''Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge'', also known by its Japanese title , or by
Toei's own English title ''Dragon Ball Z: The Strongest Rivals'', is a 1991 Japanese
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
martial arts film
Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expr ...
and the fifth ''
Dragon Ball Z
''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...
'' animated feature film, originally released in
Japan on July 20 at the Toei Anime Fair.
Plot
Cooler
A cooler, portable ice chest, ice box, cool box, chilly bin (in New Zealand), or esky ( Australia) is an insulated box used to keep food or drink cool.
Ice cubes are most commonly placed in it to help the contents inside stay cool. Ice packs a ...
watches as his younger brother
Frieza
, also known and spelled as Freeza in Funimation's English subtitles and Viz Media's release of the manga, is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He makes his debut in Chapter #247: "Dark Clouds ...
destroys the
Saiyan home world. His
henchmen
A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies prim ...
prepare to destroy a space pod fleeing the doomed planet that is transporting a Saiyan infant to Earth; but Cooler allows it to go, accounting that it is Frieza's responsibility. More than twenty years later, this Saiyan,
Goku
Son Goku is a Character (arts), fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong (known as Son Goku in Japan and Monkey King in the West), a main character o ...
, defeats Frieza. After learning of his brother's death, Cooler takes his men – Salza, Neiz, and Dore, on a mission to reclaim his family's honor. On Earth, Cooler's forces ambush Goku and his friends while they are on a
camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more natu ...
trip. Goku is badly wounded when he protects
Gohan
is a fictional character in the '' Dragon Ball'' manga series, created by Akira Toriyama. Gohan is introduced as the first son of the protagonist Goku, and his wife Chi-Chi, in chapter #196 "Kakarrot", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' maga ...
from an
energy blast launched by Cooler.
Krillin
(known as Kuririn in Funimation's English subtitles and Viz Media's release of the manga, and Kulilin in Japanese merchandise English translations) is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is in ...
and
Oolong
Oolong (, ; (''wūlóngchá'', "dark dragon" tea)) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea ('' Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process including withering the plant under strong sun and oxidation before curling and twisting.Zhonggu ...
find shelter in a cave with Goku, while Gohan travels to obtain the magic Senzu beans that can heal his father. Cooler orders his men to completely obliterate the forest, believing Goku is in hiding. After obtaining the beans, Gohan is ambushed by Cooler's men before
Piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...
arrives to save him. Piccolo kills 'Dore and Neiz, but Cooler arrives and impales him with an energy beam. Salza manages to track Gohan to the cave and destroys the beans. However, Gohan successfully heals Goku with a spare one. Krillin and Gohan are quickly defeated by Salza but Goku soon emerges. Cooler taunts Goku by further injuring Piccolo. Goku incapacitates Salza and attacks Cooler.
After Goku proves to be a worthy opponent, Cooler reveals that he discovered a new transformation above Frieza's capabilities. Goku is pummeled by Cooler, who boasts and mocks him. However, after seeing a bird die from wounds inflicted by their fight, Goku reflects on the well-being of his loved ones. Goku retrieves the deceased bird and transforms into his Super Saiyan form, using his energy to revive it.
Cooler finds himself grossly outclassed by Super Saiyan Goku. Cooler powers up an enormous energy sphere and launches the attack with the hopes to destroy Goku and the Earth along with him. Goku manages to resist and overpower the attack; he sends it hurdling toward Cooler who is launched into space and collides with the
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared rad ...
. As he is incinerated, Cooler realizes that Goku was the Saiyan infant he spared decades ago. As he laments over his mistake, he is disintegrated.
Goku, drained after his victory, is found by his loved ones. They celebrate and search for Piccolo when Salza reappears and prepares to kill them. However, Salza is unexpectedly killed by Piccolo. Gohan yells out for Piccolo who is nowhere to be seen. Piccolo, having recovered, drinks some water and gazes skyward.
Cast
Music
*OP (Opening Theme):
**"
Cha-La Head-Cha-La"
*** Lyrics by
Yukinojō Mori
, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese lyricist, composer and poet who is affiliated with Amuse, Inc. He has written over 2,000 songs for numerous artists such as Kyosuke Himuro, Takuro Yoshida and Junichi Inagaki and theme songs for ...
