Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Hatsuki Tsuji |
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| Starring | see below |
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| Release date(s) | August 13, 2004 (United States) November 3, 2004 (Japan) |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Money made | $29.2 million |
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light is an exciting animated adventure movie from 2004. It's based on the popular Japanese manga and anime series called Yu-Gi-Oh!. The film features the characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! TV show in a brand new story. This adventure takes place between the third and fourth seasons of the TV series.
The movie first came out in theaters in the United States on August 13, 2004. Later, it was released on DVD and VHS. In Japan, the movie was shown in theaters on November 3, 2004. A special remastered version of the film was released again in theaters in 2018.
Contents
Movie Story: The Pyramid of Light
Ancient Evil Returns
Long, long ago, about 5,000 years in the past, a brave pharaoh named Atem stopped a powerful evil. This evil was Anubis, the Egyptian lord of the dead. Anubis tried to destroy the world by making kings play dangerous Shadow Games. Pharaoh Atem managed to trap Anubis.
In the present day, archaeologists find Anubis's tomb. They are amazed by his most valuable treasure: the Pyramid of Light. At the same time, Yugi Muto puts together the Millennium Puzzle. This puzzle holds the soul of Pharaoh Atem. When Yugi solves it, he becomes Yami Yugi, a powerful version of himself. A strong spiritual force comes out of the relic, freeing Anubis. Now free, Anubis wants to finish his old plan to destroy the world.
A New Duel Challenge
Three years later, Yugi has become very famous. He won the Battle City Finals and got the three powerful Egyptian God Cards: Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra. Seto Kaiba, Yugi's main rival, wants to defeat him badly. Kaiba goes to Maximillion Pegasus, who created the Duel Monsters card game. Kaiba hopes to get new cards that can beat the God Cards.
Pegasus tells Kaiba he has the cards Kaiba is looking for. But he will only give them to Kaiba if Kaiba can beat him in a duel. Kaiba wins against Pegasus and gets two new cards. One of these cards was secretly placed there by Anubis.
The Prophecy and the Pyramid
Meanwhile, Yugi and Téa Gardner visit a museum. Anubis's body and the Pyramid of Light are on display there. They meet Yugi's grandfather, Solomon, who reads a scary prophecy:
- The eye that sees what's yet to come
- Its vision shall be fulfilled
- Unless blinded by events predetermined
- Thus light and shadows both be killed
Suddenly, Anubis's dark spirit attacks them. Yugi has a vision of Anubis controlling Kaiba. He also sees Yami Yugi getting hurt in a Shadow Game. When Yugi wakes up, Anubis's body and the Pyramid of Light are gone. Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba, arrives. Yugi and his friends, Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor, go to Kaiba's Duel Dome.
Kaiba forces Yami Yugi into a duel. Kaiba doesn't know that Anubis is making him use one of his new cards, Pyramid of Light. This card creates a huge copy of the pyramid on the field and destroys the God Cards! Yugi, Joey, and Tristan are pulled into the pyramid. Mokuba escapes the crumbling building.
Inside the Millennium Puzzle
Yugi, Joey, and Tristan wake up inside the Millennium Puzzle. They find Anubis's tomb there. Anubis tells them his monsters will destroy the modern world. Yami Yugi and Kaiba continue their duel. Every time their Life Points go down in the game, they lose physical energy.
Kaiba's Deck Destruction Virus sends many of Yami's cards to the Graveyard. Yami has very few cards left. Attacks from Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon (his second new card) make Yami's Life Points drop to just 200.
Pegasus figures out what's happening. He arrives in a helicopter to save Téa, Solomon, and Mokuba. Téa sends her soul into the Millennium Puzzle to help Yugi, Joey, and Tristan. Yugi finds the Dagger of Fate in Anubis's tomb. He uses it to destroy the all-seeing eye, just as the prophecy said.
Defeating Anubis
Kaiba tries to destroy the Pyramid of Light card, going against Anubis's plan. Anubis then appears, pushes Kaiba aside, and takes over the duel. Yami realizes that Anubis is the real villain behind everything. Yami and Yugi work together. They destroy the Pyramid of Light card using Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon. Then, they use Kaiba's own strategy to summon the God Cards and defeat Anubis.
But Anubis changes into a giant monster. He makes any monster summoned in the duel become real. This turns out to be his mistake! Yugi and Yami summon Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon again to defeat Anubis for good. An injured Kaiba leaves with Mokuba, promising to beat Yugi next time. Yugi thanks Yami and his three best friends for their strong friendship, saying it makes him a true winner.
