World Series Champions LA Dodgers And Ultraman: Rising Are A Match Made In Blue Heaven [INTERVIEW]

There’s a long line of classic baseball films: Rookie of the Year, Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, and A League Of Their Own, to name a few. And in a year when Los Angeles just won its eighth World Series, no film seems more perfect to experience either for the first time or re-watch than Ultraman: Rising. The film quickly proved a favorite, and not just with fans of the classic Tokusatsu series. It received wide praise for its stunning animation and beautiful storytelling.

One of the main aspects of the story is its protagonist Ken Sato, voiced by Christopher Sean, being one of the greatest baseball players in the world and going from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Yomiuri Giants. Recently Netflix invited me up to Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to speak to directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima. As a big baseball fan, I felt I had to touch on their love of the Dodgers and how important it was to have them as part of this great film. Watch the conversation below!

The importance of keeping things authentic

I was curious on the difficulty of using the Dodgers’ IP and what steps the filmmakers had to take to use it in the film.

“We approached the Dodgers early on. We wanted to work really closely with the teams. And what was important to us was using the real teams,” said Tindle. “I said I wanna use the Dodgers, I wanna use Yomiuri Giants, I wanna use the Swallows. I wanna use the Hanshin Tigers and we found a way to be able to do that.”

And they did just that. What Ultraman: Rising pulled off is a beautiful love letter not just to baseball, but to family. It was very important for the film to include real teams and not made up ones.

“People notice those things. I didn’t ever want it to be, you know, like ‘the New Jersey Slingers’. You want it to be real teams and, if we were gonna use those real teams, we wanted to to pay them the respect of trying to get all those details right,” Tindle added.

The film’s heart beats along the relationship between Ken and Emi, his newly born 35-foot kaiju baby. To connect them, Ken uses baseball to teach her how to be responsible and hone her powers, while solidifying their relationship with a mutual love for the game.

What would the next Ultraman chapter look like?

Now I wont spoil it for you, but Ultraman: Rising leaves us with an ending about hope and what’s to come. So, where do the directors think the next chapter will take our characters?

“I’ve already written bits and pieces,” said Tindle. “When it comes to Emi, I wanna have her a little bit older but I still want her to feel like she’s Emi. She’s a little bit more opinionated. But the other thing I wanna do is give her responsibility too. Maybe give her a puppy? Imagine a 35-foot kaiju taking care of a tiny little terrier puppy.”

Wherever the franchise goes next, we know it’s in good hands with Tindle and Aoshima!

You can stream Ultraman: Rising on Netflix now.

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