DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Marlowe Gardiner-Heslin as TYSON Alex Hood as KENNY Daniel DeSanto as RAY David Reale as KAI Gage Knox as MAX Mary Long as DAICHI Not Rated Studio: Miramax Directed by: Toshinori Fukushima and Itsuki Imazaki Back to DVD Review Home |
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If you thought that Pokemon was a cartoon designed just to sell toys, then you haven’t seen “Beyblade.” I have to admit that I don’t know much about the history of Beyblade. In fact, before I received this DVD, I didn’t even realize there was such a thing.
Apparently, Beyblade is a competition that involves tops. Yes, tops. These tops are launched from a hand pistol with a rip cord. From watching the film and the behind-the-scenes featuers, it seems that two Beyblade opponents construct their tops with various features and send them into an area to fight. The last one spinning is the winner.
Think of it as Battle Bots shot out from a ripcord.
To me, this is quite a stretch from this niche toy market into a cartoon with stories and characters. I understand Pokemon. It may be a little goofy for me, but at least I can wrap my mind around it. Beyblade, on the other hand, just seems silly. Supposedly, these characters in the cartoon have a type of mind control on their Beyblades. However, in the real-life competition, there seems to be little control past the “let it rip” moment.
This film tells the story of a mysterious boy named Daichi, who is determined to battle Tyson, the Beyblade National Champion. In the process, their Beyblades wake up dark forces in the earth that emerge to destroy mankind.
I’ll admit, that’s quite a stretch. The characters are retreads of the Pokemon gang, and the story made less sense than your average Pokemon movie. I hate to belabour the Pokemon similarities, but I can’t shake the idea that some toy manufacturer wanted to cash in on this franchise and thus created the world of Beyblade.
In many ways, this plot reminds me of one of the newer Godzilla movies gone horribly awry. Something has been awakened from beneath the surface of the Earth, and only these kids can save the world.
The formula for the Beyblade cartoon follows the Pokemon model, although I prefer to call the concept “a punked out Pokemon.” It has edgier characters wearing rough clothes. There’s no cute little friend like Pikachu, and the Beyblades themselves aren’t nearly as interesting as the multitude of Pokemon.
I’m not sure who the market is for the Beyblade fans. My son is four, and he loves Pokemon. However, when I put in the Beyblade movie, he quickly tuned out. I’m assuming it’s aiming for an older audience, but I’d be willing to bet that it’s a narrow one - at least in the states.
The DVD has a behind-the-scenes featurette about the movie itself. The more interesting special feature is an inside look at the Beyblade Championships. Although I assumed these to be real toys when I watched the film, I didn’t realize there were real honest-to-God championship battles. Of course, no evil creatures emerged from the earth in this competition, and the Beyblade battles were distinctly less exciting than we see in the film. Still, it was a neat look into a subculture of games I was unaware of until now.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
