The 3rd one. The first one I have distinct memories of watching, and enjoying. It had all the Pokemon I actually enjoyed watching (the Gen 2 Pokemon), and had the best battles of all the Pokemon movies I had seen thus far. It was my favorite of the four Pokemon movies growing up. And, now that I'm grown up, It surprisingly holds up, and I think it is the first legitimately good Pokemon movie.
Our film begins with an archeologist named Professor Hale, and his daughter Molly, at their vast estate somewhere in Johto. They are reading an old book of legends, when one of Hale's colleagues calls with news: apparently they had found mysterious ruins.When Hale and his assistant head to those ruins, Hale is pulled into a mysterious dimension. The assistant returns to tell Molly the tragic news. Devastated by her father's death, she begins to take several seals with symbols, similar to the ones in the ruins. Sure, she summons the Unown. They proceed to make Molly's desires true. In particular, they conjure an Entei, with the voice of Professor Hale (Oh, sorry, forgot to mention that, At the beginning of the film, Hale began to imitate Entei, and played with Molly). The Unown proceed to create a crystal fortress around the mansion to seal Molly off. The crystal is ever expanding, sealing all from the mansion, and destroying the beauty of the area around. Meanwhile, our intrepid heroes, Ash, Misty and Brock, are traveling through Johto, when they meet another trainer with an Aipom, named Lisa, who Ash battles during the opening credits. After the battle, Lisa proceeds to note a local area of interest called Greenfield, full of lovely flowers. However, they instead find a field of crystals. A news team interviews Ash and Friends. Back in Pallet Town, Delia, Ash's mother, sees the report, and heads to Professor Oak, who goes to Johto to investigate. It turns out Hale was a former colleague of Oak, and also an old family friend of the Ketchums. They meet up with Ash and friends, and together they have lunch. Little do they realize that Molly, still at the center of this, is also watching the coverage. She sees Delia, and wants a mother (her own mother having either left Professor (okay, his first name is Spencer) Hale due to his obsession with the Unown in the Japanese version or simply went missing studying the Unown in the American version.) Entei accepts this, and kidnaps Ash's mother. This is once again covered on the news, and is shown in the Charific Valley, where Ash's Charzard (left for training in the area) sees the report. Meanwhile, as people (including Team Rocket) try to infiltrate the fortress, Entei or the crystals prevent them from entering. Molly sends Oak an email, stating that she was with her mother and father, and she would like to be left alone. This leaves Oak and others confused. Ash and Friends decide to infiltrate the palace and save Ash's mother, all the while dealing with Molly's illusions, brought to life by the Unown.
First and foremost, this film, particularly the backgrounds, looks gorgeous. The crystal palace is uniquely designed, and has very intricate facets, such as various illusions with Molly as an older Pokemon trainer, who battles Brock and Misty. It is a very beautiful setting, yet, it is also actually quite dangerous, symbolizing Molly and the forces she now commands. I think the best thing about the movie is the fact that the antagonist is not ill-meaning. Molly is not malicious or trying to be destructive. She is just confused, and distraught, because now both her parents are now gone, and the Unown are merely bringing those feelings out in physical form. They grant her desire (her mother and father are back, she can be a Pokemon Trainer with her very own Pokemon, she can be alone etc.) However, she doesn't actively desire that these activities happened. She is going through grief, and she can't even comprehend the power of the Unown that she now wields. However, she still tries to reap the benefits, not out of selfishness, but of childhood innocence. Another thing about this film I really like is how the Pokemon are utilized. Not just as battle tools, but they are used to infiltrate the palace. For instance, Bulbasaur and Chikorita use their vines, for Ash to climb a water fall. When they learn that the crystal could retreat when hit by a water or fire attack, they actually use their fire pokemon to open the crystal, and use the water pokemon to actually get in. The battles also seem more active and realistic, unlike many of the Pokemon episodes. Also, this is one of the few times where the dub edits actually work. In the Japanese version, Spencer Hale comes back during the end credits. In the American version, he comes back near the very end, so that the audience is assured that Molly is not left an orphan. Also, Charzard comes at the ends, and battles Entei. That's awesome.
