West City … the Mayhem Metropolis, as many came to know it as, once more rises from the wreck and ruin brought on by … hell, who can even say anymore? Is it Red Ribbon fascists? A vengeful ancient demon? Space tyrants from beyond the stars? Or just a selfish, magical wish gone awry? Regardless, it seems that no matter what brings this fair city to its knees, nor how many times our mysterious martial arts champions barely pull us from the flames of sheer destruction, there’s just always another apocalyptic catastrophe waiting around the corner. And as I gaze out my window of my skyrise loft, low and behold, I catch the frightening sight of giant roots sundering the streets and toppling skyscrapers … and at their very source, a massive tree endlessly stretching into the sky, one that blankets the masses in all too familiar shadow. Pedestrians run to and fro in a manic frenzy, professing (with certainty) that we indeed dwell amidst the TRUE end times. And I almost wish I could join them in their conviction. But nay. For as sure as this city will fall, so too will the sun also rise, bringing with it our champions, our salvation, and eventually, our city’s resurrection. One can only hope that events are at least interesting along the way.
Roseline Towers Resident, West City, 1995
The Tree of Might is a non-cannon Dragon Ball Z feature, initially released in Japan in 1990. This 60 minute romp is centered around the titular Goku, his son Gohan, and the rest of the Z-Fighters as they race to thwart the ruthless Saiyan warrior, Turles, and his Crusher Corp thug’s plans to plant a massive tree that will absorb and decay the entire earth in order to produce a mysterious fruit said to give any person immeasurable power upon consumption. And if that seems like a lot to cram into so little time, have no worries, for this pint-sized-feature-that-could indeed packs a full fledged DBZ adventure with as much action and general story as any given arc of the mainline DBZ cartoon; one that certainly captured the imagination of the masses back in the day. But with the passage of over 36 years, does such a flick manage to stand the test of time? And moreover, does it even hold a candle to any modern Dragon Ball media being put out today? Let’s get into it.
The last time I watched The Tree of Might, I was a 7 to 10 year old youngster whose entire existence was boxing, fantasy, cartoons, and kung-fu anything. So admittedly, if you threw up any measure any wiz-boom-pow on the T.V. back then, I ate it up. I’m talking Power Rangers, Batman, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Matrix, any Jackie Chan/ Jet Lee/ Donnie Yen/ Jean-Claude Van Damme/ Steven Seagal/ Bruce Lee/ Chuck Norris show or movie; whatever! Even if I didn’t always fully understand plots, let alone differences in quality, it didn’t matter. I was THERE for it! So you can imagine when I came across Dragon Ball Z, a mythological, sci-fi, martial arts extravaganza, it was nothing short of fantastical, action-packed cocaine overloading all of my senses. I LOVE … not loved … LOVE the characters, the stories, the merch, the movies, the memories, the everything. And to this day, I look upon it with reverence, awe, and of course, immense nostalgia. However, I mention this, not only to confirm my bias, but also to highlight my now vastly more developed critical eye. Because truthfully, DBZ possesses a lot of noticeable jank when revisiting as an adult. The movies especially show their limitations and missteps upon additional views and The Tree of Might is no exception.
Let’s start with some very specific jank, something that’s admittedly a nit-pick. But one I feel the need to address. The Tree of Might doesn’t just frustratingly throw canon out the window. It straps it to a Special Beam Cannon and nukes the f#@kin’ moon with it.
Now I am aware that the multiverse concept is alive and well in nearly all media today, not to forget that the Dragon Ball property itself has also now introduced its own. So in noting that, this nit-pick of mind may not seem like that big of a sin on face value. But when this hit America in the late 90’s, that wasn’t a majorly popular concept, nor was there an advanced enough internet or database of any kind to help correctly place this film within DBZ canon. And even when trying to head-canon it (because it is a dope film that I wished was canon), it’s impossible to do so without simply chalking it up as an adventure from an alternate universe. Because if you don’t say that, you have to try and explain away a lot of weird details like …
Is this after the Freeza Arc? But then why can’t Goku go Super Saiyan? Why does Gohan still have his tail? Shouldn’t Vegeta be around at this point? Didn’t Piccolo already blow up Earth's moon? Wait! Shouldn’t Goku be stranded somewhere in space?! So then does this movie take place before the Freeza Arc? But then, shouldn’t Goku be dead?
