villains don't need a reason to be evil, evil never did nor has it needed a reason to be evil. There are plenty of shows that have villains that don't explain how there evil or why they do it, in fact, majority of all villains are like that.

Trigun, Sailor Moon, Digimon, Ah My Goddess, Tenchi Muyo, Sonic the hedgehog, Slayers, Blue Seed. All of those shows and more have villains who have no explanations why they are evil. Explanations are overrated anyway. Not everything needs a desire or a special origins to explain why its evil.

As I've said before, I have a hard time seeing them reasonably pull it off. If you could provide me an actual list of the actors and director for the film, I would appreciate it. I will concede that I may be quick in my put down of the film; at the same time, however, I have little to go on other than you telling me it's being done by an American group, which I can't honestly see doing Dragon Ball Z.

And, again, I said that they have a much more likely chance of blowing it worse then the Japanese film, which is true because it's an adaptation of a series that originates from a completely different culture. Whether or not it's boring has little to do with it's genuine quality.

I'm sorry, but I have a hard time comparing GT to the original series, especially because of how it destroys what Toriyama wanted to do with his own creative property. There's a fine line between taking "creative liberties" when working on a series by someone else and "being insulting to the material". By completely disregarding Toriyama's wishes concerning the series, that alone shows that they were (perhaps unintentionally) being insulting to the source material in the way they took it, as well as the fact that GT was only created to keep the money train coming that the series had started, though this backfired due to the fact of how badly the majority of the Japanese hated it.

I can't remember which one it was, but I recall reading in a DBZ magazine years ago (the one by Beckett, I think) that Toriyama disliked GT because he never even wanted the series to be created. They should have at least honored his wishes and allowed him to end the series in the way he wanted, instead of flat out refusing this.

The idea of destroying everything was also shared by Buu and his various forms as well. Also, Frieza wished to gain immortality through the Dragon Balls, which was also Vegeta and Nappa's wish. Vegeta and Nappa, when introduced, also went on slaughtering anything they came across for the sheer fact that it was something they were able to do due to their power.

None of the villains except Bibidi ever showed real interest in ruling the world, except possibly Gero though we never knew his full desires. However, Cell did slaughter basically everyone he met in the fact that he kept absorbing everything until he ran into 17 and 18. After becoming perfect, he decided he would simply kill everything in order to show his perfection. The outwardly stated reason for his evil is different then Frieza's, but his actions are still basically the same and, really, his outwardly stated reasons are just a slight cover to otherwise hide the fact that he's basically the same villain.

Bumbling sidekick villains were hardly a new or unique character type in manga.

In shows aimed at a young audience? Yes. However, villains in these shows tend to be fairly shallow, one dimensional characters except that they're usually given a form of wit or one other personality trait in order to offset them being seen as utterly shallow, one dimensional characters.

In actual literature and most animes aimed at an older audience (and more recent anime aimed at younger), villains are often given a motive and a reason, thus making them actual characters instead of vague obstacles the heroes ultimately overcome. All I'm saying is that the villains are often used only as motivational factors for the heroes to fight against instead of actual characters with genuine or differing personalities in most anime aimed at younger audiences.

Have you ever read any of the manga those series were based off of? They are, in fact, given reasons and explanations as to why they are evil, though these backstories were usually cut in the anime in order to save time and under the belief that the viewers were familiar with the source material. The exception here is Sonic, but considering Sonic was initially a video game series before being adapted, and villains in games those days were purposely only used as obstacles, the fact that reasons are not give can be forgiven.

I agree. However, I think that while it can be good to have villains who don't have an explanation for simply stories, I don't think it can be denied that giving an explanation can improve the story at times, as it makes the villain more of a character that people can get to know instead of just viewing him/her as some obscure obstacle.

I don't read the manga nor do I ever plan to because this isn't about the books, it's about the anime and from what I know of manga and anime, they can be two VERY different shows. I also don't really care how well or worse a show did in Japan compared to here because I don't live in Japan, that has nothing to do with me.

The Japanese hated Samurai Pizza cats, I loved it. I don't care what was changed and I don't care the fact the Japanese hated it, all I know is I liked what I saw and therefore I like it. Same goes for GT. I don't really care why it was made or how it was done or how the entire nation of Japan felt about it.

