Recap: Pokémon 4Ever

Nothing feels more desperate than a movie that tries to extort emotions from young viewers. That happens in the animated Pokémon 4Ever, in which colorful characters stand around crying over the shriveling corpse of a magical creature called Celebi. The movie has emotional warmth of tin foil, mainly because it never establishes connections among the characters, or between the characters and viewers.- Dann Gire, Daily Herald

Its save-the-planet message clashes with its crass marketing. -Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post

A rote exercise in both animation and storytelling.- Megan Turner, New York Post, 1.5/4

It's hard to imagine that even very small children will be impressed by this tired retread.- Joe Leydon, San Francisco Examiner, 1.5/4

The animation and game phenomenon that peaked about three years ago is actually dying a slow death, if the poor quality of Pokemon 4 Ever is any indication.- Daphne Gordon, Toronto Star, 1/5

For diehard Pokémon fans only. -Rotten Tomatoes, 14%

These are once again, a small sample of the negative reviews given to Pokémon 4Ever. That last one often has me think, “14%? Really? Worse than the movie of Star Wars: The Clone Wars? Guess I forgot how cool Celebi and Suicune were in THIS movie.”

Still, at 10 years old, I was right at the target audience for this movie. Due to the nature of its limited release under Miramax, I didn’t even see it till it got put on videotape and aired on Cartoon Network a bunch.

Also, it’s essentially Princess Mononoke. The movie. Several years after the movie came out. I also forgot to mention that the movie first came stateside at the same time as the first Pokémon movie in my recap of it; even though I didn’t see the Miyazaki epic till I was 16. Still, let’s open up Pokémon 4Ever and see for ourselves!

Once again, I have not seen the Japanese version yet; so the dub will be taken on its own merits. I may watch the Japanese version of the movie at a later time, but I’m just going to treat this movie as its own thing. Let’s get started. 

We open on a segment detailing the world of Pokémon; which, while admittedly helpful to those not familiar with the premise (such as parents watching the film with their children); is mostly there to give earlier scenes of the anime a fresh coat of paint for the movie.

Also, right off the bat; Kunihiko Yuyuma and Hideki Sonoda take creative license with “Pokémon I Choose You” by depicting Ash as fully dressed when he gets Pikachu rather than being in his PJS.

Moreover, Pikachu and Ash hit it off right away rather than having to earn his friendship through that fight with the Spearow in the thunderstorm.

Our proper opening is with Celebi going through the forest with a Houndoom in pursuit of him. So, it took Hideki Sonoda less than 3 minutes to turn the Pokémon franchise into his version of Princess Mononoke. 

A young man named Sammy is walking through the forest; where a young girl tells him to keep still if he hears the “voice of the forest.” She also gives him a loaf of bread to eat on his travels. Ah yes: always a pleasure to see someone give you something for your journey in a movie about an RPG! It’s like hooded sweatshirts, they just took off.

Just then, a Pokémon Hunter confronts Sammy with the intent to capture and auction off Celebi; but his powers awaken and Celebi travels through time; taking Sammy with him! 

Forty years later; the hunter is interrogated about Celebi by our villain; the Iron-Masked Marauder, Vicious. He’s also voiced by Dan Green; so you know he’s not messing around.

He pulls out a Dark Ball from his vest; which can intensify a Pokémon’s powers as well as bring the darker aspects of their personality to the forefront, kind of like the alien symbiote in the Spider-Man canon.

Also, Vicious’ design definitely shows he’s not one to trifle with; from his imposing stature to his helmet/mask, which looks like a cross between those worn by Darth Vader and Char Azanable.

When the Dark Ball intensifies a Tyranitar from the hunter’s keep; the hunter agrees to tell Vicious everything about Celebi! Right off; you can see that Vicious is definitely the first truly evil villain the movies give us. While Lawrence III was simply unaware of the consequences of his actions, and Mewtwo and Molly had sympathetic qualities to them, Vicious has no qualms about burning everything in his path to the ground to get what he wants. He has the stolen Tyranitar destroy the infirm old hunter’s home in a show of force; not once considering the ramifications of his actions; even laughing while he does it all.

I also rather like the metallic variation on the title card. I still wonder why they didn’t use it more often; instead opting to keep the standard blue and yellow typeface. It might work for this planned live-action reboot they’re working on, though.

We see Brock and Misty waiting for a ferry; and as usual, Ash is occupied with something. Brock sends out his Crobat to find him. Again, at the time I saw this movie; I hadn’t seen the episode where it evolved from his Golbat through the happiness factor. Long story; again, it’s on my list of possible things to recap later this year.