*** Music by Chiho Kiyooka
*** Arranged by
Kenji Yamamoto
*** Performed by
Hironobu Kageyama
is a Japanese singer and composer prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami (Kei) by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. By the ea ...
*ED (Ending Theme):
**
*** Lyrics by
Dai Satō
is a Japanese screenwriter and musician.
Having begun scriptwriting at a young age and writing scripts for various companies, Satō later focused his attention on writing for anime series. The first major series he worked on was the groundbrea ...
*** Music by Chiho Kiyooka
*** Arranged by
Kenji Yamamoto
*** Performed by
Hironobu Kageyama
is a Japanese singer and composer prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami (Kei) by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. By the ea ...
and Ammy
English dub soundtrack
The following songs were present in the Funimation dub of ''Cooler's Revenge''.
#
Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, bassist Stevie Benton, and drummer Mi ...
- Reminded
#
Dust for Life
Dust for Life was a post-grunge band from Memphis, Tennessee formed in 1999.
Formation and initial success
After the dissolution of the Memphis grunge band Bacchanal, Jason Hughes recruited three members from the local Memphis rock band Spaceman ...
- Poison
#
American Pearl
American Pearl was a hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. They released one studio album through Wind-up Records in 2000 and toured internationally before disbanding two years later.
History
Formed in 1997, American Pearl started with ...
- Seven Years
#
Breaking Point - Under
#
Finger Eleven
Finger Eleven is a Canadian rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990. They have released seven studio albums (six as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys), with their album ''The Greyest of Blue Skies'' bringing them into the ...
- Stay and Drown
#
Breaking Point - Falling Down
#
Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, bassist Stevie Benton, and drummer Mi ...
- Mute
#
Disturbed
Disturbed may refer to:
Books
* ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author)
Film and TV
* ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell
* "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs''
* "The Disturbed", a 2 ...
-
The Game
The Game or The Games may refer to:
Sports and games
* The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig
* The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself
* ...
#
Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, bassist Stevie Benton, and drummer Mi ...
- Told You So
#
Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...
-
Change (In the House of Flies)
"Change (In the House of Flies)", often referred to as "Change", is a song by American alternative metal band Deftones, released as the first single from their third album, ''White Pony'', on May 16, 2000. It remains their most commercially succe ...
#
American Pearl
American Pearl was a hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. They released one studio album through Wind-up Records in 2000 and toured internationally before disbanding two years later.
History
Formed in 1997, American Pearl started with ...
-
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on th ...
#
Breaking Point - Phoenix
The Double Feature release contains an alternate audio track containing the English dub with original Japanese background music by
Shunsuke Kikuchi
was a Japanese composer who was active from the early 1960s until 2017. He specialized in incidental music for media such as television and film. Kikuchi was regarded as one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working prin ...
and an ending theme of "The Incredible Mightiest vs. Mightiest".
The dub made in the Philippines contained English versions of the Japanese opening and ending theme songs.
Releases
It was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
and
VHS in North America on January 22, 2002. It was later released in Double Feature set along with ''
The Return of Cooler
''Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler'', known in Japan as or by Toei's own English title ''Dragon Ball Z: Fight! 10 Billion Power Warriors'', is a 1992 Japanese anime science fiction martial arts film, the sixth ''Dragon Ball Z'' film, origina ...
'' (1992) for
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...
and DVD on November 11, 2008, both feature full
1080p format in
HD remaster
Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used.
Mastering
A ...
ed
16:9 aspect ratio and an enhanced
5.1 surround
5.1 surround sound ("five-point one") is the common name for surround sound audio systems. 5.1 is the most commonly used layout in home theatres. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low-frequency effects channel (the "point one"). Dolb ...
mix. The film was re-released to DVD in remastered thinpak collection on November 1, 2011, containing the first 5 ''Dragon Ball Z'' films.
Reception
Other companies
A fourth English version released exclusively in Malaysia by Speedy Video features an unknown voice cast. Creative Products Corporation made an English dub for the Philippines with the title ''Dragon Ball Z: The Greatest Rivals''.
References
External links
Official anime websiteof
Toei Animation
() is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Sl ...
*
*
{{Toei Animation films 1990s
1991 films
1991 anime films
Cooler's Revenge
Funimation
Toei Animation films
Films scored by Shunsuke Kikuchi
Toonami
Anime and manga about revenge