They do try to place where the movies would fit continuity wise based on timing and references to recent events, but never treat them as canon.
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.The first couple of movies
made them kind of fit. Starting with Tree of Might you had Vegeta saying "this is so non-canon it hurts," and then Return of Cooler's jabs at Vegeta spontaneously showing up.
Dead Zone's joke about Krillin writing his own movie script and submitting it to Nappa. Episode of Bardock being a bizarre study dream Gohan was having. I'm anxious to see what they'll use for Broly if anything.
edited 3rd Sep '16 12:42:04 PM by Soble
I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!The first movie they did (as TFS) was Tree of Might...
edited 3rd Sep '16 12:48:27 PM by randomness4
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.I don't know, mang. There was one reference to the first movie itself.
edited 3rd Sep '16 12:56:40 PM by randomness4
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.I keep thinking there was a part when on the day the Cell Games were happening where Gohan was at the Lookout with Dende, and Goku came from their house to pick him up and go to the arena.
There was apparently an indeterminate amount of time where Gohan was on the Lookout while Goku was alone with Chichi.
As I recall, at least. Maybe I'm wrong and made it up, but it sticks in my mind.
Cooler's Revenge is probably the easiest to fit into canon. Well, after Bojack. You just have to set it during the time when everybody is training for the Androids. Hell, you could even change Cooler's motivation form avenging his brother to avenging his father if you want to keep the Cooler and Freeza hatedom going. Only weird thing left to explain away would be Gohan's tail. Why did he have a tail in that movie again? I don't recall it ever being used, he just kind of had it. I think someone grabbed him by the tail, but you don't need the tail grabbing excuse to explain them overpowering Gohan at that point.
And Goku's Gokus were hurt so much they nearly rendered Goten non-canon.
And yeah, only Cooler's Revenge and Bojack have any hope of actually fitting in canon.
You'd need to make some allowances for Cooler supposedly being stronger then Freeza.....
One Strip! One Strip!Even though he really wasn't...
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.I guess Cooler would still be weaker since Freeza handled Goku in his base form. But Cooler had to activate Super Shredder mode to overwhelm Goku. But base Goku should've been stronger than post-Healing Pod Goku.
And Super Saiyan Goku did seem to take him out after two hits, but then Super Saiyan Goku also took Freeza by surprise twice and nearly broke his wrist and his spine.
Plus Goku seemed to struggle pushing back Cooler's Death Ball where Freeza never tried it/didn't have any hope of connecting.
Dramatic ellipsis...
I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!Well, he could theoretically be stronger than Frizea and still weaker than Super Saiyan Goku.
Still, the fact that his super secret fifth form, could trounced immediately doesn't even support that.
Then again, I think even in the original Cooler admits that Frieza would be stronger than him if you're just talking about their natural states.
I might blame the trouncing on the movie simply running out of time. Broly got wrecked by a single punch from the energy of 4-5 half-dead people and that didn't even work until Vegeta's was added
...that he did, that he did.
I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!Boinking while Super Saiyan in the other room from your child who is also Super Saiyan and can sense ki seems. Weird. And potentially a bad idea.
Especially when said child is your secret weapon who you intend to use to kill the strongest enemy you have.
If they make too much noise and Gohan comes in to check on them/help them/save them they might not have a house. Or a mountain. Or a planet.
Super Saiyan Gohan has far more control then that.
Super Saiyan 2 Gohan on the other hand....
Well, lets just be glad it wasn't a thing yet. I think we still need the solar system for stuff.
One Strip! One Strip!Neither of Cooler's movies can really fit into the manga or anime's canon. The first one has Goku on Earth after the Namek fight but is pretty clearly before the Android plot kicks off, and the second one relies on the first one and thus can't fit by association.
Bojack, Hirudegarn, and the recent ones are the only ones that can actually fit, maybe Broly if you believe they could go and do that in the middle of the wait for the Cell Games.
edited 3rd Sep '16 6:16:29 PM by Anomalocaris20
You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!Randomness is wrong.
edited 3rd Sep '16 6:52:43 PM by randomness4
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.

I don't think they are. That joke came from abridged Vegeta from one of the movies, after all.