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| Main Page Pokemon Characters Story Movies Merchandise Digimon Sailor Moon Tenchi Guestbook Links Fan Stuff About Me Adoptions | Pokemon MoviesThere have been three Pokemon movies to date in the U.S.. They were wildly popular among the youth, and as an added incentive (as if they needed one), promotional Pokemon TCG cards were given out to moviegoers.The following are plot summeries of the movies (no spoilers if you haven't seen them) and my opinions (1-5 stars, high is good). Pokemon the First MovieFeature: Mewtwo Strikes BackShort: Pikachu's VacationFeature Summary: Okay, Ash and friends are relaxing when Ash gets an invitation from "the greatest Pokemon trainer" to battle. He accepts with typical enthusiasm. Team Rocket observes him and decides to tag along. Ash, Misty, Brock and other invited trainers must take a boat to an offshore island, but a storm arises and only our heros and two other trainers venture out.The "the greatest Pokemon trainer" turns out to be Mewtwo, a genetically-engineered Pokemon with a strong dislike of humanity and a set of genetically-engineered super-Pokemon. He challanges the trainers to a Pokemon duel and trounces them thoughrally. He then tell our heros how he's going to kill off all humans and Pokemon, and repopulate the world with his super-cloned Pokemon, derived from the trainers' Pokemon. They are not happy. Ash and a sprite-like Pokemon called Mew (from whom Mewtwo's DNA was derived) lead the original Pokemon against Mewtwo and his clones. I'm not saying any more, lest I reveal the ending. Short Summary: Pikachu and the other Pokemon are on vacation, when some other Pokemon make Togepi cry. Thrill as Pikachu deals with this in a good way (In other words, no thundershocks today.) Opinion: The short was cute, and introduced two new (at the time) Pokemon. However, most non-fans (a.k.a. parents) will not get it as it is told almost entirely without dialogue ('Pika's don't count). The feature was okay. Team Rocket was funny, as usual, Mew was simply adorable, and the characters were true to the show, especially in the episodes leading up to the movie. However, Mewtwo wouldn't shut up! He talks more than Hamlet and the monster from the book Frankenstein (not the movie! The movie is very different!)combined! For kids and cultural illiterates, that is a lot of moralizing speech on how humanity hates him. This was my one grip about the movie. Though it is nice to see a cerberal villain, it also would be nice to see an evil (not a misunderstood villain like Mewtwo) villain.
Pokemon the Movie 2000Feature: The Power of OneShort: Pikachu's Rescue AdventureFeature Summary: Ash and friends are cruising the Orange Islands, when a storm pulls in and they must break for land. The island that they land on has a festival celebrating an old legend, and Ash is made a part of it (he's the "Choosen One"). Ash, of course, takes this all too seriously and nearly immediatly sets out to do his part: retrieve three spheres from the three nearby islands.Misty and Tracey, hearing a news report about a mysterious underwater current causing climatic changes. They set off after Ash. When Ash arrives on Fire Island, after scuttling the boat, he and Pikachu meet up with a Zapdos. Pikachu learns that Moltres, the guardian of Fire Island, has disappeared. Zapdos is then promptly captured, along with our heros, and a bewildered Team Rocket (you knew they had to show up sooner or later). Our villain is Lawrence III, a Pokemon collector after the three Legendary Birds:Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. He plans to use them to find an even rarer Pokemon, Lugia. Ash, of course, immediately tries to free Zapdos and Moltres. He does so, but the two birds and the uncaptured Articuno immediately start battling. Ash returns to an isolated part of the island. He meets a Slowking (which talks!) who explains the Ash really is the Chosen One and he must return the three spheres there to prevent the world from being destroyed. Short Summary: Another year, another short about Pikachu, Togepi and Pokemon dialogue. This time Togepi wanders off into a forest and Pikachu must go find him. Opinion: The shorts are about the same, but this feature surpasses Mewtwo Strikes Back. The music is wonderful, and the animation is good. It also was funny. There was a scene where the climatic changes were causing snow, and the Slowking was looking out, and just said, "I could use some pants." The entire thearter started laughing. Team Rocket was wonderful, as usual, and Misty was pretty funny ("He's not my boyfriend!" Methinks thou dost protest too much.)
Pokemon the Movie 3Feature: The Spell of the UnownShort: Pikachu and PichuI've only seen this movie once, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the names. Basically, while Ash and company are traveling in Johto, they come across the sort of paranormal phenomenon that tends to happen in movies: a giant zone of crystal has engulfed the area around a town.Ash and Co. also happen to run into Professor Oak and Ash's mother. It seems the home the crystal is centered on belonged to a family that were friends of the Oaks and the Ketchums. The father had mysteriously disappeared a short time earlier (you see it in the opening of the movie) while investigating a set of ruins for Pokemon called Unown (pronounced like unknown). Shortly after, Ash's mother is kidnapped by something coming from the ruins and he, along with Misty and Brock, decide to do something typically brave and stupid and go charging into the crystal zone. Of course, we know what's going on. The little girl of the family, Molly, after learning of her father's disappearance, accidentally hit upon the 'secret of the Unown'. They have the power to turn thought into reality. Molly wished for her father to return, and the Unown created Entei, a legendary Pokemon Molly associated with her father. Molly also wanted her mother, who had died several years ago, back and Entei, seeing a picture of Molly's family, Professor Oak and the Ketchums, assumed Mrs. Ketchum was Molly's mother. I'm not going to give away the end, but we all know what's going to happen. Oh, special guest apperance by Charizard. The short was pretty much what I expected, though this one at least didn't involve Togepi wandering off or getting upset. Opinion: Overall, this was pretty mediocre, but it was sweet, and it was a change.
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