Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle
Second Dragon Ball film, featuring a quest for the Sleeping Princess.
Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle is a 1987 Japanese animated film that blends fantasy, martial arts, and adventure. It is the second movie based on Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga. The film debuted in Japan on July 18 as part of the Toei Manga Matsuri festival, sharing the bill with the first Saint Seiya movie and film versions of Hikari Sentai Maskman and Choujinki Metalder. Funimation produced an English dub in 1998. It follows Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies and precedes Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure.
The story begins long ago, when darkness still roamed the Earth. A castle sits among five mountains called the Devil's Hand, where legend says a beautiful Sleeping Princess is guarded by a sinister master of the underworld. Years later, eleven-year-old Goku arrives at Kame House to train with Master Roshi. While discussing plans, a little monk named Krillin rows to the island and begs for training. Roshi refuses until Krillin bribes him with magazines. Roshi then tells the boys about the Sleeping Princess, held captive by a vampire-like count named Lucifer. He sends them on a quest: whoever brings back the princess becomes his student. Meanwhile, a blonde-haired girl named Launch also learns of the princess and plans to steal her. As Goku and Krillin travel, Krillin tries tricks to slow Goku down, but Goku outsmarts him. Bulma, Oolong, Yamcha, and Puar, on summer vacation, meet Roshi and learn where Goku went. They fly to the castle in Bulma's jet.
At sunset, Goku and Krillin enter the Devil's Hand. Launch also sneaks in. The gang's jet is attacked by ogres and crashes; Bulma is taken. She wakes in a bedroom and meets Lucifer and his butler Igor, who treat her as a guest before revealing their true plan. They tie her up, intending Igor to drain her blood with a giant syringe to awaken the Sleeping Princess. Hearing her screams, Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar disguise themselves as ogres using shape-shifting. Goku and Krillin fight monsters, including a giant devil named Ghastel, who is eaten by a swamp monster. They fall into the Sleeping Princess's bedchamber, finding only a giant jewel. Launch arrives on a motorcycle, steals the jewel, and drives away. As Goku and Krillin chase her, Oolong's shape-shifting wears off, exposing the others. They are captured. Launch blasts through ogres with a machine gun, but sneezes, turning into her
- Release year
- 1987
- Country
- Japan
- Language
- Japanese
- Genre
- Animated fantasy martial arts adventure
- Director
- Not specified in source
- Based on
- Dragon Ball manga by Akira Toriyama
Lore & Background
At the Devil's Hand, Goku and Krillin fight ogres and monsters, including a giant red demon called Ghastel. Launch steals the Sleeping Princess but sneezes, changing from her aggressive blonde-haired self to a nice blue-haired version. Lucifer, the vampire-like ruler of the castle, uses the full moon to awaken the Sleeping Princess. Goku transforms into a Great Ape after looking at the moon, but his tail is cut off by Puar, reverting him to normal. The climax involves Goku using the Kamehameha wave to damage a laser cannon that Lucifer had prepared to destroy the rising sun, causing the castle to collapse and killing Lucifer. The film ends with Goku and Krillin accepted as Roshi's students, though Launch's sneezing causes chaos.
Reader's Guide
Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle is significant as the second Dragon Ball feature film, bridging the gap between the first film, Curse of the Blood Rubies, and the third, Mystical Adventure. It introduces elements that would become familiar in the franchise, such as Goku's Great Ape transformation and the Kamehameha wave. The film also features early appearances of characters like Krillin and Launch, who would later become recurring figures in the series. The English dub by Funimation in 1998 helped introduce the film to Western audiences, though it replaced the original Japanese music with themes from the 1995 English dub of the TV series. An obscure English dub by Speedy Video was also released in Malaysia. The film's legacy lies in its expansion of the Dragon Ball universe beyond the manga and TV series, offering an original adventure that showcases the humor and action of the franchise.
Did You Know?
- The film was originally released in Japan on July 18 at the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival as part of a quadruple feature with the first Saint Seiya film and film versions of Hikari Sentai Maskman and Choujinki Metalde
- The English dub by Funimation from 1998 replaced the opening theme with the theme song from the 1995 English dub of the TV series.
- An obscure English dub was produced and released exclusively in Malaysia by Speedy Video, presumably around the late 1990s.
- The film introduces the characters Lucifer, ruler of the Devil's Castle, and Ghastel, a giant red demon.
More in Dragon Ball animated films 1-23
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