I liked what I saw and a lot of people I have spoken to seem to agree. Dragon Ball GT develops certain characters that got zero development in DBZ such as Uub, Pan. Plus, GT extended on the shows timeline, they didn't just ignore everything that happened and changed characters names or personalities.

Had they changed any of that, then I might be mad but regardless how Toriyama was involved or not involve, I still liked what was done just like how I will give this LIVE movie the chance to impress or upset me depending on what comes out. I don't go into anything with a negative mind at all.

The reason immortality was a desired wish was because of fear, something that is quite interesting for villains who supposedly are "one sided". Frieza was not that cut and dry, for a guy who felt he was god he sure didn't act like it. His fear of the Saiyans and the possibility of them overthrowing him shows he's not 100% sure.

Why else would he desire the dragon balls for immortality unless the notion of someone one day killing him could exist? Vegeta desired immortality to overthrow Frieza because he KNEW Frieza destroyed his life and his race, Vegeta is more then domiantion and power, it's also pride and patriotism.

Patriotism for his race, Vegeta started out as a villain and he's proven to be far more complex then the average bad guy. Villains don't HAVE to be pure evil either. The Ginyu force comical factor doesn't change the fact they were killers or the fact they had all intention of killing Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan.

Villains can be stupid, goofy, and polite and it's that unique mixture of qualities that makes villains unique. Take Nappa for example. He was NOT pure evil, he showed signs of compassion, friendship, and guilt. He felt bad when Vegeta killed his Saibaman, he felt guilty about killing off the Arlians, and he felt hurt when Vegeta betrayed him.

What kind of one dimensional villain who is cut and dry shows compassion for things? Even if it was for the briefest of moments, the fact Nappa said them showed that he was not pure evil and that there was something noticeably more to him. Same with Cell, Cell killed those people for food, not pleasure.

Granted he enjoyed it, his desire was not pleasure but survival, that's why he ran from fighting the Z fighters and hid his power level, to survive. When he became Perfect Cell he could have easily killed Mr. Satan and his cronies but he didn't, he also could have easily killed everyone in the news room he invaded.

If he was just a flat, one dimensional character he probably wouldn't have shown signs of restraint or holding back. Majin Buu was pure evil, he had NO reason for the way he was, he was totally and uncontrollably evil and I am referring to the real Buu, Kid Buu. All other forms were caused by his absorption of others.

But the pure Buu had no reason for his behavior and don't tell me Bibidi made him that way because if he had any influence over the development of Buu's emotions, he would have made him obey his master willingly which NO form of Buu did. That's another DIFFERENCE in the villains, not all killed their master.

17 and 18 killed Gero, Cell wouldn't have and I doubt 16 would have either. The Ginyu Force liked each other and were upset when one of their own died. These hardly sound like typical old, paper thin villains who show characteristics that usually your average villain would show nothing of the sort.

Huh. I suppose I have to go back on my previous remarks, as it would appear you proved me wrong about my statements about the villains.

However, your initial statement makes it look like you think that anime series and the manga that inspires them are two completely separate things. You really can't treat it as such. Personally, to have a full enjoyment of a series, I feel you have to have a good deal of knowledge with both the source material and the adaptations, but that's just me and I don't necessarily ask others fully think as I do.

When I watch any series as vividly and enjoy it as passionately as I do DBZ, you pick up on these little things. They may seem inane but they end up proving to be defining characteristics of the character. Same with the good guys, these little things they say and do reveal more about who they are then one realizes.

As far as the manga, I don't think they are totally 100% different but from what I have heard and read about they are different. I know Cell for example is referred to as a an "It" and not a male as the show does. I also know Garlic Jr. never existed in the manga since neither the movies nor the Black water mist arc came in there.

Same with Trigun. I read certain members of the Gung-Ho guns were never in there such as Chapel the Evergreen and Caine the Longshot. I also read Gray the 9 lives was not a robot in the manga and he was like 5 midgets or something standing on top of each other. I mention these to point out the differences.

I don't compare things or like to compare things because I know that all people do is look for the negatives in comparisons. I love Dragon Ball for what it is and even though it may have come from the manga and came from Japan, the way I have seen it is the way I have always loved it.

At times it can seem like though they are totally different versions of the same story, and at times it can seem like the exact same thing. But as Aerostar Monk knows all too well, it's not a big deal to me what was changed unless I know the source material extremely well (and that RARELY happens).

