From Gen Fukunaga, Executive Producer and President -- October 3, 2000:
Thanks for all your interest in DBZ. There are some commonly asked questions which I would be happy to answer to keep you updated.
· MOVIES: We have certain exclusive rights to allow us to acquire the remaining movies but negotiations with the Japanese on this matter take a very long time. We have been negotiating for 12 months and we still have no idea when we will get them. As you may know, the two TV Movie/Specials ("The Trunks Story", "Bardock: Father of Goku") are being released direct to home video this year (personally, I think these are totally awesome movies).
We are in negotiations with some major studios for a theatrical launch in 2001. Most likely, we will utilize a "double feature" of movies 6 and 7.
· HOME VIDEO/DVD: Our plans are to continue to release DVD (which includes subtitle, original music, uncut footage, original Japanese audio) of all episodes past 53 as well as any movies we get so long as we can meet a bare minimum sales level. We have no plans for VHS subtitle releases because sales are dismal for these. Pioneer controls home video rights to episodes 1 – 53 and the first 3 movies so we are not doing anything with these titles.
· VIDEO GAMES: We are in final negotiations on video games for multiple platforms with a major video game publisher. The hold-up is trying to obtain approvals from Japan.
· ILLEGAL GOODS: We are trying to aggressively stop illegal items including full episodes on the web, "fan subs" whose purpose is to make profits, black-market products, etc. We have launched multiple law suits in this regard.
· ENGLISH DUB: Viewer Response: In general, the overwhelming response to our dub and new music has been positive by the audience which views Cartoon Network.
Voice Actors: We do not plan to use Freddie Prinze Jr. at this time. We do not plan to change our existing voice actors. We have not yet cast the voice of teen Gohan (nor any other actors after the Cell Saga).
· HISTORY: FUNimation started in 1994 through my love of Japanese animation. I remember religiously watching "Space Battleship Yamato" when I was living in Japan as a youngster. Due to Hollywood's "not invented here" attitude, Japanese animation had huge hurdles to overcome. Thanks to the help of many people, we were able to meet with TOEI and we immediately became interested in Dragon Ball. So we raised investment funds and started the company.
· FUTURE: We plan to move to Dragon Ball GT after DBZ and we also want to find a way to give Dragon Ball exposure as well. But, these shows can not be heavily promoted today because the retailers do not want the confusion in the market place of having 3 similar products simultaneously.
Regarding other anime, we are trying to acquire as much good anime as possible and I hope to announce something in the next few months.
As for characters I like, some of my favorite characters include Goku in Dragon Ball (innocent but tough), Android 18 (sexy and self-confident), Pilaf (funny), and Oolong in Dragon Ball (funny). Also, Piccolo and Vegeta's dry sense of humor are great and Bulma has a lot of spunk and is fun.
We welcome any fans to visit our offices in Fort Worth.