Pokemon Film Trilogy Retrospective

We've had quite an interesting release this past week in the form of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. It serves as the first live-action film adaptation of the hugely popular video game series Pokémon, which continues to be one of the most dominant media franchises of today’s pop cultural zeitgeist even after nearly two and a half decades since its initial inception. Its various video game releases have sold over 300 million copies worldwide, a feat that’s only rivaled by their parent company Nintendo’s flagship franchise, Super Mario. And while most Pokémon games stem from the RPG genre, there have also been various spin-offs that include puzzle games, an on-rails shooter themed around photography, and the highly popular mobile-based augmented reality game Pokémon Go. But, of course, the Pokémon series has also been successfully expanded into other forms of media. Not long after the initial release of the series’ first installments, Pokémon Red and Green (later Red, Blue and Yellow in the U.S.), a trading card game was developed and has since gone on to become the top-selling trading card game of all-time. But for today’s post, we’re delving into what is arguably the Pokémon franchise’s most notable product outside of the video games, its anime adaptation. The Pokémon anime series debuted in 1997 and is STILL going strong today after more than 1,000 (!) episodes.

Now, this isn’t the first time that I’ve discussed the Pokémon anime on this site. Way back in 2014, I did a review of the show’s first season, Indigo League, primarily due to it being recently added to Netflix’s streaming library. In that review, I noted that while it’s incredibly cheesy and often repetitive with its narrative, I still had positive nostalgic feelings towards it even though I admittedly wasn’t exactly an avid viewer of it back when it originally aired. I also did a pair of posts that went over some of the hilariously strange and awkward moments that have occurred in various episodes of the show’s first two seasons (e.g. that one episode that literally sent hundreds of Japanese kids to the hospital due to its use of intense strobe lighting). But today, we’re not doing another one of those ‘strange moments’ posts. Instead, we’ll be looking at some of the anime’s feature film adaptations. As of this post’s publication, there have been 21 Pokémon animated feature films that have been released, with several of them even seeing a theatrical release here in the U.S. For obvious reasons, I won’t be delving into every single one of these films in today’s retrospective. For one thing, that’s just way too many films to cover in just a single post and I can’t watch them all in time to have this come out a reasonable time that's in line with the release of Detective Pikachu. Part of this also stems from the fact that, as I noted in those earlier posts, my experience with the Pokémon franchise mainly stems from its first two ‘eras’, Kanto and Johto, as the games from those eras were the ones that I grew up with. Thus, today I’ll just be looking at the series’ first three films as they were the only ones prior to Detective Pikachu that were given proper theatrical releases here in the U.S. whereas others had much more limited releases. And so, without further ado, it’s time to “be the very best like no one ever was” and return to a simpler time in the franchise’s history as we look at the first three Pokémon feature films.

(Disclaimer: The three films in this retrospective saw a domestic release the year after their initial releases in Japan, where the Pokémon franchise originated from. In other words, while they’ll all be labeled with their initial Japanese release dates, just bear in mind that the versions of these films that us American audiences are familiar with came out one year later.)

Before we begin, though, I wanted to do a quick little callback to my earlier Pokémon posts by going over one iconic moment from the anime’s first season that I surprisingly missed when I did that first ‘Strange Moments’ post. And I won’t lie, I’m kind of kicking myself for forgetting it because it’s such a hilariously absurd moment. Thus, without further ado…

THE ANIME PULLS OFF A MAJOR BIT OF TROLLING – THE ULTIMATE TEST

In episode 56, The Ultimate Test, series protagonist Ash Ketchum takes a Pokémon League entry exam when it provides him a potential opportunity to be accepted into the Pokémon League without having to earn all 8 of Kanto’s Gym Leader Badges (or 10, if you’re Gary Oak). The notorious duo of Team Rocket members Jessie and James also partake in the exam as well, managing to avoid suspicion via disguises that, as I’ve noted in those ‘Strange Moments’ posts, aren’t very good and yet keep managing to fool Ash and his friends for some reason. During one part of the exam, they’re faced with the simple challenge that every fan of this show is tasked with during a commercial break, Who’s that Pokémon? The instructor presents the first Pokémon silhouette, which comes in the shape of a circle. Ash, Jessie, and James present their options…

Given that, at the time, there are only a few Pokémon with a completely circular shape, Ash guesses that it’s a Voltorb.

James, meanwhile, completely forgets that this test was about Pokémon and says that it’s a Poke Ball “without a doubt”.

