FILM: Dragon Ball Z Cast

In the wake of the kitschy new trailer for the live action Speed Racer film and the fairly ignored Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles CGI film, I wonder which is better: turning a cartoon into live action or just updating its graphics?

I was admittedly disappointed when I first saw the previews for TMNT, because the 90s live action versions were so much cooler. Perhaps, today those costumes would seem ridiculous, but they were way more engaging than a couple of cartoon figures. Then again Speed Racer's film was made live action and it seemed inadequate. I actually feel sorry for Oscar-buzz making Emile Hirsch and cult favorite Matthew Fox for degrading themselves for such embarrassing roles. Maybe TMNT would've been better if they mixed live action with CGI like Alvin and the Chipmunks did. And maybe if Speed Racer was treated with the seriousness that the new Dark Knight is, it wouldn't seem so lame.

Now the latest cartoon to hit the big screen is Dragon Ball Z. I used to watch it with my brother all the time. The graphics were amazing and so was the storyline. So when I saw a link for the first still shots of the film, I expected to see animated images. But instead I see Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) with an Asian haircut, the illustrious fohawk (fake mohawk). I can't figure out if I'm more annoyed that Goku is played by an American with an Asian haircut or that it's not animated.

For those of you who may have forgotten the entire plot of DBZ, here it is:

"A young boy named Goku seeks out upon his grandfather's dying request to find the great Master Roshi and gather all seven Dragon Balls (of which he has one) in order to prevent Piccolo from succeeding in his desire to use the Dragon Balls to take over the world."

which brings me to my other concern, why is Piccolo being played by James Marsters? (Yeah, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Are there no Asians mainstream enough for Hollywood? I could name a couple that are good enough off the top of my head: Sung Kang (Better Luck Tomorrow), Jason J. Tobin (Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), Terry Chen (Snakes on a Plane), Rick Yune (Die Another Day), etc.

I guess we can take comfort in knowing that some of the supporting cast is Asian. The Heroes star James Kyson Lee (Hiro's bff Ando) will be playing Yamcha, an enemy that turns into a friend in the series, and newcomer Jamie Chung ("Days of Our Lives") will play Chi-Chi, who is Goku's wife in the series and I guess his girlfriend in the movie. The director is also Asian, James Wong (The One). However, the screenwriter given the task to adapt the film is Ben Ramsey, whose biggest credit is writing the film The Big Hit--that craptastic Mark Wahlberg film that could've sunk his career after he did the critically acclaimed Boogie Nights. Then again, John Singleton (Shaft) is trusting Ramsey to write his next comic adaptation Luke Cage. So maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge.

They're filming DBZ now and it's slated for a mid-August 2008 release. Here's hoping it's not as cheesy as Speed Racer.


UPDATE: Chow Yun-Fat will play Goku's sensei Master Roshi.