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Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins

Original title: Xin qi long zhu
  • 19911991
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
4.1/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)
ActionFantasySci-Fi
An evil alien searches the Earth for seven "Dragon Pearls" which can grant him ultimate power. A gang of misfit adventurers band together to stop him.An evil alien searches the Earth for seven "Dragon Pearls" which can grant him ultimate power. A gang of misfit adventurers band together to stop him.An evil alien searches the Earth for seven "Dragon Pearls" which can grant him ultimate power. A gang of misfit adventurers band together to stop him.
IMDb RATING
4.1/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Chun-Liang Chen
  • Writers
    • Ching Kang Yao(screenplay)
    • Akira Toriyama(original story)
  • Stars
    • Chi-Chiang Chen
    • Jeannie Hsieh
    • Tung-Chuan Cheng
Top credits
  • Director
    • Chun-Liang Chen
  • Writers
    • Ching Kang Yao(screenplay)
    • Akira Toriyama(original story)
  • Stars
    • Chi-Chiang Chen
    • Jeannie Hsieh
    • Tung-Chuan Cheng
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 11User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos8

    Ruan-Feng Su, Long-Sheng Jiang, and Eveline Oranje in Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)
    Tung-Chuan Cheng, Chung-Yu Huang, Tu Chin, San Peng, Chi-Chiang Chen, Jeannie Hsieh, and Yi-Juan Li in Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)
    Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)
    Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)
    Ruan-Feng Su in Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)
    Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)
    Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Chi-Chiang Chen
    Chi-Chiang Chen
    • Monkey Boyas Monkey Boy
    Jeannie Hsieh
    Jeannie Hsieh
    • Seetouas Seetou
    Tung-Chuan Cheng
    • Westwoodas Westwood
    San Peng
    San Peng
    • Piggyas Piggy
    Chung-Yu Huang
    • Turtle Manas Turtle Man
    Tu Chin
    Tu Chin
    • Sparkleas Sparkle
    Yi-Juan Li
    • Jen Jenas Jen Jen
    Ruan-Feng Su
    • King Hornas King Horn
    Long-Sheng Jiang
    • Zebrataas Zebrata
    Eveline Oranje
    • Maliliaas Malilia
    Ying-Hung Chiu
    • Jen-Jen's fatheras Jen-Jen's father
    • (as Yao Ying Hung)
    • Director
      • Chun-Liang Chen
    • Writers
      • Ching Kang Yao(screenplay)
      • Akira Toriyama(original story) (uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    The evil alien King Horn has attacked the planet Earth in search of the seven magic Dragon Pearls in order to to conquer mankind and rule the universe. He begins his plan by acquiring two of the Pearls, along with kidnapping Sparkle, a guardian of one of the Pearls. Sparkle's grandson, the Monkey Boy, now sets out on a quest to stop the King, picking up a ragtag band of comrades: the tech-savvy Y-Tou, a fat shape-shifter named Piggy, the rogue bandit Westfoot, and the aged but perverted Turtle Hermit. This gang is the only hope against the King... if they don't steal the Pearls for themselves. —Q. Leo Rahman
    live action remake of animesuperherobased on mangabased on animebased on comic book2 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The ultimate battle for the universe!
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Fantasy
      • Sci-Fi
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Chronologically speaking, this is the second live-action adaptation of Akira Toriyama's "Dragon Ball" manga (although an unlicensed and therefore unofficial adaptation).
    • Goofs
      In nearly in every fight scene, a wire is visible., most notably when Monkey Boy is flying through the Forest, the camera follows him from afar, but that white wire is clearly visible.
    • Quotes

      Son Goku: [feeding monkeys] Hey, take it easy, you guys! I'll bring you bananas every day!

    • Crazy credits
      The Ultimate Edition version's end credits feature a shot of CGI animation of Monkey Boy fighting against Westwood.
    • Alternate versions
      In the Ultimate Edition version, a majority of the special effects have been redesigned by placing CGI over them. While the opening and close credits were both extended and redone with CGI.
    • Connections
      Featured in El Reviewer Random: Super Kid (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Taiketsu no Toki
      from Fight! Iczer-1 (1985)

      Composed by Chumei Watanabe

    User reviews11

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    If you need a good laugh, then this is the movie for you.
    Man, I have never laughed at any one single movie before than the way I laughed at this one. It was absolutely ridiculous. Was the movie bad, no doubt, but it had every person I showed it to nearly crying in laughter.

    There are a lot of miscommunication here though. In the English, Dubbed version, there are numerous name changes. The real, original names are followed by the movie names:

    Monkey Boy - Goku Sparkle - Father Gohan Seito (i'm sure thats the name) - Bulma Piggy - Oolong Mrs. Knowitall - Puar Lord Horn - Pilaf Mr. Westwood - Yamcha Turtle Man - Master Roshi I can't remember chi-chi's name, but it doesn't matter

    Anyway, there is a good reason the names are translated so poorly. This is Japenese being translated into Chinese. Monkey Boy makes perfect sense. DB is based off of a Chinese legend of a Monkey-like boy named Goku after all. No one really wanted the names to be that dumb, but I'm sure there was a good reason for it.

    The effects are hilariously awful. Strings are very visible. Grenades are no-more than rubber balls. Westwood's sword seems to be rubber (lol). The Velcro on Monkey Boy's and Sparkle's outfits are visible. When sparkle is shot out of the well, the body is a stationary doll of some sort. When Lord Horn's mouth moves, the face seems like it is falling off. When Lord Horn releases the spell on all of the citizens, they are all supposed to fall, but a whole group of people can be seen standing up, looking very confused.

    The sound effects are also hilarious. It seems as though the production team was running out of money. Pac-Man noises can be heard everywhere.

    Anyway, I can't really bash this movie. I love it. It is so bad that it can make me laugh, just by thinking of it. Every time I think about the bad animations and paper airplane attacks, I can't help but crack a smile.

    I'll give it a 5 on a completely objective point of view. I would give it a 10 because I love it so much.
    helpful•9
    2
    • cwd9000
    • Mar 20, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 1991 (Taiwan)
    • Country of origin
      • Taiwan
    • Language
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • Dragon Ball: Ultimate Edition
    • Production companies
      • Filmswell International Ltd.
      • My Way Film Company
      • Yes Films Company Ltd.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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