Hwasango, AKA Volcano High, is a 2001 Korean martial arts film heavier on comedy than action. It follows a delinquent student named Kim struggling with his temper and psychic powers. After transferring to Volcano High, a preppy high school with students proficient in martial arts, Kim is dragged into a turf war between a gang of students and substitute teachers. But we’re here to talk about MTV’s 2003 English dub, which stars hip hop artists like André 3000, Lil Jon, Snoop Dogg, comedian Tracy Morgan, and Mr. Miyagi himself, Pat Morita.
I forget how the hell I even stumbled upon this time capsule of East meets West. Despite the film’s Korean version ranking as the 9th highest-grossing Korean film in 2001, the American version of Volcano High’s plot (which cuts 80 minutes of content) doesn’t have a remarkable story by any stretch of the imagination. Outside of some neat wire stunt work and special effects on par with Donnie Darko, Volcano High is a cheesy kung-fu movie that only stands to gain from having a goofy-sounding dub.
After watching the trailer of the American version, I assumed the film’s grab bag of hot-and-happening early aughts rappers would be hamming up their vocal performances. To my surprise, Volcano High’s cast played things pretty straight. Morita’s vocal performance is objectively better than everyone else’s because he perfectly matches the lip flaps and over-the-top gesticulations of Volcano High’s conniving vice principal, Ko.
But the absolute cream of MTV’s weird little assortment of actors is Lil Jon and Snoop Dogg. While Snoop Dogg is criminally underutilized, he earns whatever MTV cut him a check for as the school’s level-headed “big homie.” Many of his lines as class president Kwon Sang-woo (localized as Hakrim) have him pontificating circular phrases that pass for sage wisdom, such as “knowing your enemy is to know yourself” and “your biggest weakness is your greatest strength.” If it weren’t for how smoothly he delivers every line like an Instagram-worthy caption, his character wouldn’t have made me lean forward toward my laptop to hear him talk game to Andre Three Stacks’ Kim.
Lil Jon was born to play Volcano High’s resident bully, Jang Yang. Lil Jon has two volumes: a low grumble and full-throated shouts. Volcano High lets him ping pong between both poles of his vocal range; he shouts all the air out of his lungs whenever he routinely reminds people of his entire government name, and he growls like an anime villain whenever someone challenges him or gets the upper hand in their bouts of fisticuffs. If there ever was a film that would get the party rapper closer to EGOT status, it’s here.
Other memorable moments from Volcano High include Kelis’ “Milkshake” playing moments after Tracy Morgan’s dreadlocked Woo Ping faceplants his two-story window leap of faith, Jang Yang throwing hands in a cafeteria because a classmate dared to eat cheonggukjang (his least favorite food) in his presence, and an Ada Wong-looking lady calling Kelis’ character “bacon head” for her gaudy super-gelled hairstyle. If you have an affinity for cheesy martial arts movies with dubbing work on par with localized Godzilla movies, Volcano High is a pretty comfy, dumb fun watch.
