The Dragonball Z franchise and its subsequent set of films
have never had a high success rate in fitting in with themselves. The stories
and villains are iconic but how they actually fit in timeline wise have never
been that good. The Super Saiyan element was always a big deal in the lore and
when the character of Broly came around, it seemed as though the true myth had
been revealed. However, with the character’s defeat, the idea had felt like it
came and went. But like many other unique characters, Broly had left a lasting
impact on viewers and there was demand for another appearance. Just how that
made sense though was for the production team to come up with. Unfortunately,
it doesn’t look like it was well thought through.
The title to this entry is exactly what it’s about. Taking
place in the future far after the events of Cell, Broly (Vic Mignogna) finds
himself in cryostasis in some random tundra. Somewhere in that same area Videl,
Goten (Kara Edwards), Trunks (Laura Bailey) find themselves looking for the
Dragon balls. It just so happens that in the midst of their search, there’s a
disagreement between them which makes Goten cry. This wailing ends up awakening
Broly as it reminds him of his original encounter with Goku when they were
babies. This sends him off again looking destroy everything in his path. Not
long after Gohan (Kyle Hebert) hears the commotion, he jumps in to help out
too. This feature was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, who also directed the
previous Broly focused movie, which makes sense.
For writing, Takao Koyama handled this like they have for
the previous entries. However, the continuity again lacks little connection with
the show or even with its predecessor. In the original film that introduced Broly,
Goku had defeated him indefinitely with an ending no one would think could
survive. But then here he is in this entry like nothing ever happened and with
no explanation how he got there or survived. It really doesn’t make any sense.
There’s also other characters from some local community that interact with the
main characters. However, they don’t have any real purpose or impact on the
story. It’s basically Broly wakes up and the protagonists have to fend him off.
There’s no real in-depth narrative here. It actually might be an even weaker in
character development than in Bojack Unbound.
The voice cast is still nice to hear though. Vic Mignogna is
still fairly crazy sounding as the newly awakened Broly. However, it is kind of
sad to see him fight toe to toe with two children with the likes of Goten and
Trunks, no matter how powerful they are claimed to be. Kyle Hebert, better
known as the narrator to the Dragon Ball Z franchise is now voicing adult Gohan
which is the definitive version. Kara Edwards and Laura Bailey are both fun to
hear as the Saiyan kids. Both have their own quirks about their voices that
make them, them. Edwards as Videl is also fun to hear. There’s also voice
cameos from Sean Schemmel as Goku and Sonny Strait as Krillin. All of these
voice actors together have proven themselves to be the required voices for the
English dub.
Visually, the animation to this feature feels touched up
which is good. As a feature film, animation budgets should be increased to try
and maximize the quality of the look. It still has that very classic 90s anime
look to it. The action is also fun to watch as the fight sequences are always
interesting and energetic. As for music, the film still suffers from
contemporary interference. For whatever reason, background music was composed
by Nathan Johnson with exclusive songs sung by I.O.N. That particular genre
just isn’t used in this franchise. Shunsuke Kikuchi as the original composer
should have had his music left in the film. It is the only music that fits the
scenes depicted. Some things are just not meant to mix, plus if contemporary
music is used, it becomes outdated later.
Continuity as usual is a problem with this film, like
many others before it. Plus, explanations for things go unexplained along with
no real development. The animation and voice acting remain fine. Music is still
a bad mix of rescored and outdated music.
Points Earned --> 4:10
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