Why Was Digimon: The Movie So Heavily Edited?

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Key Takeaways

  • Digimon: The Movie was heavily edited due to the challenge of adapting three short films into one cohesive narrative.
  • Despite messy execution, the film worked well enough with Americanized elements and popular music from the 2000s.
  • The success of Digimon: The Movie was a necessary evil to capitalize on the popularity of Digimon and compete with Pokemon.

As a child of the late 90s and early 2000s, I have fond memories of the animated series “Digimon.” The excitement when a new episode aired or a new toy was released was something that brought us all together. So you can imagine my delight when I heard about “Digimon: The Movie” being released in theaters. Little did I know, what I was about to witness would be a cinematic masterpiece… of sorts.

In the 2000s, during the peak of Pokemon craze, other series emerged to challenge Pikachu’s reign. Among them was Monster Rancher, which didn’t quite take off (we might delve into that later), but another one, Digimon: Digital Monsters, gained popularity on Fox Kids. This success prompted the parent company, 20th Century Fox, to consider expanding the franchise onto the big screen. In 2000, they managed to do so with Digimon: The Movie. However, this movie came with a significant condition – it was heavily modified from its original version. Interestingly, these changes might have been necessary rather than just executive tinkering. Keep reading to find out the reasons behind this.

What is Digimon?

The brand name “Digimon” (short for “Digital Monsters”) is a Japanese media franchise that was born in 1997, originating from a virtual pet device much like Tamagotchi. These devices allowed owners to carry their virtual pets around in their pockets, and they were quite demanding, requiring more attention than a real pet would. Unlike Tamagotchi, which focused on caring for a virtual pet, Digimon were centered around battling creatures. As Pokemon gained immense popularity, Bandai rapidly expanded the franchise into various media forms such as anime, films, video games, manga, and trading card games, eventually becoming one of the most prominent franchises of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Fundamentally, Digimon revolves around the idea of digital beings that inhabit Earth’s digital networks and devices (later expanded to include the internet). These creatures have the ability to evolve or “Digivolve” and establish powerful relationships with their human counterparts, often children known as “DigiDestined.” In partnership, Digimon and their human partners go on journeys, confront adversaries, and frequently strive to protect both the Digital World and our own world from dangers.

How Popular Was it in America?

The Digimon toy gadgets didn’t make a massive splash when they arrived in America, as most retailers barely took notice of their sales. Nevertheless, partially due to the success of Pokemon, the franchise’s initial anime series, titled Digimon Adventure (renamed Digimon: Digital Monsters in America), became an unexpected success for the Fox Kids network. In contrast to Pokemon, this series stood out by emphasizing story arcs, character growth, and intriguing villains – similar to how Dragon Ball Z would later do so.

Eventually, it became highly acclaimed on Fox Kids, and following the triumph of “Pokemon: The First Movie,” 20th Century Fox felt compelled to introduce Digimon to the cinematic world. They chose an unusual method for this adaptation.

What is Digimon: The Movie?

The 2000 animated film titled “Digimon: The Movie” was a translation of the well-known Japanese film, focusing on that crucial aspect of being an adaptation. This big-screen outing served as a representation of the Digimon franchise and primarily covered the storylines from the first two seasons of the anime series. In this tale, kids form alliances with creatures called Digimon in a separate realm called the Digital World. The movie was distributed in North America by Fox Kids, undergoing substantial edits and localization adjustments to suit Western viewers’ preferences.

Fun Fact

Few realize that Digimon: The Movie was one of the early films directed by Mamoru Hosoda, a director who at the time was relatively unrecognized. Hosoda had previously contributed to the Digimon Adventure anime series and even helmed episode 21. This movie marked his debut as a film director. Later in his career, he directed acclaimed anime films such as Wolf Children, Belle, Summer Camp, and Mirai (which was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards).

Why Was Digimon: The Movie So Heavily Edited?

It turned out necessary to extensively revise the movie “Digimon: The Movie” due to the lack of a suitable Digimon film that could be exported to America, as such. Although three films were produced technically, they each clocked in at approximately 30 minutes long. This length was acceptable in Japan, where they would screen at festivals or as companion pieces to other short anime movies. However, in the U.S., this duration was a major problem. The movies that caused this issue were:

  1. Digimon Adventure (1999)
  2. Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! (2000)
  3. Digimon Adventure 02: Digimon Hurricane Touchdown!! / Supreme Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals (2000)

Initially, the first two movies drew inspiration from the initial season of the anime series, whereas the third film was inspired by the second season, known as “Digimon Adventure 2” in Japan. These films didn’t interconnect to create a cohesive narrative. Instead, Fox could have potentially aired these as television specials or similar formats. However, the significant success of “Pokemon: The First Movie,” earning Warner Bros. (under Kids WB) $85 million, might have been hard to overlook. If Fox managed to earn even half that amount, they would be in a very advantageous position.

In summary, they decided to combine the three movies into one. Kairi was selected as the narrator for the movie, and Willis, a character from the third film, was integrated into various scenes to establish a coherent narrative leading up to a climax in the third act. Fox also planned to incorporate music from popular bands of the time such as Fatboy Slim, Barenaked Ladies, and Smash Mouth (it wouldn’t have felt like the 2000s without some All Star tunes). Lastly, while the characters’ names remained unchanged, they were given American nicknames, and all the action still unfolded in Japan.

To put it simply, the movie was quite disorganized, yet it managed to function satisfactorily in the end. Despite the fact that many people weren’t aware that Digimon: The Movie was actually three separate films combined into one, fans eventually came to view it as such. In fact, they often preferred watching their favorite segment over the entire movie, with the second segment – Our War Game! – being particularly popular among viewers who considered it the best part of the film. However, whether the movie achieved the level of success Fox had hoped for remains uncertain, a topic for another discussion.

Discotek Media is planning to re-release Digimon: The Movie, along with the uncensored versions of all the initial films.

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2024-11-30 02:34