Proposal for Dragon Ball Z Live Action film

[SSJ Human]

So here's the deal. I wrote out a basic outline of Dragon Ball Z live action film, which I doubt will mean anything but you never know.

It would be set during the Saiyan Saga. You would have Goku as the main protagonist with this ego at the start of the film where he brags while at Kame House that he beat Pilaf and King Piccolo and all the other bad guys so he can take on anyone, even saying, "No one can stop me from protecting Earth." That's when Raditz shows up and damages his pride in beating him with that kick, which leads to some early character development as he learns that even with his past victories there are still people out there that are stronger than him. Piccolo comes over and he basically figures that he has to set his ego aside to save his son, being slightly annoyed that he has to work with someone else to defeat an opponent. After being killed, going through Snake Way and meeting King Kai, his ego is noticed by King Kai when he mentions wanting to be the strongest he can be to make sure he doesn't lose again which he feels will endanger the Earth, but he starts considering his son Gohan as a successor when King Kai makes mention of him not always being around.

Basically this would lead to his encounter with Vegeta who would represent that ego throughout his scenes in the film and be an evil version of Goku at the start of the film.

Gohan would be the film's deuteragonist, as he trains by Piccolo and just wonders things about him such as whether or not he's still bad and starts showing acts of kindness towards him since he figured that he cannot be mean to him when he does that. Gohan would think about his parents and miss them like any other child, but resolve to keep training as a way of making sure his father does not die again and his mother doesn't die, basically putting aside his feelings for the ones he loves much like Goku does when he gets kidnapped which highlights their similarities but at the same time contrasts them as Gohan only trains to protect his family.

Only thing from the main plot of DBZ I would be up for changing would be giving Krillin a larger role than he did in the Saiyan Saga like encountering Gohan some more times before they arrive on Earth and giving Nappa the personality he had in DBZ Abridged so he can be a breakout character in the film universe and get a spin-off entitled "Citizen Nappa".

How does it sound?

[fadeddreams5]

Honestly, it sounds exactly like the manga, with the biggest difference I see being your proposal to have Goku outright brag. The thing is, in the manga, he already is cocky. Goku has an ego. You can infer this by his actions, rather than him explicitly showing off in his dialogue, which is how it should always be in a story. =P

Besides this, the Gohan's monologues (I presume), and Krillin's prominence, this idea isn't really making any departures from the manga. The question when it comes to live action DBZ is how to execute everything in a way that stays true to its source material, but also stands on its own two feet and feels authentic (i.e. translate everything from the series in a way that does not look downright goofy or campy, unless that's what you're aiming for).

[MYSTICisPOWER]

You couldn't really do the Saiyan Saga in one film, you would have to cut Nappa, (not to mention Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu probably Yamcha and the Siabamen too). Raditz and Vegeta are more vital to the story then he is. Bragging about beating Pilaf and King Piccolo is a real "uncle in Canada" writing, especially for people who don't know dragon ball which a Live Action Movie would need to assume. You need to spend time on establishing Piccolo and Goku's relationship early on or the Raditz fight doesnt really work nor does Piccolo's eventual relationship and sacrifice with Gohan. To do a single movie of a manga saga is pretty impossible and would probably not come out well. If someone wanted to remake a live action DBZ as is, it would have to be done on television at like Netflix/Sony/HBO or someone with a boat load of cash to throw around. If not that then just remake one of the Dragon Ball movies or make a new script that starts at the same point in time as beginning on Z.

If you did really want to write the Saiyan Saga into one film, take what themes and development you think are most important in the Saiyan Saga and formate the story around those concepts only cut the rest.

[Bullza]

I really don't think Gohan would work in a live action movie.

Little kids can't act anyway and Studios would never have him being beaten around by adults whether it's fantasy violence or not. Plus the sight of seeing Gohan fighting against adults is something that works in an anime but in live action would look really cheesy, it's be like watching a 3 Ninjas movie.

[Hellspawn28]

I think starting off with the Saiyan saga with the first movie could work since it's the saga of Dragon Ball that most people saw first and a lot of people would want to see Vegeta done in live action. I remember a lot of people where asking if Vegeta would show up in DBE and some casuals (the ones who know little to nothing about DB) didn't know that Piccolo was a bad guy at first.

