Contrary to what some have said, Pokemon is NOT dead. If it was, Pokemon Stadium 2 would not be one of the biggest renting videogames right now, nor would this movie would have made it to the big screen at all. Before I go on, I'm 31 years old and have been a die-hard Pokemon fan for the last couple of years. There have been both good and bad episodes of the show, and I've had mixed opinions of the two previous movies. I am back to review "Pokemon 3," which, like its predecessors, consists of a cutesy Pikachu short ("Pikachu and Pichu") and a less flighty feature ("Spell Of The Unown").
I'll admit that "Pikachu and Pichu" is nothing more than a showcase of some of the new Pokemon from the Gold and Silver versions of the videogame; pretty plotless and pointless, but it IS darn cute. I was really looking forward to seeing the Pichu brothers on screen for the first time, because I just ADORE Pichu. After seeing the short, I'm even more anxious to have a plush doll of the Little Brother Pichu (if you were paying attention, he's the one with the little tuft sticking up on his head) than I was before.
The main feature is called "Spell Of The Unown," and is a much more fleshed out story. In it, Ash and friends must save his mother and a Pokemon researcher's daughter from being held prisoner in a crystal dreamworld created by the ancient Pokemon called the Unown. Why and how this dreamworld is created would reveal too much of the story, but it's one that shouldn't be a massive snore to the adults in attendance. You feel for the people involved, even though you know that they're only animated characters. You feel their pain and frustration. Okay, yes, many of the Pokemon do nothing more than speak their names, but I'll bet the more jaded of you would find it even more "dumb" if the Pokemon actually spoke "human" language (which a couple of them actually do), and it may still seem like the maker of the flick is doing nothing more than to attempt to empty the pocketbooks of American parents, but do not blindly dismiss this movie just because it has the Pokemon name attached to it, and do NOT blindly rag on it just because you didn't want to see it in the first place. As with the other two, go in with an open mind, and you just might have fun in spite of yourself.
I'll admit that "Pikachu and Pichu" is nothing more than a showcase of some of the new Pokemon from the Gold and Silver versions of the videogame; pretty plotless and pointless, but it IS darn cute. I was really looking forward to seeing the Pichu brothers on screen for the first time, because I just ADORE Pichu. After seeing the short, I'm even more anxious to have a plush doll of the Little Brother Pichu (if you were paying attention, he's the one with the little tuft sticking up on his head) than I was before.
The main feature is called "Spell Of The Unown," and is a much more fleshed out story. In it, Ash and friends must save his mother and a Pokemon researcher's daughter from being held prisoner in a crystal dreamworld created by the ancient Pokemon called the Unown. Why and how this dreamworld is created would reveal too much of the story, but it's one that shouldn't be a massive snore to the adults in attendance. You feel for the people involved, even though you know that they're only animated characters. You feel their pain and frustration. Okay, yes, many of the Pokemon do nothing more than speak their names, but I'll bet the more jaded of you would find it even more "dumb" if the Pokemon actually spoke "human" language (which a couple of them actually do), and it may still seem like the maker of the flick is doing nothing more than to attempt to empty the pocketbooks of American parents, but do not blindly dismiss this movie just because it has the Pokemon name attached to it, and do NOT blindly rag on it just because you didn't want to see it in the first place. As with the other two, go in with an open mind, and you just might have fun in spite of yourself.