Dragonball Evolution is a 2009 American superhero film directed by James Wong, produced by Stephen Chow, and written by Ben Ramsey.

It is loosely based on the Japanese Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama, and stars Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Chow Yun-fat, Joon Park, and Eriko Tamura.

In the film, the teenager Goku reveals his past and sets out to fight the evil alien warlord Lord Piccolo who wishes to gain the powerful Dragon Balls and use them to take over Earth.

During their search for another Dragonball, they fall into a trap set by the desert bandit Yamcha, whom Roshi convinces to join them by promising some of the royalties for Bulma's invention.

As the group continues their quest, they visit The World Martial Arts Tournament where Chi-Chi is competing; she fights Mai in a match, who steals a sample of her blood.

"[8] In 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired the live-action feature film rights to the Dragon Ball franchise from Shueisha, publisher of Toriyama's original manga series.

In 2007, James Wong and RatPac-Dune Entertainment co-founder Brett Ratner were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled Dragonball.

[10] Ron Perlman was originally offered the role of the villain Lord Piccolo, but turned it down to work on Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

[15] James Marsters, who accepted the role, noted he was a fan of the original anime adaptation, describing it as "the coolest television cartoon in the last 50,000 years [because] it's got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil.

"[16] Originally, Piccolo was going to be depicted as a handsome creature, but Marsters and the make-up artist chose to give him a decrepit complexion to reflect his having been trapped for thousands of years stewing in his evil and thirst for vengeance.

[26] In adapting the Dragon Ball manga, the futuristic cities and flying vehicles were kept; however, the anthropomorphic creatures and talking animals (such as Turtle, Oolong, Puar, Shu, and Korin) were dropped.

[44] Released a week later on March 31, 2009, by Viz was a 22-page Dragonball: Evolution Posterzine featuring eleven posters, cast interviews, and merchandise previews.

Initially scheduled to be released in North America on August 15, 2008, it was later moved to April 2009 to allow time for additional filming and post-production work.

[55][56] The marketing of the theatrical release included a viral "personal expressions" campaign created by digital agency Red Box New Media[57] that ran on the Windows Live Messenger application.

[58] This game was released just before the film in conjunction with another viral campaign that encouraged fans to send in their renditions of the fighting move.

The website's consensus reads: "Executed with little panache or invention, Dragonball Evolution lacks the magic that made the books on which it was based a cult sensation.

[71] Variety's Russell Edwards found the film "passable", "pleasing if paint-by-numbers", noting it "doesn't take itself too seriously, but avoids campiness", that "the climactic clash between Piccolo and Goku offers a faithful CGI representation of the ethereal powers as drawn in the original manga" and that the climax offers an "impressive character twist for Goku that will warm the cockles of every young Jungian's heart.

He questioned the use of a Caucasian in the main role and felt Chow Yun-Fat was "overacting like never before", but did consider it "fun in a train-wreck kind of way" and that while it was never boring it was also never "logical, coherent [or] rational".

[73] Christopher Monfette of IGN gave the film a positive review, stating that it captured "the flavor of anime without becoming overly cartoonish".

[74] Slant Magazine's Rob Humanick considered the film "uninspired" and implausible with an "aimlessly hyperactive construction and complete lack of substance" and "cobbled-together FX fakery".

[76] The Village Voice's Aaron Hillis called the film a "loony live-action adaptation", but felt it was "more entertaining than it deserves to be" and would likely appeal to ten-year-old boys.

"[78] Jeffrey K. Lyles of The Gazette found the film to be "a fairly entertaining martial arts adventure for the younger audiences" and tolerable to adults.

He felt Chatwin was ill-cast as Goku, and that director Wong failed to capture the "frenetic sense of the anime" adaptation in the action scenes, leaving them an effort to understand.

[82] Before the film's release, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama expressed surprise at Dragonball Evolution and suggested fans treat it as an alternate universe version of his work.

[83] In a 2013 interview with Asahi Shimbun, Toriyama revealed that he had felt the script did not "capture the world or the characteristics" of his series and was "bland" and not interesting, so he cautioned and gave suggestions for changes.

"[84][85] Discussing the film in 2016's 30th Anniversary Dragon Ball Chōshishū - Super History Book, Toriyama wrote: "I had put Dragon Ball behind me, but seeing how much that live-action film ticked me off..."[86] At the 2014 Wizard World Convention, actor James Marsters expressed feelings that he was misled about Dragonball: Evolution, claiming, "they told me it was a $120 million picture, and that Stephen Chow was producing.

"[89][90][91] Following Akira Toriyama's death on March 1, 2024, Justin Chatwin took to social media to send his condolences while also apologizing for the quality of the film.

JoBlo.com nominated the film for its Golden Schmoes Awards in the category Worst Movie of the Year 2009, but lost to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

[95] Justin Chatwin commented that subsequent films would feature elements from the Dragon Ball Z portion of the franchise, likely delving further into his Saiyan origins, and introducing Gohan and Vegeta, which he felt was "really exciting.

[96] Chatwin and Chung also expressed their hopes that Goku's best friend Krillin would be included in a sequel, noting "their dynamic in the anime's just too good not to use in this movie.