He’s engaged in battle with a boy named Dundee; who uses a Crocanaw as his Pokémon and even has an Australian accent! Just like a couple of fun ‘80s movies and their lousy early-2000s sequel in LA! 

He wins the battle with ease; and as the credits roll, he’s led to the docks by Crobat as a remix of “Born to Be a Winner” better suited for a movie plays. Have a listen for yourself. 

Through a series of misadventures that recall the opening scenes of Back to the Future; Ash narrowly makes the ferry as he’s caught by their guide. I must also note his awkward jogging in place as he’s waylaid by the baggage truck. Do you need to go to the bathroom, or something?

In a scene added to the US release; Professor Oak informs everyone of the legendary beast Suicune. Suicune is the embodiment of the North Wind; and can purify water just by touching it.

As their guide tells them to come on; Professor Oak wonders if he should have told them the truth about what happened. Don’t worry; I’m sure the Enchantment Under the Sea dance will go as planned.

It seems the guide’s boat can also turn into a small dirigible! Imagine that! In this, they effortlessly climb the waterfall to the hidden paradise that is Arborville! 

They’re also introduced to the granddaughter of the village elder; Diana, who Brock is of course smitten with; much to Ash and Misty’s dismay.

Sammy arrives in the present day (well, what we considered the present day in 2002); and apart from a brief scuffle with Ash, is taking the fact that he’s traveled through time surprisingly well. The elder, however, is overjoyed that he’s returned after all these years. 

The elder returns Sammy’s notebook and even confirms how he’s gone through 40 years of time with Celebi. With this; Sammy decides to find Celebi, and everyone else decides to help him.

They head into the forest; and start climbing up these vines when they notice a bunch of Pokémon gathered together. 

Ash and Sammy find Celebi in the opening of a downed tree; and try to talk him down. While Celebi is at first reluctant; he does open up to Sammy and Ash as they get through to him.

They try to get help for Celebi, but they’re ambushed by Team Rocket; who in spite of their comments in the last movie; seem to have gotten the short end of the stick here. Still; it’s nothing compared to what happens in the next one; and we’ll talk then.

They see the village up ahead; but they’re confronted by Vicious in this mechanical spider-like contraption that seems to be a smaller-scale version of the one from that really crappy Wild Wild West movie.

He sends out his Tyranitar, and Brock even comments on how it’s way more powerful than usual! Guess the Dark Ball is kind of like a GameShark, huh?

What’s more, Team Rocket knows Vicious as one of their operatives and decide to help him capture Celebi!

Fleeing the scene, Misty twists her knee. Ok, while the writing process is still mostly the same from when I started in 2012; I still sometimes end up playing Cinema Sins when I’m behind on things or under self-imposed time crunches. Well, here you go.

"Female character is injured in a critical moment" cliché.

At that moment, they’re ambushed by Vicious’ Scizor and Sneasel; forcing Ash and Sammy into a double battle! Also, I kind of like Sammy’s 1960s-era Poké Ball. The whole metallic design and hand-crank release are actually pretty clever.

So, Ash and Sammy send out their Bayleef and Charmeleon to engage Scizor and Sneasel in battle. Again, I must say the animation is quite good for a movie that came out in 2002; and they’ve done a pretty good job with the remaster as well. This is one of several of the movies that was subject to this treatment for the 20th anniversary; with more to come. Before that; it was still being cropped to fullscreen. That may have been understandable when not everyone had widescreen TVs, but now even most cell phones have widescreen video. Glad they did these remasters. 

They win the battle; and a Teddiursa and Ursaring lead them to a lake hidden in the forest.

Celebi is purified in the lake; and he’s able to heal Misty’s knee just by touching it! I must also note that the animators are surprisingly good at drawing her like this. Fitting for the tomboyish mermaid. Is Kunihiko Yuyama secretly Quentin Tarantino? 

Everyone starts heading back to the village; and Celebi loves the berries that grow on the trees in the forest! The others try some too; and also find them delicious!

That night, Sammy makes a sketch of Pikachu and Celebi as they sleep. As for Ash potentially altering history by giving Sammy the idea for the Pokédex: how do we know this isn’t how it was inspired? 

As they talk, they also bond over the bread that was made and also went through time. Still more believable than when Rolo and Lelouch did it. Don’t worry, I still plan to finish what I started with Code Geass R2.

