Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. Since 1986, there have been 24 theatrical films based on the franchise, including 21 anime films produced by Toei Animation, one official live-action film, and two unofficial films.
Background Original run (1986–1996)
During the franchise's original broadcast run (1986–1996), Toei produced Dragon Ball films rapidly, in some cases twice per year, to match the Japanese spring and summer vacations. Seventeen films were produced during this period—three Dragon Ball films from 1986 to 1989, thirteen Dragon Ball Z films from 1989 to 1996, and finally a tenth anniversary film that was released in 1996, and adapted the Red Ribbon arc of the original series. These films have a running time below feature length (around 45–60 minutes each) except for the 1996 film, at 80 minutes. These films were mostly alternate retellings of certain story arcs involving new characters or extra side-stories that do not correlate with the same continuity as the manga or TV series.
These were generally screened back to back with other Toei films for that season as special theatrical events in Japan. The first through fifth films were shown at the , while the sixth through seventeenth films were shown at the . By 1996, the first sixteen anime films up until Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995) had sold 50million tickets and grossed over () at the Japanese box office, making it the highest-grossing anime film series up until then, in addition to selling over 500,000 home video units in Japan.
While the majority of these films were only screened in Japan, Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992) and Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995) were both screened in the United States in 2006 to promote Fusion Reborns dubbed DVD release that year.
Live-action film (2009) A single live-action adaptation of the series, Dragonball Evolution, was released in 2009. The film only vaguely adapted elements from the franchise and made worldwide against a production cost of . It received a 15% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 3.5/10, amid criticism for its plot elements, acting performances, and whitewashing.
Sequels to Evolution were planned. James Marsters, who played King Piccolo, said that he had signed on for three films and expressed interest in making as many as seven in a 2009 interview with IGN. However, due to the critical and commercial failure of Evolution, no sequels were ever produced. The rights to any further live-action films are currently owned by the Walt Disney Company after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox. Evolution remains the only licensed live-action film in the franchise, though two unlicensed films were released in the early 1990s.
Animated revival (2013–present)
The franchise returned with Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013), the first animated film since 1996, and the first produced with the involvement of Akira Toriyama. The film—a sequel to the original series—became the franchise's most successful at the time and was received well by critics, earning an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Unlike the classic event circuit films, those from 2013 onwards were developed with an international theatrical release planned from the beginning by 20th Century Studios (previously known as 20th Century Fox). Battle of Gods was followed by Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' in 2015. The second film introduced Jaco to Dragon Ball, a character who had debuted in Toriyama's spin-off manga Jaco the Galactic Patrolman in 2013. These two movies were adapted on Dragon Ball Super, with the plotlines from the two films forming multi-episode arcs early in the show's broadcast.
Later movies would adopt the Super moniker, beginning with Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018), which grossed more than worldwide. As of May 2023, the film is the 20th highest-grossing anime film of all time. Resurrection 'F''' and Broly hold approval ratings of 83% and 82%, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes. A second Super film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, was released in 2022, earning over worldwide. The film is the most critically successful in the franchise to date, earning a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Films
Animated English title Directed by Written by Animation directed by Theatrical release American release Antagonist Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies Daisuke Nishio Toshiki Inoue Minoru Maeda King Gourmeth A retelling of Dragon Ball's origins, this is a different version of the meeting of Goku, Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha. They are all looking for the dragon balls for different reasons when they cross paths with an evil king named Gurumes, who is also looking for the dragon balls. The events of the movie take place in place of the Emperor Pilaf Saga of Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle Daisuke Nishio Keiji Terui Minoru Maeda Lucifer Goku and Krillin are given an assignment by Master Roshi to retrieve the sleeping princess from Lucifer by which he accept them as his students. But the mission proves to be more perilous than originally thought. The movie takes place at the start of Goku and Krillin's training under Master Roshi. Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure Kazuhisa Takenouchi Yoshifumi Yuki Minoru Maeda ShenTao Goku and Krillin attend the World Martial Arts Tournament for fun, which is hosted by Emperor Chiaotzu. Bora and his son Upa attempt to hide the dragon ball they found from the emperor's forces, which are under the control of the evil Shen and General Tao; and Bulma conducts her own search for the dragon balls with the help of Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong. The movie seemingly takes place during Goku and Krillin's training under Master Roshi. Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone Daisuke Nishio Takao Koyama Minoru Maeda Garlic Jr. Garlic Jr. kidnaps a young Gohan so that he may use the Dragon Ball on his hat to wish for immortality. Now Goku and his friends must rescue Gohan from Garlic Jr. and his minions. Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest Daisuke Nishio Takao Koyama Minoru Maeda Dr. WheeloAfter Dr. Kochin frees Dr. Wheelo's lab with a wish and kidnaps Bulma, it's up to Goku and friends to defeat the scientists. Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might Takao Koyama Minoru Maeda -TurlesTurles, a Saiyan pirate, plants a tree to absorb all life on Earth, leading Goku to stop the former from using the tree. Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug Mitsuo Hashimoto Takao Koyama Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru & Masaki Satô Slug Lord Slug uses the Dragon Balls to restore his youth. Now it is up to Goku and his friends to stop the newly rejuvenated Slug from taking over the Earth. Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge Mitsuo Hashimoto Takao Koyama Minoru Maeda Cooler Cooler comes to Earth looking to avenge the death of his brother Frieza. Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler Daisuke Nishio Takao Koyama Minoru Maeda Metal CoolerCooler returns to take over New Namek, so Goku and his friends must deal with him once more. Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! Daisuke Nishio Takao Koyama Minoru Maeda Android #13Dr. Gero's computer creates three new androids to kill Goku, Now the Z Fighters must deal with them. Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan Shigeyasu Yamauchi Takao Koyama Tadayoshi Yamamuro BrolyAfter being invited to a New Planet Vegeta, the Z Fighters come into conflict with Paragus and his son, The Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly. Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound Yoshihiro Ueda Takao Koyama Tadayoshi Yamamuro BojackBojack and his gang invade a martial arts tournament after being sealed away, now Gohan and the Z Fighters must stop the aliens. Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming Shigeyasu Yamauchi Takao Koyama Tadayoshi Yamamuro BrolyBroly survives his defeat and returns to take down Gohan, Goten and Trunks. Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly Yoshihiro Ueda Takao Koyama Tadayoshi Yamamuro Bio-BrolyAs a scientist clones Broly making it merge with a bio-fluid, Goten, Trunks and Krillin must deal with the creature. Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn Shigeyasu Yamauchi Takao Koyama Tadayoshi Yamamuro JanembaA monster Janemba invades the other world as Goku, Vegeta and Pikkon deal with it while Gohan, Goten and Trunks save the city from some past enemies. Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon Mitsuo Hashimoto Takao Koyama Tadayoshi Yamamuro Hoi HirudegarnA hero trapped in a music box warns the Z Fighters about an approaching evil beast who wants to stop them. Dragon Ball: The Path to Power Shigeyasu Yamauchi Aya Matsui Tadayoshi Yamamuro Commander RedAssistant BlackA retelling of the original Dragon Ball merging elements from the Pilaf and Red Ribbon sagas. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods Takeo Ide, Yōsuke Yabumoto, Ryō Ōnishi, Toshiyuki Kan'no, Masahiro Shimanuki & Yūichi HamanoTadayoshi Yamamuro (chief) Beerus When the God of Destruction Beerus reawakens, he ventures the universe for the prophesied Super Saiyan God which leads him to Goku. Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' Tadayoshi Yamamuro Akira Toriyama Tadayoshi Yamamuro Takeo IdeKōji NashizawaYūki HayashiMasahiro ShimanukiMiyako TsujiKōdai Watanabe Frieza After his army resurrected him using the Dragon Balls, Frieza vows revenge against Goku by leading a second invasion on Earth. Dragon Ball Super: Broly Akira Toriyama Naohiro Shintani Miyako TsujiYūya TakahashiYukiko NakataniTakeo IdeNaoki TateKōdai Watanabe Broly Following the Tournament of Power, Saiyan survivors Broly and his father Paragus are rescued by the Frieza force and join Frieza in his revenge against Goku while Paragus vows revenge against Vegeta due to his history with Vegeta's father, King Vegeta. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Akira Toriyama Chikashi Kubota Hideaki ManiwaNaohiro Shintani June 11, 2022 August 19, 2022 Red Ribbon ArmyGamma 1Gamma 2Cell MAX While Goku, Vegeta, and Broly are busy training with Whis, Piccolo and Gohan must defend the Earth from a new resurgence of the Red Ribbon Army.
Live-action
English title Director Writer American release Japanese release Dragonball Evolution James Wong Ben Ramsey April 10, 2009 March 10, 2009 In Dragonball Evolution, a young Goku discovers his past and sets out to fight the evil alien warlord Lord Piccolo, who wishes to gain the powerful Dragon Balls with his assistant, Mia, and use them to take over Earth.
Unlicensed films English title Director Writer South Korea release Dragon Ball: Son Goku Fights, Son Goku Wins Ryong Wang Akira ToriyamaSeok-hun Yun December 12, 1990 The young warrior Son Goku goes on an outrageous quest to acquire seven magical orbs, along the way beating up evil persons who want to steal the orbs for their own ends. English title Director Writer American release Taiwan release Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins Chun-Liang Chen Ching-Kang YaoAkira Toriyama June 13, 2000 November 1991 An evil alien searches the Earth for seven "Dragon Pearls" which can grant him ultimate power. A gang of misfit adventurers band together to stop him.
Reception
In commemoration of the release of the 20th film, an official online poll asked 6,000 Japanese fans to pick their favorite film in the franchise. The top five films were (from first to fifth): Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler.
Critical response {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" | Film ! scope="col" | Rotten Tomatoes ! scope="col" | Metacritic |- ! scope="row" |Dragonball Evolution| 14% (63 reviews) | 45 (10 reviews) |- ! scope="row" |Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods| 89% (9 reviews)
! scope="row" |Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'| 83% (18 reviews)
! scope="row" |Dragon Ball Super: Broly| 84% (57 reviews) | 59 (6 reviews) |- ! scope="row" |Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero| 95% (58 reviews) | 65 (12 reviews)
Notes
References
External links Dragon Ball'' on IMDb