Brief Summary
This video explores the history and production of "Digimon: The Movie," explaining why it turned out the way it did. It covers the origins of Digimon, the three Japanese short films that were combined to create the movie, the changes made during localization, the unique soundtrack, and the movie's legacy as a time capsule of the early 2000s.
- Digimon was created as a counterpart to Tamagotchi.
- "Digimon: The Movie" combined three Japanese short films.
- The soundtrack is a defining feature of the movie.
Intro
The video introduces the topic of "Digimon: The Movie," a film the creator has wanted to discuss for a long time. Instead of simply criticizing the movie, the video aims to explain why it turned out the way it did, addressing the question of what happened when Digimon was adapted for the big screen.
Background
The video clarifies that Digimon was not created as a rip-off of Pokémon. Digimon was released in 1997 as a counterpart to Tamagotchi, targeting boys. Its popularity led to the production of the "Digimon Adventure" anime in March 1999, which ran until March 2000. The English dub of the anime featured an original English opening theme, which became iconic. Following the success of "Pokémon: The Movie" in November 1999, Fox aimed to capitalize on Digimon's popularity by localizing the first Digimon movie.
Adventure 1999
"Digimon Adventure" is a 20-minute short film made in anticipation of the anime's premiere in 1999. The film depicts young Tai and Kari's first encounter with a Digimon. Their dad's computer spits out a Digi egg, which hatches into a Digimon. Kari communicates with the Digimon using her whistle. After feeding it, it evolves into Koramon. Tai protects Koramon from their cat, getting scratched in the process. That night, Koramon evolves into an abnormally large Agumon and takes Kari on a romp throughout the town, destroying property. They are attacked by a parrotmon, and Agumon protects the kids. Agumon evolves into Greymon, leading to a Kaiju battle. Greymon is initially defeated but is awakened by Tai using Kari's whistle. Greymon then defeats Parrotmon, and both Digimon disappear.
Our War Game
"Digimon Adventure: Our War Game" takes place between the first and second seasons of the show. A new Digimon appears on the internet, eating data. Tai and Sora have a subplot where she's mad at him for giving her a hairpin as a gift. Izzy discovers that the Digimon will eventually eat all the data on the internet. Tai and Matt reunite with their Digimon and upload them to the internet to fight the Digimon. The Digimon evolves into Infamon, defeating Greymon and Kabuterimon. Izzy hacks a military satellite to get them back online, and they find out that Infamon digivolved into Diaboromon and has hacked into the Pentagon, launching a nuclear missile aimed at Tai's neighborhood. The Digimon were being slowed by emails from kids around the world. Agumon and Gabumon digivolve into WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon but are still defeated. Through the power of friendship, Tai and Matt enter the internet and help their Digimon. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon combine to form Omnimon, who defeats the clones of Diaboromon. Izzy forwards all the emails to Diaboromon, causing it to lag, and Omnimon lands a final blow. The nuke lands in the bay with two seconds left and doesn't explode. Sora finally gets her email from Tai, where he accidentally says he loves her, and the day is saved.
Adventure 02
"Digimon Adventure 02" has the darkest plot of the three films. The plot revolves around the cast of the second season as they attempt to help Willis save his Digimon, Kokomon, that's been corrupted by a computer virus. There's also a subplot where the older kids get kidnapped by Kokomon, with the exception of an older TK and Kari. The climax involves having to destroy Kokomon to save the older kids and protect the world. Willis finds Kokomon's Digi egg before the credits roll.
Angela Anaconda Short
The theatrical and DVD releases of "Digimon: The Movie" begin with a short featuring characters from the show "Angela Anaconda." This short is included in the official run time of the film. "Angela Anaconda" aired alongside Digimon on the Fox Kids block in the US. The short was commissioned by Fox for "Digimon: The Movie" and was later repurposed into an actual episode of the show with mentions of Digimon removed.
Digimon The Movie
Fox initially planned to release all three movies with English dubs as individual theatrical releases. Writers Jeff Nimoy and Bob Buchholz were offered to write "Digimon: The Movie" while negotiating their contracts to return to write the second season of the show. The writers didn't want to include the plot of "Digimon Adventure 02" and suggested releasing it separately. However, Toei insisted on adapting "02" with the other two films. This decision led Jeff and Bob to leave the writing team after the second season. Originally, Tai was supposed to narrate the movie, but this was changed to Kari since she appeared in all three films. The first 15 minutes of the movie are relatively unchanged, except for the mention of Willis in the beginning. A subplot/reoccurring joke of Ty's mom being a terrible cook was introduced.
The Soundtrack
The soundtrack solidifies "Digimon: The Movie" as a time capsule of the 2000s, featuring both original and licensed songs from the time. Songs include "Rockefeller Skank" by Fatboy Slim, "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies, "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" by Less Than Jake, and "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. These songs are used at weird times, not during fight scenes or heartfelt moments, which makes them better.
Marketing
The marketing for "Digimon: The Movie" included commercials, trailers, and a sweepstakes for a private viewing party of the movie hosted by a Digi-Destined guest.
One of A Kind Movie
"Digimon: The Movie" was a commercial success, grossing $16 million on a $5 million budget. It wasn't well-received by critics, but fans loved it. Director Mamoru Hosoda was offered the opportunity to direct "Howl's Moving Castle" but later left the project due to creative differences. The movie is a beautiful mess that isn't as bad as most people make it out to be. It is a time capsule of the time. The movie has never been re-released since its initial theatrical and DVD release, most likely because of licensing issues. Disney now owns Fox, which means they own Digimon. "Digimon: The Movie" remains an almost perfect time capsule of the 2000s, a one-of-a-kind movie for a one-of-a-kind franchise.
