Pokémon: The First Movie
D: Kunihiko Yuyama (1999); with the voices of Veronica Taylor, Philip Bartlett, Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart, Addie Blaustein, Ikue Ootani. Most adults are probably sick of the whole Pokémon concept. Of course, the ones who complain most about the cartoon and trading card craze are those who have never seen an episode of the Saturday morning show. At first glance, it’s easy to compare the yellow, mouse-like Pikachu with the annoyingly infantile Teletubbies. In reality, the show isn’t half bad. In fact, it’s probably much smarter than half the cartoons many thirtysomethings watched as kids (particularly Eighties fodder like The Smurfs and The Care Bears). Perhaps its best asset is that it plays up every aspect of what makes cartoons fun. When a character is blown up, he’s left blackfaced instead of burnt to a crisp. When someone gets mad, their head inflates like a balloon. When someone is knocked silly, stars and other images pop out of nowhere. Along with its fantasy premise, Pokémon is certainly fun for kids. For some adults, the imagery can even be quite psychedelic. With that, it’s a shame the first full-length animated Pokémon movie takes itself too seriously. From the get-go, it’s apparent that this is far different than any installment of the light-hearted TV show. As the film opens, we see Poké-clone, Mew-Two, awakened from its test tube, dripping fluids and soon using its super powers to wreak havoc on its creators. Soon thereafter, it constantly ponders its identity and why it is here. The opening sequence is fairly creepy, and it gets worse. The evil Mew-Two (clone of mythical Pokémon Mew) creates an army of evil clones to rule the world. The cloning process is far from cute and the vicious Poké-clones are too nasty for a kiddie show. Where the TV version centers around goofy kid characters and wild adventures, this film is darkened junior science-fiction. Surely kids will dig it, but parents might want to take caution. The scene in which evil Pikachu beats the tar out of cute Pikachu may frighten some youngsters. On the other hand, the accompanying short feature, “Pikachu’s Vacation,” may appease toddlers with its simplistic plot and lack of human dialogue. Just try listening to “Pika, Pika, Choo, Pik” for 20 minutes straight. “Vacation” does offer several freaky moments that seem designed for the Pink Floyd fan in all of us. Bubbly creatures hopping around to whimsical music may appeal to some imaginative viewers, but most folks will probably let their kids have the TV for the night.This article appears in April 21 • 2000.