Dragon Ball Evolution Writer Ben Ramsey Says His Script Was Not the Film That Got Made

Ben Ramsey, the credited writer of Dragon Ball Evolution, wrote a public Facebook post saying he's not responsible for the movie and that his original script was far better than what was shot. Some of what he wrote I understand, and some of it I have real issues with, especially his idea that Disney can simply remake the film.

For context, Ramsey apologized for the movie a few years before this post. I think it was about three and a half years earlier. My guess, and I don't know this for sure, is that he was harassed by Dragon Ball fans for being so public about a movie that turned out so badly.

Ramsey has long claimed 20th Century Fox changed his Dragon Ball Evolution script

Ramsey has said for a long time that when he handed his script to 20th Century Fox, the studio made a number of changes, and that his version of Dragon Ball Evolution was much better. I've never read that script. I'm guessing most people haven't either, and I'm not even sure it's out there, although I'm fairly sure I could probably get hold of it.

Apparently his script was better. Either way, I've said before that I don't trust Hollywood to make a Dragon Ball movie, and that position hasn't changed.

Why I don't trust Hollywood with Dragon Ball

Hollywood, especially nowadays, doesn't understand Dragon Ball. I don't think it's going to understand most anime that are Eastern centric either. Something like My Hero could work if you have the right director and the right writer. For Dragon Ball, I don't know if anybody out there can do it right.

That view comes from being a film fan first. I was a movie fan before I was a Dragon Ball fan, so I have some knowledge in that field, and I don't trust the studios to get it right. You've seen what they've done to Star Wars and other properties.

Ramsey says he is in no way responsible for the movie

Ramsey, who comes across as a bit grouchy in the post, opened with this: "for the public record i am in no way shape or form responsible for the train wreck that was dragon ball evolution." He called his script "infinitely better than the dumpster fire they actually shot." He added that his draft was what brought Stephen Chow on board, and said Chow had no desire to make an American movie up to that point. Yet the script wasn't really followed. I believe him on that part.

He then explained the earlier apology: "the only reason i apologize back in 2016 was because i felt fans deserved one and i knew they weren't going to get one from anyone else involved." He said he fell on the sword alone to give fans a sense of closure. Now that he's older and doesn't care as much, he said, "in this day and age any one of us could be dead tomorrow," and he's tired of his name being tied to a script that was rewritten into an embarrassment of a movie.

It's almost like he's taking back his apology. I don't know what differences the studio made, so I won't trash him or say he's in the wrong, because I didn't write the script. I do understand him not wanting to be associated with Dragon Ball Evolution. It's a very lackluster film. Fans can debate dub versus sub, whether GT is good or bad, or Kai, but many people don't like this movie. I don't think I know anybody who likes it. That isn't to say everyone I know hates it vehemently, but it's a poorly made film, and a poorly made Dragon Ball film at that.

Ramsey also wrote: "i got in this business because of my love for film and desire to make great movies like blood and bone and my current project interface." He said he's proud of those because they were made from the heart. So is he saying Dragon Ball wasn't? That struck me as weird.

Disney does not own Dragon Ball, despite Ramsey's pitch

This is where I think he gets it totally wrong. He wrote: "hey disney you own it now here's the thought remake it shoot my original draft that stephen chow wanted to direct and get him to direct it." He claimed that would make a smash hit.

Disney does not own Dragon Ball. There's so much misinformation out there that even a writer believes it. 20th Century Fox had the distribution rights to Dragon Ball films across the United States and the world, Japan included. Disney bought 20th Century Fox, so it has those distribution rights, and distribution means putting the film in theaters. Disney can't produce a Dragon Ball film without the authorization of Toei and Shueisha. You can look this up yourself: look at the contract, and look at what a distribution deal is.

Goku in high school is a reason not to remake it

Even setting the rights aside, and again, without having read the script, I don't think that movie should be remade. I don't know whose idea it was to put Goku in high school, but if it was his, he already struck out with me.

Maybe it wasn't his idea. It does sound like a Hollywood thing to do: put everybody in high school so the movie relates to the kids. Ramsey ended his post by saying "i know it's never gonna happen but hey i'm just putting it out there" and that it felt good to get it off his chest.

The fandom, the credit and an apology that wasn't really one

I understand that he's frustrated, probably because he took plenty of abuse from fans. The Dragon Ball fandom can be ruthless sometimes. Truth be told, some days I'm embarrassed to be a Dragon Ball content creator because of what I see and how people treat each other. If people attacked and harassed him, I don't condone that at all.

I understand him wanting distance from the film, but he's credited as the writer, and most people will read that credit rather than his Facebook post. I guess he's taking back his apology; that's the way I see it. He said he apologized because fans deserved one, not because he was sorry for writing a bad movie. That's not a real apology. A real one is when you admit you made a mistake. Maybe he did make one, maybe he didn't. I don't know.

Still, I find it hard to believe the movie was that much different from his script. I'm sure changes were made, but capturing the story of Dragon Ball the way they wanted to can't really be done.

Dragon Ball belongs in animation

Dragon Ball is meant to be serialized. You can make it into a movie, but it's meant to be a longer story, like a TV show, rather than a film. It can be done; it just hasn't been done successfully, and I don't think it will be.

Let's leave Dragon Ball where it should be: in animation, with animated Dragon Ball movies or an anime TV show.