Movie: Dragonball

[Sapphire]

They could at least try a little harder to make the costume look cool. It looks like someone made it for a high school sewing class. And I hope that pic is of him posing instead of acting lol.. *cries*

"What's this orb of light? .....It's pretty!!!!! *gawkkkkkkkk*"

[Assassin]

spirit bomb?

I swear, if i see lightning comming out of the kamehameha, i'll be pissed.

[Shadow Skill]

That faerie looking guy who plays Goku, looks nothing like Goku. (As far as I know, The Saiyan-jins are Asian (Chinese). :P

Considering the story is based on the Monkey Mythology of China. :/

I'll keep waiting for the day Japan or China gets it right and creates the first real DBZ movie.

[Animeniax]

He also wasn't Asian. I thought we'd already been over this.

Having said that, I also think he seems a little thin for me, but I guess since this is "Dragonball', Goku should still be young and inexperienced. He wasn't really muscley until DBZ anyway.

It was discussed, but no resolution was made about his ethnicity. I think the arguments for his Mongoloid roots were stronger than any arguments that he's Caucasian.

If this was Dragonball, he'd be a little kid still. I think this movie falls in between what happened in DB and DBZ, kind of like Smallville for Superman. So Goku wouldn't need to be buff, but he also shouldn't be a scrawny puke.

[sangai]

not impressed at all, im pretty dissapointed with the film so far, it doesn't even look like there trying at all to keep a basic appearance theme, im not askin for a super ripped body but come on "oh lets just moose the hair" i know i know gokus hair would be insane and unbelievable, but if they fuck up how picollo looks then to hell with this film.

so far the film is lookin like a 2 outta 10...

[Sapphire]

At least they didn't use fake-ass disgustingly ugly wigs like in Forbidden Kingdom.

I'm still keeping up hope for this movie, but I ain't paying for it. I'll either movie hop, or download rofl. I'm going to cry if the cosplay Youtube vids are better than this..

[Munsu]

It was discussed, but no resolution was made about his ethnicity. I think the arguments for his Mongoloid roots were stronger than any arguments that he's Caucasian.

It doesn't need any resolution. He's an alien, that's all that matters so his ethnicity should bare no relevance here. He could be played by a white guy just the same as an Asian guy and it shouldn't matter. No one has argued that he's Caucasian and no one should, just that there's no reason to believe he HAS to be Asian, like you're making it out to be.

As for his shape, well I would like to see him without a shirt. Who knows, maybe he's in good shape. No Hulk Hogan buff, but in a decently toned way appropiate for a martial artist.

Better quality:



By your account, Saiyajin aliens have to be of Asian ethnicity:




If by chance, Goku being the alien he is, landed and was raised in a place that would ressemble the United States, you wouldn't be bunching up your panties about him being portrayed by a Caucasian even though where he was raised has nothing to do with his ethnicity. Yet again, you have some wierd fetish about Asian people, so you probably would still be complaining about useless shit like this.

[Animeniax]

I'm not the one having a hissy fit about this shit, so why don't you unwind your panties and loosen that bra while you're at it (sorry to any females here for the chauvinism). We're just having a friendly discussion about our visions of how this movie should portray our beloved characters, we don't need any high-handed nannying about whether or not we have the right to expect something from the movie.

It doesn't matter where Goku landed on Earth, but as stated before, there are clear indicators that regardless of what planet he came from, his family was from that planet's equivalent of an Asian race, meaning the landmass might be called something else, but physical traits and cultural aspects coincide with the people who are referred to on Earth as Asians (not including Pakistanis/Indians). So how much effort would it have taken for the producers to cast an Asian lead? They could even have chosen a halfer or a full Asian who looks gaijin white. It would be more true to the spirit of DB, which is what most of us hope they preserve with this movie, the spirit of the show, if not every detail. And before you say it, Goku being Asian is not a detail.

[Munsu]

I'm not the one having a hissy fit about this shit, so why don't you unwind your panties and loosen that bra while you're at it (sorry to any females here for the chauvinism). We're just having a friendly discussion about our visions of how this movie should portray our beloved characters, we don't need any high-handed nannying about whether or not we have the right to expect something from the movie.

It doesn't matter where Goku landed on Earth, but as stated before, there are clear indicators that regardless of what planet he came from, his family was from that planet's equivalent of an Asian race, meaning the landmass might be called something else, but physical traits and cultural aspects coincide with the people who are referred to on Earth as Asians (not including Pakistanis/Indians). So how much effort would it have taken for the producers to cast an Asian lead? They could even have chosen a halfer or a full Asian who looks gaijin white. It would be more true to the spirit of DB, which is what most of us hope they preserve with this movie, the spirit of the show, if not every detail. And before you say it, Goku being Asian is not a detail.

I'm only having a "hissy fit" because pretty much every post you've made in this thread has to do with Chatwin not looking Asian enough. Even when the topic has long been dead about it, you bring it up once again. What about finding something new to complain about the movie instead of beating around a dead horse?

[sangai]

whats it matter, fuck at this point even if they choice a black dude, if he fit the part better i wouldn't god damn care.

just honestly im just feeling a huge let down, this is B quality film at best..maybe lower...

[Death BOO Z]

So how much effort would it have taken for the producers to cast an Asian lead? They could even have chosen a halfer or a full Asian who looks gaijin white. It would be more true to the spirit of DB, which is what most of us hope they preserve with this movie, the spirit of the show, if not every detail. And before you say it, Goku being Asian is not a detail.

