Dragonball: Evolution is the live-action motion picture based on the popular Japanese manga created by Akira Toriyama. Toriyama's work spawned best selling graphic novels, videogames and a phenomenally successful television series.
The manga, series and games bring to the new film a rich mythology and exciting, complex characters—all of which have captivated millions of fans, of all ages, around the globe. One of the greatest manga franchises ever created, Dragonball has an enormous online fan base and is consistently one of the most frequently searched-for terms on Google and Yahoo!
Dragonball has exploded into a global phenomenon that has generated more than four billion dollars in merchandising sales. It is considered the gold standard of anime-based video games, with more than 25 different games and over ten million units sold since May 2002. The series—500 episodes strong—posted top ratings in Europe, Asia and the U.S.
The
motion picture Dragonball: Evolution features a cast of rising young stars
and veteran acclaimed actors. Justin
Chatwin takes on the role of the heroic Goku, a powerful warrior who
protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent
on dominating the Universe and controlling the mystical objects from which
the film takes its name.
Emmy Rossum
is Bulma, a beautiful woman intent on retrieving the
mystical Dragonballs for her own reasons; Jamie Chung is Chi
Chi, a young martial artist who captures Goku's eye; and screen legend Chow
Yun-Fat is Roshi, the Master who guides Goku
on the young man's epic quest to save the Earth from the forces of darkness.
James Marsters is Lord Piccolo, whose return could signal the Earth's destruction; international performing sensation Joon Park is Yamcha, a charismatic "bad boy" whose schemes could thwart the heroes' journey; popular Japanese actress Eriko is Mai, an assassin who works with Piccolo; Ernie Hudson is Sifu Norris, a Master and contemporary of Roshi's; and Randall Duk Kim is Goku's grandfather Gohan, whose lessons for Goku begins to prepare the young man for the monumental tasks that lie ahead.
Many of these actors underwent a rigorous training regimen under the auspices of the premier stunt performance company, 87Eleven, which has executed or designed some of the biggest action pieces ever seen on film, in pictures such as The Matrix, The Bourne Supremacy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and 300.
Dragonball: Evolution is produced by legendary filmmaker Stephen Chow
whose best known films as an actor, director and screenwriter—Shaolin
Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle—have featured a unique blend of martial arts
action, CGI and comedy. The director is James Wong, formerly an executive
producer/writer on the noted genre series The X-Files, Millennium and Space: Above and Beyond, and the co-writer/director of the big-screen hits Final Destination and Final Destination 3.
Ben Ramsey penned the screenplay based upon the
graphic novel series Dragonball by
Akira Toriyama. The Shonen Jump Comics
division of the Tokyo-based publishing house Shueisha is the publisher of the Dragonball manga.
Dragonball: Evolution is currently being screened in cinemas nationwide.