The next day, everyone continues toward the village; but they’re confronted by Vicious!

Celebi tries to flee, but Vicious is upon him and he’s captured with the Dark Ball!

Ash tries to retrieve Celebi, but Vicious throws him from his mecha and stomps the ball out of his hands! Along with Hunter J; this puts him among the few villains that have no qualms about physically harming Ash and his friends as part of their plans. For frame of reference; J also tried to strangle Ash with her Drapion; and even once threw him out of the cargo hold of her airship along with some minions that failed her.

Celebi has been corrupted by the Dark Ball’s powers; and begins consuming everything in its path; including Jessie!

Ash comes to; but Misty says he might be hurt. Well, shit, he was thrown from a mecha and stomped on! I think he should be allowed a little leeway!

Roughly 48 minutes into the movie; we get the other big legendary Pokémon it features, Suicune! This one of the Johto Legendary Beasts is also known as the North Wind; and even if the CGI here isn’t as smooth as how he looks in the games, it still does the job fine.

As Vicious continues his reign of terror; he declares nothing will stand in his way! Also, Celebi’s creation looks kind of like an early version of Darkrai, doesn’t it?

Vicious then declares his intent to usurp Giovanni’s position and conquer the entire globe! He has officially gone off the deep end, folks. There’s no going back from that. 

EVERYTHING THEY'VE BUILT WILL FALL! AND FROM THE ASHES OF THEIR WORLD, WE'LL BUILD A BETTER ONE!

Celebi’s creation then shoots down the guide’s airship! Vicious tries to attack Ash and Sammy, but they’re saved by Suicune!

Vicious tries to take Suicune; but Brock uses his Onix to hold off Tyranitar while Ash and Sammy rescue Celebi!

They climb into the center of the creation and try to break the influence of the Dark Ball!

They manage to get through to Celebi; and with the last of his strength, he breaks free of the Dark Ball’s influence!

Yet, this victory comes at a price: the life fades from Celebi as he becomes a dry husk of his former self. Even after Suicune purifies the water; Celebi is gone.

I must say, while not on the same order of magnitude as the last movie; this scene still stood out at me as a young man whenever I watched it. Death, of course, is not a common subject matter for a “kid” anime. As such, this scene is actually pretty dramatic for a work of this kind; and I’ll address this further when I talk about the next movie.

Needless to say, everyone, including Sammy is heartbroken; outraged even by Vicious’ actions leading to this! 

I can also reaffirm that the films succeeded where the Mega Evolution Specials failed for me: imbuing its characters with genuine emotion. Alan has left so little impact on me as a viewer that you could just introduce him as a throwaway League rival and my reaction would be exactly the same. The fact that Johnathan Silver and Kensho Ono were both totally miscast don’t help either. I’m still trying to determine what parts of XYZ I can recap to illustrate this, but I digress.

Then, when all hope is lost; all the Celebi of the past and future; through their magic and goodwill, restore Celebi’s power as he lives once again!

Everyone is overjoyed that their friend is given new life! 

Vicious then makes one last grab at Celebi, and tries to flee on a jetpack! Movie unintentionally inspires Team Rocket jetpacks in Best Wishes!

Ash, however, grabs onto him and has Pikachu use Thunderbolt on the jetpack!

Celebi uses his powers to break Ash’s fall as everyone comes rushing to them!

Vicious on the other hand; is confronted by the Pokémon and villagers; getting his comeuppance at their feet.

Suicune departs, and the only thing left to do is send Sammy back to his own time. So, hard as it may seem; Ash says goodbye to the friend he met on his journey. 

So, we close on an epilogue that was added to the English dub; where Professor Oak points out that many friendships can withstand the test of time; indicating to everyone that Sammy grew to be Samuel Oak.

Your future is now, so make it a good one.

So, that’s Pokémon 4Ever. While the fourth entry is often tricky in a franchise; as that’s often where the need to keep things moving becomes more apparent, the film does a solid job with its presentation even if the story and concepts are familiar. As for the critical drubbing: again, I would suggest more effort was put into it than many live-action video game movies; which are still known for being cinematic travesties with few exceptions (in particular, last year’s bomb Pixels has joined the list of one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. I think my exact words were “Wow, this makes the Super Mario Bros. movie look like The Dark Knight.”).

I wish to continue this marathon over the course of this year; so keep an eye out for my final Pokémon movie recap of the original series, Pokémon Heroes! See you space cowboy!