So why is it that people have to turn all these cartoons into live action stuff?

[I.R Joey]

I mean we've seen a rash of it. He-man, DragonBall Z, and others? It's like they couldn't stay animated or something.

[BourgeoisBuffoon]

Short answer: The people who make these decisions are idiots.
Long answer: I dunno....but we could use the short answer. To tell the truth, I thought DBZ was all animated.

[I.R Joey]

There was a live action version.

[Scythemantis]

When was there a live-action DBZ or He-man!!????

[Split56]

Are you serious? A live DB action movie? That's freakin retarded. I've never heard of this so it must be some low budget flick.

[Joe Tully]

There was a He-Man movie made in the late 80s. It is called "Masters of the Universe" It is not very good, but you can probably find it at a local video store or rental place. It is also on TV from time to time.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by I.R Joey
I mean we've seen a rash of it. He-man, DragonBall Z, and others? It's like they couldn't stay animated or something.

The search for a marketable franchise with pre-sold appeal. The biggest part of the movie audience is teenage boys, and so the studios churn out film versions of properties that can be demonstrated to have a built-in appeal to that demographic.

Can everyone say "Lara Croft: Tombraider"?

[Vin]

Originally posted by BourgeoisBuffoon
Short answer: The people who make these decisions are idiots.
Long answer: I dunno....but we could use the short answer. To tell the truth, I thought DBZ was all animated.

There was a live action DBZ movie. I read about it too, although, I've never seen it. Try planetnamek.com, they may have some info on it.

[Calhoun07]

The people who turn cartoons into live action movies to get a larger audience are also passing around statistics that "proove" Osmossis Jones failed at the box office because of 2-D animation. They seem to think making the live action movies will get more people attracted to the shows, but it just repels old fans and further confuses potential converts. I just wish they would give us great animated features of these movies with the budgets they blow on lame live action movies.

[JustJack]

The Masters of the Universe movie was just bad. It is somewhat enjoyable on a few levels..but really. I read an article that said "Mattel's only real "must" for the movie, is that the characters had to closely resemble their cartoon counterparts". While I guess most of the important characters looked right, the rest were totally off. Teela for example. Man at Arms looked about right, but I still prefer his animated green & yellow over the all black army suit.

As for Dragon Ball the movie...2 words. God Awful. Planetnamek.com has a full summary, and I think they are very right on. Basically, the fight coreography could have been better. The overall plot, just wrong. And the characters didn't look like their animated counterparts. Also, It'd be important to mention, the energy blasts were all "drawn on" to the film, and it's sooo obvious. Not good cinema. But, on the other hand, if you have a sence of humor, and you're not one of those daffy "DB Purists", then you'll at least find this movie hallariously good. It's just one of those "so bad, it's funny" movies.

[Nightwing]

I'd say the short answer would be the masses of executive morons who think they know what I like because they've done some analyzing and they've been to school. They say "well hey, since animation is only for kidies, let's make this for a much broader audiance! I'm an idiot!"

And I wouldn't mind seeing that Dragonball live action movie. I too would be in for a good laugh. I can't believe Akira Toriyama actually went for that though...

[Split56]

Originally posted by Nightwing
And I wouldn't mind seeing that Dragonball live action movie. I too would be in for a good laugh. I can't believe Akira Toriyama actually went for that though...[/color]
Toriyama probably just approved it. And why not make a little more money?

[Calhoun07]

I could not hardly be any worse than the live action Fantastic Four movie, could it?

[BourgeoisBuffoon]

F4 live action sequel...?
Okay, that does it.
I officially have NO reason to have faith in Hollywood to make anymore good movies! First bad sequels (see the Disney topic), now crummy live action movies!
I guess there WAS a reason I never went into a movie theater for years until recently...now I have a good excuse not to go NEXT summer...better start racking up those years again.:(

[Jowy Blight]

Toriyama probably just approved it. And why not make a little more money?