Finally, Jessie goes with Voltorb’s evolved form, Electrode, as her answer.

They’re all wrong, however, because the answer is… Jigglypuff seen from above!

Honestly, there’s not much else that I can say about this scene. It’s just so damn silly and yet still incredibly hilarious because of how ludicrous that bait-and-switch is. Heck, they even reuse this gag in the episode’s actual ‘Who’s that Pokémon’ segment, though sadly this was only in the Japanese dub. Here in the U.S., a Vulpix was used instead.

And now… our Feature Presentation!!!

POKEMON: THE FIRST MOVIE – MEWTWO STRIKES BACK (1998)

Backed by the worldwide success of both the video games and the anime, Pokémon made its feature film debut in 1998 with The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back. It goes without saying that this film was a big deal back when it was released; here in the U.S., it still stands as the highest-grossing anime film of all-time and it sold over 10 million copies once it hit the home video market. Critical reception, however, wasn’t very positive, and from the looks of it, a lot of this was due to the film’s domestic dub courtesy of the anime’s U.S. distributor, 4Kids. The domestic cut of the film didn’t include a 10-minute prologue that goes into the backstory of the main villain, Mewtwo, a clone of the ancient Pokémon Mew. This backstory, which sees Mewtwo befriend a cloned human girl named Amber before being forced to witness her death, makes the character more of a misunderstood villain than an outright malicious one as his characterization stems around him trying to understand his purpose in life. Thus, because this was taken out of the domestic cut, he’s presented as more of a straight-forward antagonist, and while there is still the underlying theme of him rebelling against those who treat him as nothing more than an experiment, his motives aren’t as clear in the U.S. dub. There are also a few noticeable continuity errors here and there (e.g. several instances of incorrectly identified Pokémon) and a more overt American soundtrack. The latter aspect of the film is most infamously represented during the big fight between Pokémon and their Mewtwo-created clones, which is set to a pop song instead of an orchestra like in the Japanese version. And yet, despite all this and the rather notorious sequence where the Pokémon revive a petrified Ash via their tears (an event that, technically, was hinted at earlier in the film even if it was only just as a passing reference by a minor character), I still find this to be a generally harmless popcorn flick.

To be clear, I’m not saying that this is a ‘great’ film. Like the show itself, this film is incredibly cheesy, and as I’ve pointed out, a lot of this was due to 4Kids’ overall handling of the American dub (e.g. at one point, Ash randomly references the Minnesota Vikings football team). There’s also a generally mishandled attempt at having a message that condemns fighting. Sure, it’s a noble cause, but it also happens to occur in a film that stems from a franchise that is literally known for fighting. And if that wasn’t enough, this message is then directly thrown out the window at the end of the film when Mewtwo wipes the main characters’ memories. At the same time, however, Mewtwo is a genuinely iconic antagonist. Despite the lack of his backstory in the domestic cut (which was included as a bonus feature in its initial DVD release but, strangely, not in subsequent releases), the film does succeed in conveying the same mystique that the character had in the games, where he could only be encountered after defeating the Elite Four. Because of this, Pokémon: The First Movie is still an enjoyable watch… though, admittedly, this applies more towards those who are fans of the franchise. If you aren’t a fan of Pokémon, then you’re not going to get a lot out of this film because to be perfectly blunt, it’s not very friendly to newcomers. Still, for those who grew up with this franchise, this film continues to serve as a pleasantly nostalgic trip down memory lane to a simpler time in Pokémon’s history.

Rating: 3/5

POKEMON: THE MOVIE 2000 – THE POWER OF ONE (1999)

While the second Pokémon film wasn’t as big of a hit at the box-office when compared to its predecessor (even with a summer release date), it seems as if fans of the franchise tend to view this installment just as positively as they do the first film if not arguably more so. For one thing, this film’s 4Kids dub wasn’t as overt as the first film’s domestic dub was when it came to changes that drastically alter the story. As such, this film’s plot, in which Ash finds himself having to fulfill a prophecy to save the world from being destroyed by a clash between the legendary Pokémon bird trio of Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos, does feel a lot more consistent from a narrative perspective. Sure, it’s still a generally straight-forward ‘hero’s journey’ story, but it does manage to do what most sequels tend to do by thoroughly raising the stakes of Ash’s quest. However, if there’s one advantage that the first film has over this one, it’s that it had the benefit of Mewtwo as its villain. By comparison, this film has a generic Pokémon collector (who isn’t even given a name in the film itself outside of the credits, where he’s listed as ‘Lawrence III’) who simply seeks to capture the legendary Pokémon birds so that he can collect another Legendary Pokémon, Lugia (AKA the cover mascot for Pokémon Silver and its DS remake, SoulSilver). Overall, though, Pokémon 2000 is generally on par with the first film in terms of its quality. It can very well be argued that this film is ‘better’ than its predecessor, but at the same time, Mewtwo Strikes Back is also arguably the more memorable of the two. Whatever one you prefer, however, it’s another delightfully nostalgic adventure for those who grew up with it.

