Alola everyone. In addition to just cracking the combined 30-hour mark of my Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon games; I just got finished watching Pokémon The Movie I Choose You. I had previously only seen bits and pieces shot on someone's phone from one of the theatrical showings, but I have now officially seen the full movie with its airing on Disney XD this morning, along with new episodes of the Sun and Moon series. This includes the first part of the Kanto school trip, but that's a matter for another day.
I also note that I can understand some of the skepticism around the movie even if I don't totally agree with it. I personally think that in many ways, material from the series can surprise you. Examples I can give right now: I wasn't expecting a lot from the Charjabug racing episode they just dubbed today, I ended up really enjoying that one. I was not expecting to enjoy the Volcanion movie all that much, and I ended up liking that more than I thought I would.
Now that I have seen this movie, I can honestly that it's not as bad as the skeptics would believe, and it's actually pretty good. In fact, I can say that it's my new favorite Pokémon movie. While I have often considered the idea of rebooting a beloved work in itself to be a crapshoot, I will say this is closest to my ideal reboot if I had to just jettison everything that came before.
There will be a few spoilers, so those who haven't seen the movie yet may want to watch it. It will be on again at 6PM this evening Pacific time. This is also just my early viewing thoughts, I will get into more detail in my full look around Christmas.
It's also important to know that it's not a straight adaptation of the original series, but more like a re-imagining of the whole franchise. Nothing has been erased, and it's RIFE with mythology gags. It's at least better than the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie or any Uwe Boll film. It reminds me a lot of the older movies as well as the 1986 Transformers movie and the first two TMNT movies from the 1990s.
The animation is beautiful, and it tells a new story with familiar flourishes. Ho-Oh is less of a plot device and more of inspiration to the characters in the film.
Verity and Sorrel are actually nice kids, and they did give them some traits to latch onto. Verity apparently has mommy issues (possibly with Cynthia), and Sorrel had a Luxray that died protecting him. Here is the obligatory Muppet Treasure Island reference: "He died?! This is supposed to be a kids' movie!"
The music of the film is great, and the lore surrounding the Pokémon is fantastic. Voice acting very strong across the board, especially from my friends Mike Pollock and Michelle Knotz. Jimmy Zoppi voices Professor Oak under the alias Carter Carthcart, and the film's take on the battle Ash watches on TV has Corey and Neesha from the first movie, but that leaves out poor Fergus! (sarcastic voice) "How dare they leave out such an important character! Zero stars!"
Still, the logic that "history was rewritten" and the idea that the film "flies in the face of what's been established" kind of falls apart when people in this movie have smart phones and flat panel monitors, and Ash apparently talks with his mom on FaceTime.
There's also a dream sequence if the world was ordinary about halfway through the film; and in spite of what others claim, the film does adhere to a three-act structure and it uses the original "I Choose You" as a prologue.
People also claimed that Marshadow was the film's villain, but the only things that it did where just mess with some of the human cast and Pokémon. Otherwise, it was a mostly neutral entity; but still way cooler than Hovernyan. Cross, however; was easily the real villain of the movie in my eyes. He was the film's equivalent to Gary or Damien, but he rivaled Paul for how cruel he could be. His turnaround near the end did nothing to redeem him in my eyes, since he spent most of it acting like an abrasive bully and a total coward during the final battle. Between his attitude, red hair and admittedly really nice boots; he's definitely much closer to Silver than I've seen in ages (I type this as I work on my playthrough of Gold and Silver on Virtual Console).
The final battle is really crazy, with Marshadow taking control of everyone; and in order to explain this, I will be addressing things with a final spoiler alert: if you don't wish to know what happens, this is your last chance to click away to something else.
So, Ash dies once again; and this time he actually straight-up disintegrates after getting hit with a bunch of simultaneous attacks. Also, Pikachu talks. As in, like a person. To be frank, it isn't that big a deal to me, other people blew it out of proportion. It's hard for me to get too mad about it when weirder things have happened in the series.
For instance: the Pokémon were all originally going to be turned into muscular humanoids when the franchise was being brought stateside, since Nintendo of America thought the cute monsters wouldn't sell. Luckily, Hiroshi Yamauchi rejected the idea. Clefairy was also originally going to be the series mascot before Pikachu was decided to be more appealing to both male and female audiences. In hindsight, they definitely made the right calls.
Long story short, Ash is restored by the goodwill of his actions and Ho-Oh deeming him worthy of the Rainbow Wing (I guess it's like Mjolnir or Doctor Strange's enchanted cape), and he becomes a Rainbow Hero. On that note, based on what's been said lately; I still wonder if this officially makes him a time lord.
I will be doing a full look at the movie around Christmas; and I just want to let the film's detractors know that it's nothing personal. On my own, however, I found this movie to be fast-paced, fun and fantastic. I also think the cameos from past companions of the series are a nice touch; since it's no different than Nick Fury showing up at Tony Stark's house or Rey finding Luke Skywalker on a distant planet to me. As a way to honor 20 years of the anime and its films; it was a pretty nostalgic and fun adventure. On its own merit, it's definitely a film that I enjoy without having to tap too many of the "member berries." It's a simple setup, which can be easily a imagined by a 10-year-old with a bunch of video games and Pokémon toys in their hands and saying to themselves, "this could make a cool movie," and it did. At the end of the day, I'm not going to force you to watch it; but I just thought I would give you what I think. There's been a lot going on this year, but I don't feel a need to let it get to me. Instead, much like these kids in their quasi-90s outfits (seriously, I want that new hat in this movie); I'm going to put on my hat, lace up my favorite pair of running shoes; and see how far the road goes. Sometimes, the journey can be every bit as satisfying as its destination, no matter how long it takes. So, keep an eye out in December for my full look at Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You. Alola.
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