THN’s PokéMovie Marathon Day 1: Pokémon The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back

“I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are”

In exactly one week the world will go mad in unison for the latest Pokémon games, Pokémon X & Y. The English language dub of the latest film is also set to premiere one week after that. Over the next 2 weeks join THN as we take a look back over the entire series of Pokémon films.

Director: Kunihiko Yuyama

Cast: Veronica Taylor, Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart, Madeleine Blaustein, Ikue Ootani, Phillip Bartlett, Ted Lewis, Rodger Parsons, Lee Quick, Megan Hollingshead

Plot:  Ash, Brock, and Misty are invited to New Island to compete against the greatest Pokémon trainer in the world. However, once they arrive on the island they discover that the greatest Pokémon trainer is a Pokémon himself, a clone of the ancient and rarest Pokémon of all, Mew.

Y2K had failed to destroy our way of life. This was of great relief to us in the United Kingdom, as we had yet to receive the beauty that was POKEMON: THE FIRST MOVIE – MEWTWO STRIKES BACK. 1999 had been and gone, and with it the world of films had changed. STAR WARS was alive again and showed us what the world on a CG high would look like, THE MATRIX pushed the boundaries of science-fiction, and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT showed us how to make a hell of a lot of cash on a small budget. Meanwhile Pokémon conquered the world. Video games, trading cards, toys, soundtracks, and a popular television series made Pogs seem as popular as infanticide.

I sat in the cinema ready to behold a whole new world, and this was long before Pokémon Johto. I held my exclusive Dragonite trading card tightly in my fist as I and all the coolest guys from high school were ready to experience Pokémon on the big screen. The room went dark. POKEMON: THE FIRST MOVIE – MEWTWO STRIKES BACK opened in a dark and incredible way. A Pokémon we had all saved our Master Balls for (God! That sounds rude), appeared on screen. This was Mewtwo, the clone of Mew; who at the time we thought couldn’t be captured in Pokémon Red & Blue. How naive we were. Mewtwo, being unhappy at just being a copy, proceeds to massacre all of the scientists and destroy the lab he was ‘born’ in. It was at this time I started to miss the jovial antics of Jigglypuff and co. But it was engrossing, exciting, and save for the lack of corpses and blood, I would deem it perfect.

After this, Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, makes a deal with Mewtwo to become partners. Giovanni helps Mewtwo control his immense powers with the use of a ROBOCOP-styled suit. This montage of battles ties in nicely with the series, where those of us cool kids that watched every episode had already witnessed Mewtwo’s escape from Ash’s perspective.  Giovanni’s betrayal of Mewtwo doesn’t do much to comfort his confused sense of belonging and existence. This puts into motion Mewtwo’s self-appointed exile to a small island where he decides to make clones of Pokémon and rid the world of the human race once and for all.

Meanwhile, our intrepid heroes Ash, Brock and Misty, are invited to Mewtwo’s island to battle the world’s greatest Pokémon trainer. Little do they realise this is all a cunning ruse and this could be the last battle they face. Luckily for them the original Mew shows up and gives Mewtwo a run for his money.

Mewtwo is a great villain overall. He has a motive that we can understand, but takes things to new extremes. The betrayal he suffers and his search for an identity makes him more complex than the usual crazy cartoon evildoer. He also gives villains from more mature films a run for their money. When Mew first appears he doesn’t give a needlessly long speech, he just starts blasting away at the little pink imp. His arrogance also gives him a certain amount of charm. As one trainer send a Venusaur onto the battlefield Mewtwo sends out his Venusaur too, rather than going for the obvious choice of Charizard (a fire type).

Mew is just as fascinating. When deciding on an equal to battle the articulate, powerful, and destructive Mewtwo, it seems odd that Mew is so…how can I put this… ‘special’? Mew is merely a cute little critter that likes bubbles, sneaking around people, and falling off the sails of a windmill. There’s a particularly endearing moment in which Mewtwo challenges Mew in his aggressive and serious tone, to which Mew’s reaction is that she becomes bewildered and entranced by her own tail.

Unfortunately it can’t all be sunshine and roses. The dialogue is often clunky to the point of hilarity, but then again I suppose the message does have to get across to the littluns; they ruin everything. The English languge version also has some obviously shoehorned in pop songs that can ruin an entire scene. It isn’t always fatal, but hearing “Brother, my brother, what are we fighting for…” as the clones and original Pokémon go into battle is just cringe worthy. But it’s nothing we haven’t come to expect from the series itself, and at least the constant puns are still there.

Many claim that the film’s anti-violent message is contradictory to what Pokémon is actually about, but I would have to disagree. The fights, or rather battles, that Pokémon engage in aren’t usually to settle scores or work out differences. They do it for the sheer enjoyment and a chance to better themselves. It is clear from the likes of Meowth and Mewtwo, that these creatures are able to decide as to whether or not they would like to battle. I’m sure the majority of boxers or martial artists are able to engage in their physical contact sports without being violent human beings.

The film as a whole is greatly enjoyable, especially for anyone with even a passing interest in Pokémon. It goes from a dark beginning to a fist pumping and stirring action packed sequence, as Ash jumps into his first battle while an epic reimagining of Billy Crawford’s classic theme tune pumps from the sound system. I remember clearly to this day the shocked and synchronised declaration of “WHAT THE F@%K IS THAT?!?” as us kids got our first look at Donphan, the rolling elephant Pokémon. We also got to see the true devastating effect of Squirtle’s Bubble attack which he mercilessly released onto Machamp.

Best Performance By A Pokémon:  It would have to come down to Mew, Mewtwo or Pikachu. Mew is just adorable, but we never doubt her strength. Pikachu has the emotional climax that can still form a tear in my eye. But this is really Mewtwo’s film. He has the biggest arc, and has to show himself as a dangerous and deadly antagonist, but never push himself past the point of redemption.

 

 

Best Battle: There sure are some memorable battles here, but the winner is Pikachu vs. Clone Pikachu. It’s a rare moment that goes for pure emotion rather than showboating powers and skills. After Mewtwo blocks their special abilities, all of the Pokémon are forced to fight in hand-to-hand combat. Pikachu refuses to fight his clone and as he takes a beating, his clone becomes frustrated and tired. Clone Pikachu eventually collapses into the arms of Pikachu, exhausted from the fight and Pikachu stands bruised, but the clear moral victor. Considering Pikachu voice talent Ikue Ootani has just three syllables to work with, the range of emotions she explores is incredible.

PokéRating: 

 

 

Come back tomorrow for our next PokéMovie Marathon article. Gotta read ’em all here.

Pokémon X & Y are released for the Nintendo 3DS on 12th October 2013. POKEMON: THE MOVIE: GENESECT AND THE LEGEND AWAKENED will premiere on CITV’s Movie Club at 9:25 am on 19th October in the UK, and on Cartoon Network in the US.