The first of the Dragon Ball Z movies could be one of the best. Unlike most of the other movies, this movie actually took place in the DBZ universe, around the time when Gohan had just turned 3 or 4. The fight sequences in this movie are the best in the whole series and the atmosphere contributes to the whole Chinese mythical thing more than the series did. Overall, a very impressive movie with one problem. It's too freakin' short! 45 minutes ain't enough! At least the movie is good. If it wasn't, that 45 minutes of my life would be a total waste.
Same characters that are in the Z series. A few new ones inculde Garlic Jr.: a decendant of a dark prince who has been granted immortality. Ginger, Nicky, and Sansho: Garlic Jr.'s minions. That's about it though. Of course, the most vibrant character in the movie is Gohan. He breaks into a song because he gets drunk in the middle of the movie. The song is funny, and what he does while he sings it is even funnier.
Yes, it's pretty much standard DBZ animation, with a few nice extras. The chinese atmosphere makes the whole thing have a golden look that looks cool (if Goku went Super-Saiya-jin in this atmosphere, it would look hella cool). And at the end of the movie, when the sky shatters, you won't believe your eyes. It is such a cool effect.
It has a better story than most of the other DBZ movies. It goes like this: A long time ago, Piccolo (or actually Kami and Piccolo before they separated) competed with an evil person named Garlic to earn the throne of Kami. Garlic was sealed away forever when he released his army on Earth because he didn't get the throne (what a sore loser). Now, his son is carrying out his mission for him. Garlic Jr. first killed Piccolo, then gathered the Dragon Balls (what an idiot! Piccolo is connected to Kami who is connected to the Dragon Balls! If he killed Kami, he wouldn't be able to use the Dragon Balls in the first place!) in order to wish himself to be immortal. This required a visit to Goku's place. They took Gohan and the Dragon Ball. Goku flew over there on his Kintoun but failed to make it before Garlic wished himself immortal. You want to know the rest? Go see the movie.
Wonderful, just amazing. When Piccolo enters, that catchy tune comes out (you know: DUN DUN dun dun dun DUN) and the rest of it is just too good. Not much to say about the music except it's good.
All the fruit is in the dubbed version. Literally. Overall, the voices are good, except for a few. Peter Kelamis sounds like a 13 year old boy going through puberty and surfing at the same time. He does Goku horribly in this one. Also, Kame-Sennin's voice, David Ward, sounds like he's constantly constipated. Where's the Ian Corlett we all know and love? The rest of the voices are good though. Piccolo's voice, Scott McNeil, is just too perfect for Piccolo. But, one scene out of the whole bunch really disturbed me. GINGER BREAD, TUTI FRUITY, PEPPERONI! These are the disturbing yells made by Garlic Jr.'s henchmen in the dubbed version. Now compare that to the subbed version. Well, I know the Pepperoni one is supposed to be Unagi (Eel Rice). The Tuti Fruity is supposed to be Nodami (Cough Drop). I forgot the Gingerbread one. I have to watch the subbed version again. That's about it for the dubbed version. Overall, it was okay.
