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Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle Movie - Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle is the second feature-length animated fantasy and martial arts film based on the Dragon Ball manga by Akira Toriyama. The film premiered in Japan on July 18, 1987, at the Toei Manga Matsuri Film Festival. Funimation later released an English-language version of the film on VHS in 1998.

Summary

Some time ago, the Earth was plunged into darkness, and a mysterious castle stood amidst a group of five mountains collectively known as the "Devil's Hand." According to legend, a sleeping princess was imprisoned within the castle walls, guarded by the most sinister of the underworld's rulers.

Back in the present, Goku , now twelve years old, arrives at Kame House to receive martial arts training from Master Roshi . Goku finds Roshi watching a women's exercise program and, after struggling to get his attention, they discuss their training plans over lunch. They soon notice a small monk approaching on a rowboat heading to the island. The monk walks up to Roshi after he arrives and introduces himself as Krillin and begs Roshi to train him. Roshi initially refuses, but then agrees when Krillin offers him an erotic magazine in exchange. Krillin then meets Goku and Roshi tells the two the story of the Sleeping Princess, who is apparently being held captive by the Devil's Hand by a man named Lucifer. He tells them that whoever succeeds in bringing the Sleeping Princess back to him will be his student. In the background, a girl named Launch also learns of the Princess's location and plans to go there herself.

Goku's friends, Bulma , Yamcha , and Puar , now on summer vacation, ask Roshi where Goku is. Roshi gives the information about the quest he gave the two, prompting them to head in that direction as well. They use one of Bulma's capsules to travel an incredible distance quickly. Goku and Krillin approach the Devil's Hand and enter, unaware that Launch has also entered to steal the Princess for herself.

After nightfall, Goku's team begins to approach the castle, but is attacked by ogres who end up crashing their jet capsule. Bulma is captured and taken inside the Devil's Hand. They treat Bulma as a guest and take her to the Sleeping Princess convention. Later, Lucifer reveals his true nature and ties Bulma to a chair with vines and threatens to drain her blood with a huge syringe to wake the Sleeping Princess. Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong hear Bulma's cries for help and go to the Sleeping Princess convention in disguise using Oolong's shapeshifting abilities.

Meanwhile, Krillin and Goku battle numerous monsters and ogres. A giant devil named Ghastel also appears, but ends up being eaten by a swamp monster during the battle. The two are then dropped directly into the Sleeping Princess's room, where they discover that "Sleeping Princess" is actually the name of a piece of jewelry. Launch also arrives on a motorcycle and takes the Sleeping Princess away. The two begin to chase after her, but fail to notice Bulma and the others.

After five minutes, Oolong's shapeshifting ability wears off and Puar is transformed again, ruining the disguise. The group is then captured. On the run, Launch blasts her way through the ogres with a submachine gun, but as she does so, her hair begins to tickle her nose, causing her to sneeze and transform into a benevolent, blue-haired version of herself. Launch then falls off the motorcycle and lands on the ground, confused. Goku recaptures the Sleeping Princess, but Lucifer appears and takes Krillin hostage. Lucifer offers a trade for Krillin's safety in exchange for the Sleeping Princess, which Goku accepts. Instead of keeping his word, however, Goku is paralyzed and beaten by the ogres after a small pink devil bites his tail.

Lucifer manages to "wake up" the sleeping princess using the light of the full moon. Goku's group is held captive inside a giant rock wall. At one point, Goku looks up at the moon and transforms into a Great Ape, destroying the wall and freeing everyone. The giant, rampaging Goku then charges at Launch and attempts to devour her, but Krillin and Yamcha manage to latch onto his tail, weakening Great Ape Goku just long enough for Puar to transform into a pair of scissors to cut off his tail. Goku transforms back into his normal self, but has no memory of the transformation or what he did. He then begins to panic at the sight of his lost tail.

At the castle, Lucifer places the Sleeping Princess in a laser cannon and prepares it to destroy the rising sun. Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha come to the rescue and fight with Lucifer. Yamcha manages to free Bulma and kill Igor, while Lucifer activates the laser cannon. In response, Goku uses his Kamehameha wave to destroy the laser, but ends up causing the entire castle to collapse. Everyone tries to flee, but when the cannon falls, the beam hits Lucifer. The Sleeping Princess disappears, and the Devil's Hand is decimated.

Now that everyone is safe, Krillin acts regretfully, but doesn't directly apologize to Goku. The two boys return to Kame House with Launch. Roshi was pleased with them because he thought Launch was the Sleeping Princess, even though the Sleeping Princess was never a real person from the beginning.

At that moment, Krillin and Goku are thrilled to officially be Grandmaster Roshi's students, but their tone quickly changes after Launch sneezes again and turns evil again. She drops her machine gun and fires at Goku, Roshi, Krillin, and Turtle. A passing fly causes her to sneeze once more, turning her back on the good side. Launch apologizes for her actions, though the surprised group remains wary of her.

New characters

Lucifer: Lives in the devil's castle. He is feared as the vampire demon.
Ghastel: Lives in the Devil's Castle. He is a giant red monster and one of Lucifer's most powerful servants.