I think doing changes like having the characters look different is the only way that DBZ could ever work in live action. Changes can be good if they are done right. King Kai could work in live action if they make him totally CG with Sean Schemmel voicing him in English (Joji Yanami in the Japanese dub of the film) or do it with motion capture with a actor that can capture King Kai's personality like Danny Devito or John Leguizamo. I will be okay with Gohan being used in the film if they can use a kid actor that can act. The biggest issue with a DBZ live action film is the budget. You would need a huge budget around $150 - $200 million or maybe a bit higher. A huge budget DBZ live action film is still too risky given how bad Evolution turn out. I think it's still too soon for another live action film to happen since Evolution is still fresh in people's minds. Maybe in 10 or 9 years from now in 2024 or 2025. By then, a lot of people would have forgotten about DBE.

[SSJ Human]

I really don't think Gohan would work in a live action movie.

Little kids can't act anyway and Studios would never have him being beaten around by adults whether it's fantasy violence or not. Plus the sight of seeing Gohan fighting against adults is something that works in an anime but in live action would look really cheesy, it's be like watching a 3 Ninjas movie.

I think he could.

I don't believe every single child is incapable of acting and I don't believe it would look any cheesier than it does in the show.

[Hellspawn28]

To me, I think any actor who can act and pull off Goku's personality matters the most in a live action film then what race he is. Fans act like Evolution would have been better if Goku was Asian. People forget that Asian actors can badly act too on film. There is also other reasons why the movie sucked besides Goku being white and not being faithful to the anime & manga. Evolution had awful acting, shallow characters with no personality or depth to them, a story that is poorly put together and CG that looks like it was made in the late 90's (1996-1999). The movie could have been different from the anime and manga still be good.

I think they just copy & past everything from the anime and manga then the movie could still suck. There should be some balance between the two.

[Videlphia76ers]

The only 2 DB arcs I could see making watchable movies would be one of the world tournament arcs or the Saiyaman arc because highschool movies sell.
Making a movie specifically starting on Z wouldn't work no matter how you spin it, it's like starting the Harry Potter movie franchise on like the 5th book or something.

[Kaboom]

I'd still do a concise Piccolo-Saiyans-Namek trilogy, with Freeza as the underlying big bad for all three of them.

[Hellspawn28]

I would end a live action series with Cell. Buu would never work in live action unless they ditch his fat form and drive right in with Super Buu. Some characters would need be cut if you want a proper live action movie to work. I'm fine with Pura and Oolong not being in Evolution and I hope they won't be in any future live action movie. Talking CG animals always look like shit. Remember how bad Scooby Doo, Garfield and Yogi Bear looked in CG? Pura and Oolong would look just as bad as those characters did. I can be okay with Chazou not being adapted into live action since his character would not translated well into live action. I would also ditch the Ginyu force since they would come off as silly and no one would take them seriously.

[ShadowDude112]

I'd still do a concise Piccolo-Saiyans-Namek trilogy, with Freeza as the underlying big bad for all three of them.

As cool as that sounds, it'd be really hard to tie in Freeza to Piccolo being evil. Just doesn't sit right. If done right, I guess it could be cool.

[Zephyr]

I'd still do a concise Piccolo-Saiyans-Namek trilogy, with Freeza as the underlying big bad for all three of them.

As cool as that sounds, it'd be really hard to tie in Freeza to Piccolo being evil. Just doesn't sit right. If done right, I guess it could be cool.

I think it would work. The trilogy ends with you going to Piccolo's homeworld.

[fadeddreams5]

I just can't see an adaptation of Dragon Ball working at all because there are certain elements (gag, designs) that just don't translate well, and the story itaelf honestly isn't good enough to be adapted, unless they go for a campy feel. They have to take a lot of liberties to make a respectable final product, but that risks an unfaithful movie like Evolution.

Really, what people want are the crazy battles and a good story, so why not an original movie set before the series that focuses on the saiyans? They can create an entire world (or worlds) and culture, and provide that over the top action people crave.

[Bullza]

I don't believe every single child is incapable of acting and I don't believe it would look any cheesier than it does in the show.

Kids in general can't act that well and were talking about a Gohan that was only 5 years old. In the series itself Gohan never seemed to be that young, he appeared a lot older than Goten who was supposed to be 7.

And cartoons and films are very different. Things that work in cartoons can look absolutely ridiculous in live action and seeing a little kid beating up and fighting ripped grown men would look idiotic I imagine.

[dario03]

I wouldn't do a live action movie. But if I was going to then I would just do it as a continuation of the story. It would be written with the assumption that you have read/watched DB(Z) but in the beginning have a explaination of the main events that happened (but mostly just to show the look and feel of the live action version). So say if Battle of Gods had been live action, that scene where Whis shows Goku fighting Freeza, I would of had that been him showing most of DB(Z) and narrating. Then the movie itself would be mostly about action and special effects because I think you could get that to translate to live action.