These and many more maddening questions plagued and perhaps even still plague old-school DBZ fans. But like I said, it’s a nit-pick, one that has already been somewhat mended by saying it’s another universe or simply non-canon. However, I still hold that for the uniformed, the casual, or traumatized spectator, it’s a baffling experience that can pull attention from the adventure at hand when watching. But moving beyond nit-pick territory, there’s really only one major aspect that is the root cause for every other shortcoming the film possesses and that is the short run time.
60 minutes doesn’t leave a lot of room for any feature. And although the film does its best to offer everything a proper DBZ adventure movie should have, it does so by short changing fights, cutting screen time of nearly all secondary characters post the intro, and recycling some aspects from prior episodes of the mainline show. This all results in what feels more like teases, rather than full fledged fights, because most never have a chance to blossom into anything wildly memorable. And of the two conflicts that are memorable, only one holds any measure of originality in how it shakes out, that being the finale. But even that is still expedited to make up for the short runtime; thus preventing the emotion from hitting as hard as the movie wants it to.
Had the film been able to be longer, every single aforementioned aspect could have been improved to some degree. The lesser DBZ heroes and villains alike could have been given more to do, fights could have properly marinated, and the finale could have had a far greater and clearer punch without the need of post-fight exposition to make it make sense. Not that it’s incredibly hard to understand, but the narrative speed that the finale moves at makes it feel, from a visual standpoint, like there’s some imperative information missing. Yet, despite these shortcomings brought on by the economy of time, the movie still offers a plethora of DBZ delight that far outweighs the bad.
To speed run it all, the fights, although short, are still brutal in the best ways imaginable. With iconic animation and sound design, the film really makes you feel the devastation of every blast, collision, and punch. Add to it, each minor hero and villain alike gets a small moment to make an everlasting impression, be it their design, a line of dialogue, or a cool maneuver during an exchange. The villain, Cacao, particularly is like nothing ever seen anywhere else in all of DBZ media; a pink, almost melting humanoid alien visage dawned in chrome, jet propulsion armor that shoots him around at sonic speeds. Viewers don’t get a lot of time with him, but talk about making your moment count.
Moreover, in regards to the story and plot, the film plays with an absurdly cool and interesting concept. Does it just inevitably boil down to “the heroes have to save the world from sheer destruction?” Yes. But the details around it are fresh for its time, at least as far as a DBZ plot goes anyway.
Now because of the length, we don’t get to explore it heavily, but the film perpetually escalates the stakes and gives our heroes a tantalizing ticking clock to work against. This and the many beautiful moments of ma (slower moments where the film de-throttles the story and focuses on the beauty and still of the surrounding world), give the movie a cinematic splendor most probably wouldn’t attribute to OR even try to implement into a film based around a martial arts action cartoon. The film never wastes a chance, or rather, it intentionally indulges in offering the audience equally long sequences of sheer natural beauty, destruction, love, and devastation in contrast with its intense pistol shots of artful violence.
These picturesque moments almost completely make up for the shortcuts the movie is forced to take. They also set a great pace for the film, making it feel longer than it actually is, in a good way. Moreover, they too fully realise the entire weight of emotional stakes when the film reaches its long-dark-night-of-the-soul moment. By that point, you’re fully entrenched in the drama and are left delightfully contemplating just how Goku and his friends will make it out alive, despite the plot being the same general framework as any given arc of Dragon Ball Z. That’s how much the masterful implementation of ma gives the viewer. And bonus points to the creators for implementing, what I think, is a fun twist to a typical DBZ finale moment. No spoilers for what it is, but It gives the movie a splash more originality as well as harkens back to its more spiritual/ supernatural roots.
The Dragon Ball franchise certainly has blossomed into a juggernaut of a cultural phenomena over its lifespan, one that continues to evolve and expand with ever sleeker animation, ever escalating action, and an ever growing fanbase to this day. But what is astonishing to me is that any person, fan or non-fan alike, can go back and watch something like The Tree of Might and fully recognize the tremendous artistry that oozes from every frame of this “ancient” anime film. Because even though it’s certainly not as flashy by today’s standards, has some pacing issues in the action scenes, and it holds no interest in trying to be canon, there is still so much majesty to gaze upon with rightful awe. And it is that very splendor that holds it up amongst the more recent additions to the DBZ movie pantheon, despite any limitations it may possess for its time. I’m not saying it’ll be anyone’s favorite film or even anyone’s favorite DBZ film. But it’s still entertaining. It’s still artful. It’s still a damn good time on the couch, one that I believe would be an intoxicating first hit of DBZ magic for any newcomers to the franchise. I guarantee it.
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