That's just being Anal..
Goku is the main charecter, so they chose an actor they think is best for the job. they can't go browsing between actors and pull out someone who's "Asian but white enough"...

so goku was supposed to be asian (be it china, japan or mongol) becuase of his literal origin (monkey king), his recent origin (being created in Japan by a japanese) or whatever.
you can also say that they should have brought a girl to play him, since he was voiced by a female in the original series.

the cast for Chi-chi is perfect, she didn't look so cute since.. forever. but i don't like the cast of Bulma, at least without any major make-up changes...

[Animeniax]

That's just being Anal..
Goku is the main charecter, so they chose an actor they think is best for the job. they can't go browsing between actors and pull out someone who's "Asian but white enough"...

This is a major motion picture with presumably a big budget. Of course they're going to take the time to find the perfect actor to portray the lead character in the movie. The fact that they chose Chatwin shows they either didn't care about the source material, didn't care about keeping fans happy, or it would seem, the success of the movie.

Look at Kung Fu, the TV series. The producers selected David Carradine to play Caine because he was a white guy with an Asian look and they figured that would appeal more to a Western audience (or so it was claimed in Lee's biopic, Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story). But that was 1972. You'd think by now and considering the subject matter and source material, that a Hollywood studio would think an Asian guy could play a role like this and make it a successful movie.

If you think studios don't have time or the inclination to pick the right guy for a part, consider this tidbit about Kevin Gage, the actor who played the relatively minor role of Waingro in the movie Heat: auditioned for his role in Heat (1995) over an intense three month period that included eleven script readings with the director before he finally secured the part. I guess the producers of the DBZ movie don't have that kind of attention to detail. They just want to bank on the loyalty of fans to lap up whatever toilet water production they put in your bowls.

[Yukimura]

His shirt doesn't even look orange This is it, I'm submitting. This movie is only meant to bring the 'spirit' of Dragonball to the big screen, not the implementation we remember from the manga or anime and I shouldn't expect any more than that.

What I'm wondering about now is what themes from Dragonball the producers of this movie actually perceived to be the 'spirit' of franchise. If they just saw stuff like good vs evil and coming of age and being 'different' yet having to overcome one's difference to 'save the day' through belief in yourself and your friends then I can't really fault the movie for not looking anything like what I envisioned a Dragonball movie might look like. I would just fault it for being a generic teen angst + action story.

I think it likely they saw the crazy fighting and magical attacks and maybe even the silly Goku antics as fluff that fans wouldn't really care about as much as the story of a boy (or teen) coming to terms with his place in the world while searching for magic balls with new and old friends while trying to escape an evil menace. If that's the case then I think this movie is already doomed to mediocrity because there's nothing particularly special about those themes and without something 'different' like the Dragonball universe to add flavor why bother going to see a story we've already seen dozens of times in other movies.

[Assassin]

i'll say here and now, i will not be going to see this movie. at most i'll dl a shitty cam, cuz it doesnt even deserve a decent quality file.

The only exception would be if my some miracle the movie turned out alrite, and the fans (true anime fans, not idiot gr 5 kids) loved it. but since i dont see that happening, i highly doubt i'll be seeing it.

[XanBcoo]

the fans (true anime fans, not idiot gr 5 kids) loved it. but since i dont see that happening, i highly doubt i'll be seeing it.

So by "true anime fans" you mean "true DBZ fans", right?

I can't imagine what kind of anime fan besides a junior high student would find DBZ amazingly intelligent and captivating. The only thing it has going for it for our generation is the nostalgia angle.

Which is good enough for me. My standards were set low for this thing from the start, so I'll watch it.

[Shadow Skill]

In that Ad/banner for DBZ, the kid portraying Goku looks sad, depressed and pathetic...

I do not remember Goku looking like that in any part of the Anime or Manga. :/

[Assassin]

So by "true anime fans" you mean "true DBZ fans", right?

i suppose so...i just meant people who actually know what anime is besides dbz/narooto/yugi-oh/digimon etc. nowadays theres a lot of 5-10 year olds who are technically anime watchers....as well as thier slightly older counterparts in middle school we'll watch it just becase its dbz and love it despite it being a piece of shit.

[Sapphire]

I'm starting a boycott if they try to appeal to the emo population like they did in Horton Hears a Who..

Also, I don't care if the dude is Asian or not, the people in the Anime weren't even necessarily Asian (to hire unneededly based on race rather than talent is just stupid), I mean I remember people having green hair and crap. All I want is good actors with kickass directing and good graphics. Costumes just seems to be a gimme, but they already failed at that so I dunno. I need a trailer at least.

[rockmanj]

Yea, I don't really think Goku's color is that big of a deal, especially seeing as there were all different types of Sayians of varying shades ( I mean, they're aliens, and who says that their ethnicities are equal to those of humans, so who cares?) But the film looks like what Yuki said...some boring coming of age story; which actually makes me care less. The thing I don't get is Chow Yun Fat as Roshi. He only looks to be like in his 40s, plus he's in pretty good shape...they couldn't find some old decrepit guy?

[XanBcoo]

I think it's easier to get a talented and physically fit young guy to act old than it is to get an old guy to act 30 years younger.

That's assuming Roshi fights in this movie, which I assume (because of the casting decision) he will.