World's biggest hero. World's toughest job.
Ultraman: Rising is a 2024 animated superhero/kaiju movie directed by Shannon Tindle (Kubo and the Two Strings, Lost Ollie), written by Tindle and Marc Haimes (Kubo), and co-directed by John Aoshima (Gravity Falls, Ducktales), based on the iconic Tokusatsu franchise Ultraman. The film stars the voices of Christopher Sean, Gedde Watanabe, Tamlyn Tomita, Keone Young, and Julia Harriman. Industrial Light & Magic handles the animation.Sean plays Ken Sato, a baseball superstar with the secret ability to transform into the towering hero Ultraman. On what should be a routine battle with a rampaging kaiju, Ken find himself the unlikely caretaker of a giant kaiju infant, bringing him into conflict with both the Kaiju Defense Force and his estranged father. The film will release on Netflix June 14, 2024.
Previews: Teaser
Recurring Ultra Series tropes:
- Critical Annoyance: In the trailer, as he runs out of time to exist in his current form, Ultraman's color time blinks increasingly rapidly, producing a grating noise.
- Henshin Hero: A staple of the franchise, with Ken Sato shown in the trailer as being Ultraman's host and capable of transforming into the hero.
- Kaiju: The teaser features both a dragon-like kaiju that interrupts Ken's baseball game and the fish-like baby monster that imprints onto Ultraman.
- Transformation Trinket: Subverted, in the teaser Ken simply transforms without an item, for the first time in the franchise's history since Jack.
Ultraman Rising includes examples of the following:
- And This Is for...: Said by Ken as he punches out the Kaiju attacking during his match, as shown in the trailer.Ken: And that is for messing up my game!
- Bad "Bad Acting": Displayed at the end of the trailer. When Ken realises that the world at large in unaware of his “son”, he starts treating the baby monster like a regular rampaging threat.
- Breaking Old Trends: While past Ultras have been portrayed as capable of communicating with humans (often through implied telepathy), this movie's Ultraman is the first whose speech is treated as vocal, as demonstrated when, near the end of the trailer, a crowd of onlookers understand his attempts to communicate with the baby kaiju.
- Celebrity Masquerade: When not transformed, Ken Sato is depicted in the trailer as a baseball player.
- Company Cross References: A released shot features a cameo of Ollie from Lost Ollie, which was previously produced by Industrial Light & Magic and also written by Shannon Tindle.
- Funny Background Event: When Ultraman attempts to talk with the baby kaiju towards the end of the teaser, a billboard portraying a father holding his son can be seen behind the duo, mirroring their current interaction.
- Giant Flyer: The first teaser portrays Ultraman and the Kaiju Defense Force fending off a massive dragon-like monster.
- Imprinting: In the trailer, after the kaiju baby hatches, an AI tells Ken that it thinks he’s (Ultraman) her mother.
- Mythology Gag:
- A rather subtle one occurs with the main character's name, crossing into
Fridge Brilliance. Ken Sato, an Ultra host raising a baby kaiju, shares his name with Ultraman Ken - better known as the Father of Ultra. - The kaiju seen in the teaser uses the same roar as past kaiju from the Ultra Series such as Pagos and Neronga, which itself was previously used by monsters from the Godzilla franchise such as Varan and Baragon.
- A shot towards the end of the teaser trailer features storefronts referencing classic foes of the original Ultraman, with a Bemular-themed ramen shop, a coffee shop named after Antlar and a pair of black-and-white posters referencing Alien Dada.
- A rather subtle one occurs with the main character's name, crossing into
- No Object Permanence: Given that it imprinted onto Ken-as-Ultraman, the baby throws a tantrum in the trailer after failing to realize that Ken is their "mother" when he transforms back.
- Painted CGI: As the trailer shows, the movie's 3d art style is repeatedly complimented with painted shots that accentuate the film's action, similar to its use in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- Power Glows: In the teaser, Ultraman's fists glow blue when delivering strikes.
- Shout-Out: Towards the end of the teaser, Pac-Man appears on top of a van.
- Small Parent, Huge Child: An Interspecies Adoption variant of this trope is shown in the trailer. When not transformed into Ultraman, Ken struggles with raising a monstrous child that towers over him and spits lasers.
- Top-Heavy Guy: This version of Ultraman, being a CG model instead of portrayed with a suit, has a noticeably buff and far more muscular upper body in comparison to the size of his legs, as seen in the trailer.
