First off, I shall point out these wanted posters from the London shooting location, which will represent the fictional Ryme City. While translating an animated figure into live-action isn't always easy (despite what people on Twitter said, it's not as bad as the live-action Smurfs), it's actually not that different from the games. Can't imagine they'll do what they did with the infamous Super Mario Bros. movie and turn the Goombas from walking mushrooms to discount stormtroopers. While Machoke and Graveler look OK, Pancham looks like it has a bad case of Youngblood's disease.
The set design also seems quite nice. While I don't think the set decorators will try to hide a "Hot Skitty on Wailord Action" joke in there, it does make me glad they're starting smaller with an adaptation of a spinoff game instead of jumping right into the main games or the anime. It is showing the world of Pokémon could work in a live-action setting, though it is giving me flashbacks to Gotham City in Batman Forever.
There are also some doubles for Pikachu and what I think is one of the NPCs from the game, Pablo spotted here. While the film clearly has a long way to go until next year, this seems to suggest the film may embrace the insanity of its franchise and source material. It's hard to imagine the Pokémon looking as juiced as the live-action Transformers or the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for me at least.
As per usual, there are many people wearing blue and green bodysuits that will later be replaced with CGI Pokémon; which is something that's fascinated me ever since I was very young. Even before I started this blog, I have always been interested in film and the creative process behind it; no matter how big or small the production is.
In this other photo from the set, we also have some cardboard cutouts to show the VFX artists where to put the CGI Pokémon, a relatively common practice that also gives the live actors something to react to. Kind of tricky to make out at this angle, but I noticed the silhouettes of Treecko, Loudred and Kecleon; to name a few. I will probably make another post soon to address some leaked plot and character details; but the film seems to be overall faithful to the spirit of the game.
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| What in the actual ass? ... Why are the visual effects not done? ... It's not like we're trying to remove a mustache! |
So, while I am approaching this with the same degree of skepticism of other films of this nature, based on the track record of other anime and video game adaptations over the years; I am cautiously optimistic about the project. Even between the release of Avengers 4 and John Wick Chapter 3 (both films that I also plan on seeing), I hope the movie can be as enjoyable as the animated entries in the series. While the game may not have been on the same order of magnitude as the main series (I will address Generation VIII when I have more concrete information, though what I have heard intrigues me), it was a relatively humorous and fun point-and-click experience for me that reminded me of similar titles such as Maniac Mansion or Day of the Tentacle. The humor in the cutscenes definitely can lend itself well to a movie and the cast they've chosen. If all else fails, I can't imagine it being worse than the Super Mario Bros. movie or Uwe Boll's work.
I would also like to take this opportunity to make a couple announcements: after some consideration, I will be recapping Dragonball Evolution later this year, which will be a proper live-action recap to bury the hatchet; like I practiced with Ghost in the Shell 2017, Netflix Death Note and The Invasion of Leawood. That probably won't be until after I get my main computer fixed and/or upgraded, just so you know.
On that note, I regret to say that I probably won't be able to do the gym battle showcase or other material I was contemplating. I apologize, but after all the planning; I could never really pin down the logistics of it or how much it would affect my schoolwork. I will find other ways to cover material I wanted to, however, and I do have other stuff in mind to make up for it; including material I've wanted to cover from day one. I will say that the finale for Pokémon content will be a recap of Everyone's Story once it gets an official English dub later this year; followed by a positive recap of Akira in December as my favorite anime movie and one of my all-time favorite movies. I will potentially start new blogs in this vein in 2019; especially with how the demands keep getting tougher with each passing year. I haven't decided the exact route to take with that yet, but I definitely know the style will be different; and one of them potentially will be a blog to tackle Pokémon content in a different fashion than here. I realize that I definitely enjoyed doing my look at the movies over the past few years, and that also went hand in hand with my work before this blog and what I plan to do for a living after my retirement.
Now don't worry, I have plenty of stuff in mind before that; and I want to thank you all in advance for motivating me, regardless of what you actually thought about my work. See you, space cowboy.
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