Voice Cast
| Character | Japanese Voice Actor | English Voice Actor |
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| Yugi Mutou / Yami Yugi | Shunsuke Kazama | Dan Green |
| Seto Kaiba | Kenjiro Tsuda | Eric Stuart |
| Anubis | Kōji Ishii | Scott Rayow |
| Joey Wheeler | Hiroki Takahashi | Wayne Grayson |
| Tristan Taylor | Hidehiro Kikuchi | Greg Abbey |
| Téa Gardner | Maki Saitou | Amy Birnbaum |
| Mokuba Kaiba | Junko Takeuchi | Tara Jayne |
| Solomon Mutou | Tadashi Miyazawa | Maddie Blaustein |
| Maximillion Pegasus | Jiro J. Takasugi | Darren Dunstan |
Movie Music: The Soundtrack
| Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie Soundtrack | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | August 10, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop, hip hop | |||
| Length | 44:46 | |||
| Label | 4Kids Entertainment, RCA | |||
| Producer | John Siegler, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Eddie Montilla, Jean Rodríguez, Wayne Sharp, Shep Goodman, Kenny Gioia, Herminio Quiroz, Ron Riley, Russell Velázquez, Jen Scaturro, Julian Schwartz, Jake Siegler, Alex Walker | |||
| Yu-Gi-Oh! chronology | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
The Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie Soundtrack is an album of songs from the English version of the movie. It features different singers and groups, including The Black Eyed Peas with their song "For the People." The soundtrack was released on August 10, 2004, on CD and cassette.
| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
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| 1. | "You're Not Me" | Marty Bags | 3:16 |
| 2. | "For the People" | The Black Eyed Peas | 4:01 |
| 3. | "One Card Short" | James Chatton | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Step Up" | Jean Rodríguez | 3:53 |
| 5. | "Shadow Games" | Trixie Reiss | 3:32 |
| 6. | "It's Over" | Fatty Koo | 3:49 |
| 7. | "Blind Ambition" | The Deleted | 3:18 |
| 8. | "The Great Pretender" | The Jon Frederik Band | 3:14 |
| 9. | "How Much Longer" | Jen Scaturro | 3:12 |
| 10. | "U Better Fear Me" | The Deleted | 4:17 |
| 11. | "Power Within" | Dan Metreyeon | 3:09 |
| 12. | "Believe In" | Skwib | 3:07 |
| 13. | "Yu-Gi-Oh! Theme" | Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair | 2:07 |
How the Movie Was Made
In July 2003, it was announced that Warner Bros. would help distribute the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie outside of Asia. They hoped it would be as successful as the first three Pokémon movies.
English vs. Japanese Versions
The English version of the movie kept most of the changes made for the TV series. For example, characters have different names. Téa Gardner is called Anzu Mazaki in Japan. Also, the trading cards in the English movie look like the real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. In the TV show, they usually changed how the cards looked.
The Japanese version of the movie has 13 extra minutes of animation. It uses the characters' original names and the original music and sound effects from the Japanese TV series. It also has a different ending song called Fire by the band BLAZE.
Movie Promotions and Books
Free Trading Cards
When the movie first came out, people who bought tickets got one of four free Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game cards. These cards were Pyramid of Light, Sorcerer of Dark Magic, Watapon, and Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon.
Movie Novel
A book version of the movie was released in 2004. It was written by Junki Takegami. The book is very similar to the movie's story, but it adds a few small details. For example, it explains that the Pyramid of Light was created as a failed copy of the Millennium Puzzle. The book also gives detailed lists of the cards each character uses. This novel was never translated into English and is now hard to find.
Movie Release Information
Home Video
The movie was released on DVD and VHS for people to watch at home on November 16, 2004. It was later released on Blu-ray for the first time in the United States on October 8, 2019.
Box Office Success
Yu-Gi-Oh! – The Movie: Pyramid of Light opened in 2,411 movie theaters across the U.S. It earned about $3,934 per screen. By the end of its first weekend, it made $9,485,494. It was the 4th most popular movie that weekend. The movie earned $19,765,868 in the United States and Canada. Worldwide, it made $29,170,410. Compared to the very successful Pokémon movies, which were also dubbed by the same company, this movie didn't make as much money.
Special Re-releases
On February 1, 2018, it was announced that the movie would be shown again in about 800 American theaters. These special showings were on March 11 and 12. In October 2018, a preview for the new Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, was shown alongside the movie. This preview also mentioned that the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie was coming out on Blu-ray on October 8, 2018.
See also
In Spanish: Yu-Gi-Oh! La película: Pirámide de la luz para niños
