Hanuman and the Seven Ultramen (หนุมาน พบ 7 ยอดมนุษย์, Hanuman pob Jed Yodmanud) is a 1974 Thai-Japanese tokusatsu film directed by Sompote Saengdueanchai and Shohei Tojo.
Dubbing history[]
Shaw Brothers commissioned a Mandarin-dubbed version of Hanuman and the Seven Ultramen for release in Hong Kong, Singapore and other Chinese-speaking markets. The Mandarin dubbing was done by Wang Ping's dubbing group. For release outside of Chinese-speaking markets, Shaw Brothers commissioned an English dubbed version made by Axis International, with its dialog based on the English theatrical subtitles present on the Mandarin version. The film's English dubbing cast consists of Ted Thomas, Chris Hilton, Lynne Wilson, Warren Rooke, an unidentified female dubber, and Ron Oliphant.
Shaw Brothers titled the film The Ultraman for its original February 1975 Hong Kong engagement and then retitled it Hanuman and the Seven Ultramen for its Singapore release in May of the same year. This version also received distribution in Malaysia, Taiwan and Lebanon; the only known release of the English dub was its Lebanese release.
Some time in the 1980s, Spot (a Lebanese VHS distributor) released the English export cut on VHS, albeit with occasional audio issues and the film print being substantially damaged. Due to Shaw Bros. losing the distribution rights in 1979, the Chaiyo V. Tsuburaya court case, and the English dub receiving little known distribution, the English dub of the film was unknown to majority English-speaking countries for several decades. However, In the early 2020s, the English dub surfaced thanks to efforts coordinated by Omayyad, Redcomet, and Lebanese VHS collector Elie Al Hajj. The Lebanese VHS tape was digitally preserved in 2023, with the transfer undertaken by WeltraumBesty and consulted by Sydney Perkins.
Hanuman and the Seven Ultramen was released in Japan on March 17th, 1979. 24 minutes were cut from the original release and the dialogue was dubbed into Japanese by Production Kawa. A completely new music track was compiled, although the sound effects track remained largely intact. When the film was re-released in Taiwan on January 25th, 1985, the the Japanese cut was used instead of the original Mandarin cut.
An unauthorized Mandarin dub recorded for this version was released in Taiwan on home video around 1989 - 1990.
Cast[]
| Character | Original actor | First Mandarin dub | Axis dub | Japanese dub | Second Mandarin dub |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanuman | Yupon Thammasri (voice), (suit actor unknown) | (Unknown) | Ted Thomas | Issei Futamata | (Unknown) |
| Koh | Sanit Kaewadee | (Unknown) | Lynne Wilson | Ai Sakuma | (Unknown |
| Dr. Wisut | Yodchai Meksuwan | (Unknown) | Chris Hilton | Ryuji Nakagi | (Unknown) |
| Marissa | Pawana Chanajit | (Unknown) | Lynne Wilson | Yoko Kuri | (Unknown) |
| Annan | Ouab Somchat | (Unknown) | (unidentified) | Sumiko Shirakawa | (Unknown) |
| Sipuak | Sipuak | (Unknown) | Ted Thomas | Junpei Takiguchi | (Unknown) |
| Sisuliya | Sisuliya | (Unknown) | Warren Rooke | Shingo Kanemoto | (Unknown) |
| Helios | Kinichi Kusumi | (Unknown) | Ron Oliphant | Toshio Furakawa | (Unknown) |
| Ultraman | Kinichi Kusumi (suit), (voice actor unknown) | (Unknown) | Warren Rooke | Toshio Furakawa | (Unknown) |
| Robber in green | Kaan Booncho | (Unknown) | Ted Thomas , Warren Rooke | Tetsuo Mizutori | (Unknown) |
| Robber in black | Jan Wanpen | (Unknown) | Chris Hilton , Ron Oliphant | Shigeo Hashimoto | (Unknown) |
| Robber in blue | Prida Somthobsuuk | (Unknown) | Warren Rooke | Shigeo Hashimoro | (Unknown) |
| Flower of life | (unknown) | (Unknown) | Lynne Wilson | Uesaka Taeko | (Unknown) |
| Narrator | Yupon Thammasri | (Unknown) | Ted Thomas | Shojiro Kurihara | (Unknown) |