Pokemon The Movie film review

certificate_PG

POKEMON: THE FIRST MOVIE

What is all this fuss and nonsense with Pokemon? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it all just a glorified version of the old card game Top Trumps, only with a cute Japanese smile on its face?

Feeling somewhat ill-equipped to review the film, I sat with two Poke-masters: eight-year-old Sally, who likes the fat, little, yellow, mutant mouse ("He's called Pikachu," she chided, clearly annoyed by my lack of Poke-nous) and 10-year-old Tom, who likes Psyduck because: "He makes me laugh".

Pokemon: The First Movie is actually two adventures for the price of one: a 20 minute short followed by the full-length main event: Mewtwo Strikes Back.

Pikachu's Vacation follows Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum's loyal and furry friend as he and his Poke-pals relax and have fun in their own private Poke-paradise: swimming, singing and engaging in friendly competitions to find out who is the greatest Pokemon of all ("Pikachu!" screamed Sally).

The action is broken up with kaleidoscopic cut scenes of swirling patterns and synchronised bouncing animals. These sequences serve no dramatic purpose whatsoever but the kids loved them, fidgeting along in time to the music.

Friendship is the key message of Pikachu's Vacation and it is hammered home at every opportunity, most successfully where poor Charizard ("He's scary," said Tom) gets stuck in a hole and all the other Pokemon (even the ones who have been fighting moments earlier) all band together to set him free. It almost brings a tear to my eye.

Mewtwo Strikes Back is essentially an episode of the television series writ large. The animation is basic and has not changed significantly for its big screen outing, save for one or two unobtrusive uses of computer generated imagery.

The film follows trainer Ash, and friends Misty and Brock (who always keeps his eyes closed: Sally and Tom didn't know why), on his continuing quest to become the best Pokemon trainer. Ash and his pals are forced to join forces with Jesse, James and Meowth of the dastardly Team Rocket for the ultimate showdown on New Island with the 151st Pokemon: a genetically engineered fighting machine called Mewtwo, born from the DNA of the rarely and legendary Mew.

Unlike all of the other Pokemon, Mewtwo is full of rage at the world and intends to rule planet Earth by cloning all of the existing Pokemon and creating bigger, better and faster doppelgangers.