Now here's a weird piece of Ultra Series history.
In 1985, Sompote "Sands" Saengduenchai, head of Thailand's Chaiyo Productions and most notorious for his long-running attempts to steal the international distributions rights to the Ultra Series from Tsuburaya Productions, worked with American producers Dick Randall and Steve Minasian (known for their work on horror movies like Slaughter High, Don't Open Till Christmas, and Pieces) to make a 90-minute movie that would be shown for US television. Using a 1984 Thai reissue of Chaiyo's own Hanuman vs. 7 Ultraman that had been combined with footage from TsuPro's Ultraman Zoffy: Ultra Warriors Vs. The Giant Monster Army compilation movie and Ultraman Story, the two made what is easily the most bizarre piece of work ever created for the Ultra Series in its 50+ year history. Its name was Space Warriors 2000.
The movie's plot (if it can be called that) begins with an American boy named Nicholas whose father has returned from a business trip with a present — an Ultraman action figure. What Nicholas doesn't know is that his dad bought it from a nice old lady, whose husband is not pleased with this for the Ultraman figurine was given to him for safekeeping "until the time a pure of heart individual is chosen to save the Earth". Nicholas soon learns this same story when the Ultraman figurine speaks to him, and he is soon whisked away to M78 to join the Ultra heroes (or "Space Warriors in this case") in a great battle between good and evil.
What follows is a nonsensical series of Gag Dubbed fight scenes taken from various Showa Ultra Series. After a while, this is switched over for an abridged and slightly modified retelling of Hanuman vs. 7 Ultraman that uses the same ridiculous dubbing. Afterwards, the "Space Warriors" depart Earth, and Nicholas awakens to find out it was All Just a Dream. But that little Ultraman figurine has vanished from where he left it, and the nearby window is open wide...
Now before anyone asks, Tsuburaya Productions had no role in the production of this movie, making it completely unauthorized. And they were not amused to see Sompote up to his old tricks again. Thus, Space Warriors 2000 was quickly taken off American airwaves after TsuPro filed a lawsuit against Sompote and his American partners, and the movie has never appeared on television since.
See it here
. But be prepared for anything.
Tropes applying to Space Warriors 2000:
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Some of the monsters have their backstories altered; for instance, Zetton apparently came from "an energy egg from the planet Weird."
- Hanuman's origin of being a murdered child merged with a god is missing from the film.
- All Just a Dream: As revealed in the end.
- Or Was It a Dream?: If the disappeared Ultraman figurine is any indication.
- Arc Words: "Good must triumph over evil" is repeated throughout the film.
- Character Catchphrase: Space Warriors repeat "Let good triumph over evil" and variants of thereof.
- Credits Gag: Mothra and "Godzelda" are credited despite not appearing. It also ends off with "a whole cast of Japanese stuntmen whose names we could not read".
- Decomposite Character: The Mother of Ultra is divided into two characters: Zebin and Sassie (pronounced like Susie). To further confuse things, Sassie is stated to be Ultra Father's daughter making her the sister to the Ultra Brothers / Space Warriors.
- Dub Name Change: Of the Gag Dub type
- Zoffy is renamed Mootan.
- Ultraseven is Waldy.
- Ultraman Jack is Tadledar, but is also called Caldar at certain points.
- Ultraman Ace is called Batcar
- Ultraman Taro is referred to as Darrah
- Ultraman Leo is called Rayow, with Astra being Danlar
- The Father and Mother of Ultra are Agar and Zebin (except when she's not wearing a cape, then she's Sassie) respectively, while Ultraman King is called Uncle Ultra.
- Ultraman Joneus of The☆Ultraman appears as Andar.
- Red King is renamed Mr. Bad.
- The Baltans are called the Lobster-Men.
- Alien Temperor is referred to as "the Meanest Monster in Monsterland".
- Alien Babalou is renamed Zero Man.
- And this is just the tip of the insanity, multiple Ultras are randomly referred by the same name as other Ultras in different scenes.
- Framing Device: The living toy Ultraman telling the history of the Ultras, leading to the remaining insanity of the film.
- Gag Dub: Every last inch of the movie's stock footage to almost incomprehensible levels.
- Living Toys: The toy Ultraman came to life in order to tell the history of the Ultras to Nicholas.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The movie ends with Nicholas seemingly waking up from a dream... except the Ultraman toy is missing, implying everything we saw might have actually happened.
- Random Events Plot: Considering that they just made the movie's "plot" from a bunch of haphazardly put-together fight scenes, the plot pretty much amounts to the Ultras battling monsters while goofy dialogue ensues.
- Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: The opening credits include Mothra and a character named "Godzelda"... who don't show up at any point in the film.
- Spell My Name With An S: the names of all the Ultras listed under Dub Name Change? These are just guesses as to how they're spelled.
- Stock Footage: The fight scenes are borrowed primarily from Ultraman, with some additional footage from Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Leo, Ultraman 80, and Ultraseven. Then there's the entire last third of the movie, which is simply just Hanuman vs. 7 Ultraman.
- Suddenly Voiced: Most kaiju from the show, which are incapable of speech, now can talk... in badly dubbed English. Most notably Red King, who provides the page quote.
- Super Family Team: The titular Space Warriors are a family of giant superheroes.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: When Ultraman is wounded, a female Space Warrior, Sassie, appears to guard him as he heals. She just disappears after Ultraman gets better and never help fights the monsters.
