Digimon: The Movie is a 2000 anime science fiction action film produced by Saban Entertainment and distributed by 20th Century Fox as part of the Digimon franchise. The film utilized footage from the short films Digimon Adventure (1999), Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! (2000), and Digimon Adventure 02: Hurricane Touchdown!! (2000), while the film's events take place during Digimon Adventure (1999–2000) and Digimon Adventure 02 (2000–01).
Production commenced in 2000 after Fox sought to bring a feature film to the Digimon franchise. Only three seasonal short films were produced for the series in Japan, which Fox was contractually obligated to produce as one cohesive film by Toei Animation. Due to the drastically different plots and budget restraints, more than 40 minutes of scenes from the individual shorts were cut to save time and introduced several changes in tone, dialogue, and plot. Owing to the number of changes made, it is considered an original work by the press.
Digimon: The Movie was released in the United States on October 6, 2000, by 20th Century Fox and was a moderate box office success, grossing over $16 million worldwide (equivalent to over $29 million in 2022) against a production budget of $5 million. Despite negative critical reviews, the film had a more positive reception from both fans and audiences, and has since garnered a small cult following.
Plot
Angela Anaconda short
Angela Anaconda and her friends line up to watch Digimon: The Movie, but Nanette Manoir and her friends cut in line and Mrs. Brinks blocks her view of the screen. Angela imagines herself Digivolving into Angelamon to defeat Mrs. Brinks and Nanette, before the audience all realize they are in the wrong theater and leave.
Eight Years Ago
Tai and Kari Kamiya find a Digi-egg that appears from their computer, which hatches and Digivolves into Agumon. Agumon wanders into the night with Kari as Tai pursues them. The neighborhood watches as a Parrotmon hatches from a second Digi-egg in the sky. When Parrotmon attacks Tai and Kari, Agumon protects them by Digivolving to Greymon. When Greymon is knocked out, Tai reawakens him with Kari's whistle and he defeats Parrotmon, but, following the battle, they both disappear. Those who witnessed this would later become the DigiDestined, children chosen to protect the Digital and real worlds.
Four Years Later
An infected Digi-egg appears on the Internet and hatches into a Digimon who devours computer code, causing chaos to the world's computer systems. Tai and Izzy are warned by Gennai and a boy from Colorado named Willis, who tells them to find a way to slow the Digimon down. Their Digimon, Agumon and Tentomon, enter the Internet but are no match for the newly Digivolved Infermon. Tai tries to recruit backup, but can only reach Matt and T.K., whose Digimon are also defeated by Infermon's final form, Diaboromon.
Diaboromon duplicates himself and infects the Pentagon's computers, launching nuclear missiles at Colorado and the DigiDestined's neighborhood which will impact in ten minutes. After WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon are defeated by the multitude of Diaboromon, Tai and Matt become digital and enter their computers. Through the collective power of everyone watching, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon are revived and DNA Digivolve into Omnimon. Omnimon destroys the Diaboromon copies and Izzy, realizing that emails being sent in from people around the world watching on their computers have been slowing their Digimon down, redirects them to the original Diaboromon to freeze him in place long enough for Omnimon to destroy him. The missiles are disabled, but the same virus that created Diaboromon tracks down Willis and corrupts his Digimon, Kokomon.
Present Day
While visiting Mimi Tachikawa in New York City, T.K. and Kari witness a battle between Willis, Terriermon, and a corrupted Kokomon who tells Willis to "go back". Willis returns home to Colorado, followed by T.K. and Kari, who informs Davis, Yolei and Cody to meet them there.
Davis, Yolei and Cody hitchhike to Colorado, where they meet Willis and Terriermon on the way. Willis reveals his history with Diaboromon and that the same virus has infected Kokomon. Willis insists that he must confront Kokomon himself, but Terriermon and Davis offer him support and solidarity. In the final battle with Kokomon's Mega form, the DigiDestined are overpowered until Kari, T.K., Angemon and Angewomon intervene. Angewomon and Angemon release Golden Digi-Eggs to Davis and Willis, allowing Veemon and Terriermon to Golden Armor Digivolve to Magnamon and Rapidmon. Kokomon de-ages all the DigiDestined, and they realize that "go back" meant to go back in time to when the virus first attacked. The two Golden Digimon are swallowed by Kokomon and destroy the virus from within, killing Kokomon in the process. After bidding the DigiDestined farewell, Willis and Terriermon find Kokomon's Digi-egg on a beach.
