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Back in the 2000s, when PokeMania was in full force, competing series would pop up to challenge Pikachu’s dominance. One of those series -Monster Rancher- wasn’t exactly a hit (we may explore that later down the road), but another series namedDigimon: Digital Monstersended up becoming a decent hit for rival network Fox Kids. It was enough of a hit that parent Company 20th Century Fox started to explore options to bring the franchise to the big screen. In 2000, they would succeed withDigimon: The Movie. However, the film was released with one heavy caveat: It was heavily edited and altered from its original form. However, unlike most cases, this may have been a necessary evil rather than corporate executives simply meddling. Read on to find out why.
What is Digimon?
Digimon(short for “Digital Monsters”) is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Akiyoshi Hongo. Believe it or not, it originated as a virtual pet device in 1997, similar to Tamagotchi, another virtual pet that owners could carry around in your pocket (these things, by the way, were EXTREMELY needy and demanding, arguably requiring more of your time than a real pet would). Unlike Tamagotchi’s (which was about caring for a virtual pet), Digimon were designed with a focus on battling creatures. After Pokemon blew up in popularity, Bandai expanded the franchise quickly into other media,including anime, films, video games, manga, and trading card games, becoming one of the most iconic franchises of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
At its core,Digimoncenters around the concept of digital creatures which exist within the data of Earth’s networks and devices (and later on, the internet, for obvious reasons). These creatures can evolve (or “Digivolve”) and form strong bonds with human partners, typically children known as “DigiDestined.” Together, the Digimon and their partners (usually the player in the games or kids known as the DigiDestined in other media) embark on adventures,face off against villains, and often work to save both the Digital World and the human world from threats.
How Popular Was it in America?
The Digimon toy devices were not exactly a huge hit when they hit America, with the sales barely being noticed by most retailers. However (partially thanks to the popularity ofPokemon) the franchise’s first anime series,Digimon Adventure(which was retitledDigimon: Digital Monstersin America), ended up being a surprise hit for the Fox Kids network, and distinguished itself from Pokemon by focusing on narrative arcs, character development, and memorable villains (much in the same way Dragon Ball Z would do).
It would eventually become one of the highest rated shows on Fox Kids, and (again, after the success ofPokemon: The First Movie) 20th Century Fox decided they wanted to bring Digimon to the big screen. They would do so in one of the strangest ways possible.
What is Digimon: The Movie?
Digimon: The Movieis a 2000 animated film that was an English adaptation of the popular Japanese film (the word “adaptation” being key here). It is a big screen presentation of theDigimonfranchise, and centers around the first two seasons of the anime series, in which children partner with digital creatures called Digimon in a parallel world known as the Digital World. The movie was released in North Americaby Fox Kids, with significant edits and localization changes to cater to Western audiences. Why was the movie so heavily edited though? The answer may surprise you.
Fun Fact
Unknown to many people,Digimon: The Moviewas one of the first theatrical films directed by a then-unknown Mamoru Hosoda. Hosoda was heavily involved in theDigimon Adventureanime (and even directed episode 21 of the series), and this would be his introduction into film directing. He would later go on todirect anime classicsWolf Children, Belle, Summer Camp, andMirai(which would go on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film).
Why WasDigimon: The MovieSo Heavily Edited?
The reasonDigimon: The Moviehad to be so heavily edited is because there wasn’t really a workable Digimon movie to bring to America per se. While three movies weretechnicallymade, the issue is that these were all around 30 minutes in length. Which, in Japan, was perfectly fine (they would be shown atfestivals and as double featureswith other short anime movies), but for America this was a big no-no. The movies in question were:
The first two were based on the first season of the anime while the third movie was based on the second season (titledDigimon Adventure 2in Japan). None of the movies connected to form an overarching plot. While Fox could have in theory released these on TV as prime time specials or something of that nature,the $85 million dollarsWarner Bros. (under the Kids WB banner) made withPokemon: The First Moviewas (likely) difficult to ignore. If Fox could make evenhalfof that, they would be in pretty tall cotton.
Thus, it was decided to merge the three movies together. Kairi would become a narrator for the film while Willis - a character who appeared in the third film - was inserted into scenes throughout to create the illusion of a narrative that would (in theory) lead up to a third act climax. Fox would then include music from popular bands of the day like Fatboy Slim, Barenaked Ladies, and Smash Mouth (it wouldn’t be the 2000s without anappearance fromAll Star). Finally, while none of the characters' names were outright changed (and everything still takes place in Japan), the characters were given American nicknames.
The execution was messy, to say the least. But…it ultimately worked well enough. Even though the fact thatDigimon: The Moviewas three short films edited into one was not exactly common knowledge, fans would ultimately see it as that way, and some admit to watching their favorite segment as opposed to the “whole movie” more often than not (the second segment -Our War Game!- is considered by many to be the highlight of the film). With all this effort, was the movie the success Fox wanted it to be? Well, as they say, that is another story for another day.
Digimon: The Movie(as well as the uncut versions of all the original movies) will be re-released by Discotek Media.
