YMMV / Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins

• Complete Monster: In this unlicensed adaptation of the Dragon Ball franchise, King Horn is an alien that seeks to collect the seven Dragon Pearls and use them to rule the universe. Horn starts off the film by massacring an entire village full of people, with possibly thousands of victims murdered. Horn then heads inside the temple and personally slaughters the dozens of monks guarding the Dragon Pearl and then steals it. Horn later threatens hero Monkey King's grandfather with death if they don't give him their Dragon Pearl. Horn then tries to kill them all by using the villagers as zombies.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Say, Piggy's true form looks a little familiar...
• So Bad, It's Good: This movie has so many cheap special effects and bizarre decisions made that it becomes hilarious to watch. One cannot appreciate the insanity of it unless they see it for themselves.
• So Okay, It's Average: Surprisingly, there's a small part of the Dragon Ball fanbase who appreciated the movie unironically, finding it a satisfactorily entertaining adaptation, which doesn't do a terrible job at capturing the light hearted atmosphere of the original Dragon Ball series. This even in spite of abundant Special Effect Failure and Narm.
• Special Effect Failure: Dear lord.
  • Whenever Goku or someone else (usually Sparkle or Westwood) flies, you can obviously tell Wire Fu is at play. Oftentimes, they look like they're just sliding across the frame!
  • The CGI in the Ultimate Edition, especially when it abruptly cuts to fully CG scenes that look hideously dated and out of place with the rest of the movie.
  • When Goku fights a crocodile, it's obviously a rubber prop.
• Vindicated by History: The film couldn't but benefit from the critical flop that was Dragonball Evolution, which led many to re-evaluate The Magic Begins.

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