And even when I do, I judge things as they are not what they are not in comparison to the comics or manga or whatever they are based of. When the Spider man movie came out, I knew more then the average movie goer did about Spider man but it didn't bother me what was changed because I judged it as a movie.

Same with the Willy Wonka movies. I saw both and grew up on the original Gene Wilder one, yet I still loved the new one and found improvements that I enjoyed better then the first, and I found things that I liked better in the old one too. My point is I like both of them for different reasons.

I get different things out of each movie regardless where it came from or WHAT it came from. Of course that's just me.

I just assumed that he wanted to live forever, thus, rule the universe forever. I like Frieeza, he's my favorite DBZ character along with Raditz. They made such strong first impressions. Raditz may have hardly been in the series but he certainly stole the show while he was in it. :D

Well people usually do desire immortality to live forever however of the people in DBZ who have desired it (Vegeta, Frieza, Garlic Jr.) most have done it to ensure that they cannot die. Frieza feared the Saiyans, no matter how much he likes to mock and degrade them, he wiped out their whole planet and race for a reason.

He was fearful they might overpower him and I find it way too convenient that Frieza went after the Namek dragon balls after hearing about the Earth dragon balls over Raditz's transmission. Frieza knew Vegeta still existed and knew Vegeta harbored ideas of vengeance in his head towards him.

Frieza didn't want to die, as powerful as he truly was his experience with the Saiyans is proof enough that he knows people can one day become stronger then him. Plus the fear of the Super Saiyan is another testament to his fear of being killed by Saiyans, knowing how dangerous one of those could be in RL.

Raditz is actually one of the cooler characters and a lot of people don't give him much credit. In truth, he started everything, it was because of him that the chain of events that turned into the series occurred in the first place. It was Raditz who broke the ice to everyone about Saiyans existing and Goku's true nature.

He started everything and it was his clever use of transmitting Piccolo's statement about the dragon balls through his scouter to Vegeta and Nappa that brought them to Earth and thus lead them to Frieza going to Namek and so on and so forth. Sadly, Raditz wasn't very well liked by anyone it seemed.

Nappa is an elite Saiyan and Vegeta is a royal elite, while Raditz is a low class Saiyan along with the rest of Goku's family so it makes sense Vegeta wouldn't care about Raditz even though he was one of the last pure blooded Saiyans left. Low class Saiyans are also the only ones who still get weak when their tail is pulled.

Nappa and Vegeta didn't share this weakness and another funny trait about low class Saiyans is that they don't have 100% control as Oozarus (giant monkey forms). Low class Saiyans cannot speak, control, or remember what they do as Oozarus. Vegeta however could speak, think, and remember everything he did.

My favorite DBZ villain is Cell :DI absolutely love that guy, he's even my favorite anime villain of all time. If the movie ever gets to his saga depending on the movie's success, I would LOVE to see how he is portrayed. Just for the sake of seeing Cell on the big screen.

Most of the time I see people say that they don't like Raditz "because he's so weak!"::) I really get the impression sometimes that a lot of the DBZ fans only like the strongest characters. I'm sure that's not the case though.
I always thought it would have been neat if Raditz survived and stayed a prominent character. I used to hope that Goten, wanting to know more about his uncle, gathered the balls and wished him back. But then it would probably just end up being too similar to the Gohan and Piccolo dinamic.8D
I always liked Piccolo and I hope he's done well in the movie. My favorite DBZ movie that I've seen is "Dead Zone". I love the atmosphere and music. And I like how the energy blasts are kind of kept a little less over the top. That may just be because it's still very early in the series, but I like it nonetheless.:D

Sounds more like a fan fic idea then a show plot point Medi 8D. But don't take the "weakling" comments to heart, because in a way that is a pretty shallow statement. Every villain at some point becomes weak. Look at Frieza, he was virtually indestructible and the most powerful villain of all time, now he's considered weak.

The Androids surpassed him, and Cell surpassed the Androids, and Majin Buu surpassed Cell and so on and so forth. Every villain at some point becomes weak because the Z fighters train themselves hard enough to be stronger to face each new foe, thus, what was once the strongest villain ever becomes second rate.