He shouldn't have, because it stunk, It was based on Dragonball. Here's what it said on Planet Namek:


This movie has all the makings of a campy cult favorite amongst the DB crowd. The dubbing is downright awful, but the script seemed better written than anything FUNimation's writers could ever write. Maybe they could take a lesson in translations from this; it's sounds like a pretty accurate translation from the original Chinese. As for the VAs, they weren't that awful. It's obvious that it isn't the original voice but a few of them worked, especially for the heroes. The main attraction with this movie, as in the anime and all kung-fu movies, is the fight scenes. Sure, the ki blasts were drawn into the scenes and it was clearly evident that the actors were on harnesses for flying and high jumps, but there's enough slapstick in them to add to the humor of the movie. But, as with any cheesy kung-fu film, the shortfall is the special effects. The spaceships that the villains use are drawn on to the cels, as are the previously mentioned ki blasts, and Turtle Man's Magic Cloud. All in all, "Dragonball" isn't a very good movie for those who are into eye-popping special effects and great acting, but it's great for a good laugh and a fitting tribute to Akira Toriyama-sama's anime and manga classic, even if it is "Mystery Science Theater 3000" material.

In other news, DBZ movie 5 will not be released in theaters.

[RockItShipper]

The live action DB movie's available on region 2 (i.e. Euro) DVDs. Saw it in a video game store while in Rome this past week. Can't believe that there's no fansubs for it here, tho'. What, with it being a mix between the oft-bootlegged SW Holiday Special and oft-fansubbed DB saga...Oh well, after I'm done watching my new anime tapes, I'll be sure to ask while I pick up the 2nd GT tape (Trunks in drag! Trunks in drag!)

[Scythemantis]

I only just now remembered SEEING the he-man movie...I must have blocked it out of memory ;)

[Frozen]

For fear of being howled at derisively, I quite liked Frank Langela as Skeletor and Meg Foster as Evil Lynne. Skeletor was really hammy/OTT (as he should be!), and Meg Foster not only has lovely eyes, but she also has thighs to die for...

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by Sting chameleon
I only just now remembered SEEING the he-man movie...I must have blocked it out of memory ;)

Ya know, the original series boasted Paul Dini, D.C. Fontana, and J. Michael Straczynski on its writing staff. Too bad the movie (which I never saw but know by rep) wasn't written by them. Or, (who knows?) what great luck for them!

[Calhoun07]

With the recent discussions about He Man on this thread, I looked up some He Man resources on the web, and found Bruce Timm drew the original mini comics. Now, I know this isn't news to some of you out there, but it sure did surprise me. I hated He Man in the 80s and did not save those comics at all, but now I could just kick myself to the ground. To know I once had early Bruce Timm art in my hands and got rid of it....oh, hindsight is always 20/20, I guess.

[Frozen]

What? Bruce Timm? Wow! I have boat loads of those comics lying around! Wa-hoo!

[The Mad Hatter]

From what I remember from interviews, Timm didn't have much artistic freedom in his He-Man work. He griped that the studio and the toy company always wanted him to pile on the detail in the characters, which would make them animate like crap. So I don't think He-Man will bear much resemblance to his Batman...

[Mr. Obsession]

Originally posted by Maxie Zeus
Ya know, the original series boasted Paul Dini, D.C. Fontana, and J. Michael Straczynski on its writing staff. Too bad the movie (which I never saw but know by rep) wasn't written by them. Or, (who knows?) what great luck for them!

Dini, Fontana, & Straczynski? :eek:

And here all my memories of He-Man remain nothing more than poorly written toy commercials. Oh well, I guess everyone has to start out somewhere.


Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio were also writers for the series.

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by The Mad Hatter
From what I remember from interviews, Timm didn't have much artistic freedom in his He-Man work. He griped that the studio and the toy company always wanted him to pile on the detail in the characters, which would make them animate like crap. So I don't think He-Man will bear much resemblance to his Batman...

No, it certainly doesn't look like his animated art work, but if I am not mistaken, the He Man comics were drawn before he developed the specific style used in the animated series. Still, even tho he had certain guidelines to follow for the artwork, it doesn't look like a hack job by any stretch of the imagination, and I think you can certainly see a specific Timm style come thru the art.