Rating: 3/5

POKEMON 3: THE MOVIE – ENTEI: SPELL OF THE UNOWN (2000)

By the time that Pokémon 3 rolled into theaters, the series was already into the Gold and Silver era of the franchise, where the action shifted to the Johto region and introduced 100 new Pokémon to complement the original 151 from Red and Blue. However, just like Pokémon 2000, this one wasn’t as big of a hit at the box-office compared to the first film… or even Pokémon 2000, for that matter. As such, this ended up being the last Pokémon film up until this year’s Detective Pikachu to A.) get a wide release in the U.S. and B.) be distributed by Warner Bros. By all accounts, this was around the time when the initial hype for Pokémon had finally started to die down, and yet, many have touted this as one of the franchise’s best films… and to be perfectly blunt, they’re right. For one thing, this film features some of the best animation to come from a Pokémon film as it more than utilizes the potential of its dream-based narrative to its fullest effect. Said plot sees Ash and company trying to rescue his mother Delia after she’s kidnapped by the legendary Pokémon Entei, who currently serves as the guardian of a young girl named Molly. The duo of Molly and Entei provide the film with a fascinating set of antagonists because just like Mewtwo, Molly isn’t exactly an ‘evil villain’. Instead, she’s just a scared little girl struggling to cope with the disappearance of both her mother and father. As such, Entei ends up personifying her father (which is bolstered by the fact that both Entei and her father are played by the same voice actor, Dan Green) and she has him kidnap Ash’s mom so that she can be her ‘mother’, resulting in a story that’s full of surprisingly effective psychological turmoil.    

Entei is also an equally solid antagonist. Despite just being an apparition created by the other prominently featured Pokémon of the film, the alphabet shaped Unown, Entei proves to be quite an imposing threat to Ash and company while also maintaining complete loyalty to Molly throughout as her new father figure. Not only does this result in an awesome battle between Entei and Ash’s Charizard, but it also strengthens the film’s emotional depth, especially near the end when Entei sacrifices himself to save Molly and the others from the Unown. It also helps to make up for the fact that the Unown are admittedly a rather underdeveloped bunch of antagonists. Sure, the film does a nice job of establishing their mysterious nature, but they don’t really do much plot-wise aside from transporting Molly’s father into another dimension, creating Entei, and transforming Molly’s home into a crystal palace. Ironically, though, this is arguably a perfect cinematic representation of their status in the games, where they’ve frequently been regarded as some of the weakest of the franchise’s 812 current* (as of this post’s publication due to 3 of those being the starter Pokémon from the upcoming Sword and Shield games) species of Pokémon. Ultimately, though, Pokémon 3 truly is a solid animated film as it’s one of the best-paced of the franchise and one of the best-written. Now admittedly, just like the previous two films, it’s still generally geared towards fans of the franchise. However, if I were to pick just one of the many Pokémon animated films to recommend to those who aren’t that big a fan of the franchise, I would choose this one (even if I’ve had more experience with The First Movie and 2000) as it’s arguably one of the most accessible installments for Pokémon newcomers.

Rating: 4.5/5

And that concludes this little retrospective on the original ‘trilogy’ of Pokémon films that were released in theaters. On a side note, this was originally meant to be a much larger retrospective that covered a few more Pokémon films. Specifically, that would also include the two Pokémon films that were given limited releases by Miramax, Pokémon 4Ever and Pokémon Heroes, and the series’ two most recent films set within an alternate continuity, Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You and Pokémon The Movie: The Power of Us. However, due to various reasons that included the fact that Pokémon Heroes isn’t easily available to watch online, I ultimately decided to cut back on the number of films in this retrospective. Even with that said, though, I might consider looking at some more Pokémon films in the future. Until then, be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal memories of these films, and you can expect a review of the highly anticipated Pokémon: Detective Pikachu sometime in the next few days.