It's just a natural progress of power levels and its not limited to just Raditz. I loved "Fusion reborn" seeing all the villains escape from Hell, and Gogeta battling it out with that uber bad ass bad guy Janemba. But my favorite movie, number one for sure is the 2nd DBZ movie "The World's Strongest".

Like you said about Dead Zone, I loved the music in world's strongest. Plus the villains were so unique in this movie, even more so then the usual ones. Those bio-fighters had such outrageously weird powers and Dr. Wheelo was such a weird bad guy to fight, a giant brain in a souped robot suit.

At least Frieeza got his happy ending through a "what if" bonus ending in the DBZ Budokai game.8D
So I started thinking the other day about the inevitable appearance of Hercule/Mr.Satin in the potential sequels. He could be one heck of a funny character if they find just the right guy to play him. I've heard some people suggest Randy Savage but that doesn't quite sit right with me.

Actually he was one of the many sources that inspired the character of Mr. Satan. The whole macho, wrestler personality was adopted from wrestlers like Randy Savage and of course obvious American references.

It's not too much of a stretch really.

I never knew that. That's pretty funny, actually.8D

Sadly (and hilariously) Mr. Satan is in fact a representation of everything that is America (or according to them). The fact he's a loud jack ass who thinks he's the strongest in the world, how he always gets credit/glory, the afro hairstyle, the Macho Man Randy wrestling moves, and the fact he's called "Mr. Satan".

It's Japan's way of saying we are the devil, and were big mouthed morons who act like were god. In a way it's the ultimate insult but the character turned out to be so popular and people enjoyed him so much, his part was expanded even longer through out the Majin Buu saga.

If they do make more DBZ movies and eventually get to Mr. Satan's part, seeing him on the big screen would be worth the ticket price alone 8D.

A release date has been set! August 15th, 2008!!

As well as that, Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) will star as Goku, while James "Spike from Buffy" Marsters will star as Piccolo.

Shephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) will produce the movie.

I know I am SO FREAKING PSYCHED!!! I'm not 100% sure on their choice for Goku but then again, this is a young Goku were talking about so it's not too surprising they'd choose someone of that age and physical range.

Marsters however I think is a genius choice. I think he could do wonders with that role and loving his previous work on Buffy and Smallville, I expect he'll do a great job. I also am really interested to hear all the fighting coordinators they've got.

They got fight trainers/coordinators and stunt people from Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Matrix movies, Kung Fu Hustle, The Bourne Supremacy, Shaolin Soccer, and The 300. I'm feeling better about this movie each time I hear something new.

The guy who directed Kung-Fu Hustle is directing DBZ? This could turn out to be one pretty good movie then.:D

Actually, James Wong director of Final Destination is directing this movie. The producer of Kung-Fu is paying for this movie I believe.

Hmm... I think I would rather it have been the other way around, but with all this talent involved in this film in one way or another it really has a ton of potential.:D

I think this movie is going to kick ass. Even if its not done properly, there's no way in Hell this movie will be boring to watch. DBZ is many things but a boring anime it is not, there's no fighting quite like it in any other anime series or movie in existence.

I also just read that in keeping with official ties, the movie is now just being called "Dragon Ball" dropping the Z. Which means they are paying attention to the story more then I thought and starting the movie series with Goku fighting Piccolo (Jr) and not his father Damien/Daimou.

I actually think this is a smart move as the original Dragon stories with the likes of Emperor Pilaf, the Red Ribbon army and Goku as a child would be a hard sell to a major motion picture series. Meaning that assuming this movie gets a sequel (which I'm almost positive it will) will start into Z with Raditz and the Saiyans.

...

what, they thought we only built 2 nukes and then just never cobbled more together? Watch out, Land of the Rising Sun...watch out...

8D

I never saw War of the Worlds, as I avoid any film with Tom Cruise in it like the plague, so I can't comment on Chatwin. As for Marster...I honestly think he would make a better Vegeta then Piccolo, but eh.

I still don't have exceedingly high hopes for the movie, which is unfortunate because I love the series and am watching through it for the first time in years. Which is an interesting experience, because I'm noticing subtleties in it that I hadn't noticed as a child, especially (oddly enough) involving the minor characters of Raditz and Nappa. Really, I'd kind of like it if someone would start a DBZ thread in general, if just to talk about it.