Doragon bôru Z 1: Ora no Gohan wo kaese (1989)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Daisuke Nishio

Writers:

Takao Koyama (screenplay)
Akira Toriyama (character)

Release Date:

15 July 1989 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Sci-Fi | Fantasy | Action | Adventure

Plot:

In order to wish for immortality and avenge his father, Garlic Jr. collects the dragon balls, kidnapping Goku's son Gohan in the process...

Plot Keywords:

Explosion | Martial Arts | Anime | Violence | Revenge

Cast

Peter Kelamis	...	Goku / Master Roshi (voice: English version)
Sean Schemmel	...	Goku (voice: English version)
Saffron Henderson	...	Gohan (voice: English version)
Stephanie Nadolny	...	Gohan (voice: English version)
Terry Klassen	...	Krillin (voice: English version)
Christopher Sabat	...	Piccolo / Kami / Shenron (voice: English version)
Scott McNeil	...	Piccolo (voice: English version)
Tiffany Vollmer	...	Bulma (voice: English version)
Sonny Strait	...	Krillin (voice: English version)
Dave 'Squatch' Ward	...	Garlic Jr. / Ginger (voice: English version)
Paul Dobson	...	Nikki (voice: English version)
Kyle Hebert	...	Ox King / Narrator (voice: English version)
Don Brown	...	Sansho (voice: English version)
Cynthia Cranz	...	Chi-Chi (voice: English version)
Mike McFarland	...	Master Roshi (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Dead Zone (short title)
Dead Zone: The Movie (Australia)
Dragon Ball Z 1: Return My Gohan! (literal English title)
Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (USA)

Runtime:

44 min | Japan:50 min | USA:41 min (TV version) | USA:45 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:12 | USA:Unrated | Australia:PG

Company:

Bird Studios

Trivia:

When Cartoon Network aired this movie, they edited all uses of the word "Hell" and removed the opening, pre-credits scene. But since the pre-credits segment sets up the rest of the movie, Piccolo's line "I'm gonna pay you back for what you did to me!" no longer makes sense.

Goofs:

Plot holes: In the beginning of the movie Kami says that Piccolo has died. However if this is true then Kami himself should too be dead as they share the same soul.

Quotes:

Piccolo: Goku... this time I'm gonna finish you off for good!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Meteor (2007) (VG)

Beautiful animation, often dragging plot

This is the first movie of the Dragon Ball Z TV series released during the series' Japanese TV run. In the debut DBZ movie, it re-tells how Gohan discovered his hidden powers. The movie's premise is about the adult Goku rescuing his four-year old son Gohan, whom has been kidnapped by a demon, who lives on the Makyo Star, named Garlic Jr., in order to obtain the four-star Dragon Ball worn on the boy's head. Garlic Jr. uses the Dragon Balls to wish for immortality. Soon enough, Kami (God) descends to Earth and reveals to Goku that Garlic Jr.'s father was a bitter rival, competing for the Kami throne, whom was sealed up by the preceding Kami after Garlic Sr. and his army of demons attempted to take the throne by force. Kami also reveals that Garlic Jr.'s plans are to seek revenge for his father's exile. Goku, Kami, and Krillin team up with Goku's old enemy, Piccolo, to stop Garlic Jr. from sucking the Earth into his own personally-created black hole known as the "Dead Zone". This movie, mirroring the action-fighting tone of the Dragon Ball Z TV series, is more serious that the trilogy of Dragon Ball movies, which focused on light-hearted comedy. The high points of the movie are the animation and the movie's hilarious inserted musical sequence "Tenka Ichi Gohan". The low points of the movie is that it drags a little from time to time, despite the short 45 minute length of this movie.

GRADE: 2.5 out of 5