Voice cast
Character Voice Kari Kamiya Lara Jill Miller Tai Kamiya Joshua Seth Koromon Peggy O'Neal (Botamon)Brianne SiddallMichael Sorich (Big Agumon)Bob Papenbrook (Red Greymon) Parrotmon David Lodge Mrs. Kamiya Dorothy Elias-Fahn Sora Takenouchi Colleen O'Shaughnessey Mimi Tachikawa Philece Sampler Izzy Izumi Mona Marshall Joe Kido Michael Lindsay Matt Ishida Michael Reisz T.K. Takaishi Wendee Lee (Young T.K.)Doug Erholtz (Older T.K.) Diaboromon Brianne Siddall (Kuramon)Paul St. Peter Gennai Mike Reynolds Agumon Tom FahnMichael Lindsay (Greymon)Joseph Pilato (MetalGreymon)Lex Lang (WarGreymon)Ibrahim Laleli (Agumon) Tentomon Jeff Nimoy Biyomon Tifanie Christun Gabumon Kirk Thornton Palmon Anna Garduno Patamon Laura SummerDave Mallow (Angemon, Seraphimon) Gomamon R. Martin Klein Gatomon Edie Mirman Willis Bob Glouberman Terriermon Mona MarshallMichael Sorich (Gargomon)Lex Lang (Rapidmon) Kokomon Paul St. PeterWendee Lee (little Kokomon) Davis Motomiya Brian Donovan Yolei Inoue Tifanie Christun Cody Hida Philece Sampler Veemon Derek Stephen PrinceSteven Jay Blum (Flamedramon, Raidramon, Magnamon) Hawkmon Neil KaplanSteven Jay Blum (Poromon) Armadillomon Robert AxelrodDave Mallow (Upamon)Tom Fahn (Digmon)
Production Background
Toei Animation had animation fairs every spring and summer with featurettes showcasing its current animated titles. The first Digimon short film was Digimon Adventure, directed by Mamoru Hosoda in his directorial debut and released on March 6, 1999, for the Toei Animation Spring 1999 Animation Fair. Its production preceded final decisions on the 1999 television series of the same name and was subject to several conditions imposed by the Digimon media franchise executives. The event alongside Yu-Gi-Oh! short and Dr. Slump: Arale's Surprise Burn grossed .
The second short, Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! was originally released on March 4, 2000, for the Toei Animation Spring 2000 Animation Fair and later served as the inspiration for director Mamoru Hosoda's 2009 film Summer Wars and 2021 film Belle. The event alongside One Piece: The Movie grossed . The film's ending theme song is by AiM.
was released on July 8, 2000, for the Toei Animation Summer 2000 Animation Fair. It was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi. The film was screened in two parts, with Ojamajo Doremi #: The Movie screening in between. Only four months separated the release of Our War Game! and this production based on the current season airing in Japan; Toei Animation rejected a script initially green-lighted, considered "too sappy, too depressing" and not enough "action-oriented, pop" by the Japanese studio, a dozen scripts were elaborated and presented in a hurry. The event grossed , the movie did not meet the expected reception of fans and critics. The film's ending theme song is by AiM.
Pre-production Several animation critics speculated that Fox had wanted to replicate the success of the first two Pokémon films by releasing a feature film for Digimon as well. The only films produced for Digimon at that time were Digimon Adventure (1999), Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! (2000), and Digimon Adventure 02: Part I: Digimon Hurricane Landing!! / Part II: Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals (2000), which were all seasonal featurette films. The films were originally planned to be released as separate theatrical films, until Fox settled on releasing them as a singular film.
Around Q2 1999, when production for the English dub of Digimon Adventure had concluded, writers Jeff Nimoy and Bob Buchholz were offered to write Digimon: The Movie while negotiating their contracts to return to write for the show's second season. Nimoy stated that he was concerned about combining the plot of Digimon Hurricane Landing!! / Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals, particularly because of its slow pacing and introduction of four new characters that were not in the first two films. He had proposed to Haim Saban to use the Digimon Adventure and Our War Game! and release the third film separately as a direct-to-video film or as a DVD extra. Nimoy also stated that producer Terri-Lei O'Malley suggested using Our War Game! and Digimon Hurricane Landing!! / Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals, and releasing the first film as a DVD extra or television special, reasoning that the animation style of the first film did not match the last two. However, all suggestions were overruled and they were forced to include all three films out of contractual obligations with Toei Animation. Nimoy had been disappointed with this decision, and it was one of the factors that led him and Buchholz into leaving the writing team near the end of Digimon Adventure 02s run in North America.
Writing
Nimoy and Buchholz first rearranged footage from Digimon Adventure, Our War Game!, and Digimon Hurricane Landing!! / Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals to outline the overall plot of Digimon: The Movie. As Nimoy and Buchholz noticed that Digi-eggs were a recurring image in all three films, they used that to connect their narratives. After editing the footage and sending it to post-development, they began writing the script for the film. Originally, Nimoy wanted to have Tai narrate, but since Tai did not play a major role in the third part, the role was instead relegated to Kari.
In addition, Nimoy and Buchholz rewrote Digimon Hurricane Touchdown!! / Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals to include Willis being involved in Diaboromon's creation. As the three films were respectively 20, 40, and 60 minutes long, footage was condensed to fit 85 minutes. Digimon Adventure was used as basis for the "Eight Years Ago" sequence, Our War Game! in the "Four Years Later" sequence, and Digimon Hurricane Landing!! / Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals in the "Present Day" sequence. Digimon Hurricane Landing!! / Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals was heavily cut, including a subplot featuring the older DigiDestined being captured and de-aged by Wendigomon.