If I could point out flaws, the power of the Unown isn't well defined. It tends to be very nebulous, and the power it actually has tends to vary from scene to scene. The crisis at the end is unclear. I'm not sure what is happening to the Unown. Also, Team Rocket is useless in the plot, which is common for most Pokemon movies, but here is somewhat more apparent.It also has a tendancy to pad some scenes, such as the battle between Molly and Brock and Misty, as well as the very end.
This is my second favorite Pokemon film of all time. It's simply very, very good. The plot, the character, the Pokemon, the elements combine to make a perfect Pokemon movie. And it's a legitimately good film on its own, with a good story, good characters, an explanation of the world of Pokemon, all that nice stuff. If you're a fan, or even if not, I highly recommend this film. See you next time, with Pokemon 4-Ever.
Our film begins with an archeologist named Professor Hale, and his daughter Molly, at their vast estate somewhere in Johto. They are reading an old book of legends, when one of Hale's colleagues calls with news: apparently they had found mysterious ruins.When Hale and his assistant head to those ruins, Hale is pulled into a mysterious dimension. The assistant returns to tell Molly the tragic news. Devastated by her father's death, she begins to take several seals with symbols, similar to the ones in the ruins. Sure, she summons the Unown. They proceed to make Molly's desires true. In particular, they conjure an Entei, with the voice of Professor Hale (Oh, sorry, forgot to mention that, At the beginning of the film, Hale began to imitate Entei, and played with Molly). The Unown proceed to create a crystal fortress around the mansion to seal Molly off. The crystal is ever expanding, sealing all from the mansion, and destroying the beauty of the area around. Meanwhile, our intrepid heroes, Ash, Misty and Brock, are traveling through Johto, when they meet another trainer with an Aipom, named Lisa, who Ash battles during the opening credits. After the battle, Lisa proceeds to note a local area of interest called Greenfield, full of lovely flowers. However, they instead find a field of crystals. A news team interviews Ash and Friends. Back in Pallet Town, Delia, Ash's mother, sees the report, and heads to Professor Oak, who goes to Johto to investigate. It turns out Hale was a former colleague of Oak, and also an old family friend of the Ketchums. They meet up with Ash and friends, and together they have lunch. Little do they realize that Molly, still at the center of this, is also watching the coverage. She sees Delia, and wants a mother (her own mother having either left Professor (okay, his first name is Spencer) Hale due to his obsession with the Unown in the Japanese version or simply went missing studying the Unown in the American version.) Entei accepts this, and kidnaps Ash's mother. This is once again covered on the news, and is shown in the Charific Valley, where Ash's Charzard (left for training in the area) sees the report. Meanwhile, as people (including Team Rocket) try to infiltrate the fortress, Entei or the crystals prevent them from entering. Molly sends Oak an email, stating that she was with her mother and father, and she would like to be left alone. This leaves Oak and others confused. Ash and Friends decide to infiltrate the palace and save Ash's mother, all the while dealing with Molly's illusions, brought to life by the Unown.
First and foremost, this film, particularly the backgrounds, looks gorgeous. The crystal palace is uniquely designed, and has very intricate facets, such as various illusions with Molly as an older Pokemon trainer, who battles Brock and Misty. It is a very beautiful setting, yet, it is also actually quite dangerous, symbolizing Molly and the forces she now commands. I think the best thing about the movie is the fact that the antagonist is not ill-meaning. Molly is not malicious or trying to be destructive. She is just confused, and distraught, because now both her parents are now gone, and the Unown are merely bringing those feelings out in physical form. They grant her desire (her mother and father are back, she can be a Pokemon Trainer with her very own Pokemon, she can be alone etc.) However, she doesn't actively desire that these activities happened. She is going through grief, and she can't even comprehend the power of the Unown that she now wields. However, she still tries to reap the benefits, not out of selfishness, but of childhood innocence. Another thing about this film I really like is how the Pokemon are utilized. Not just as battle tools, but they are used to infiltrate the palace. For instance, Bulbasaur and Chikorita use their vines, for Ash to climb a water fall. When they learn that the crystal could retreat when hit by a water or fire attack, they actually use their fire pokemon to open the crystal, and use the water pokemon to actually get in. The battles also seem more active and realistic, unlike many of the Pokemon episodes. Also, this is one of the few times where the dub edits actually work. In the Japanese version, Spencer Hale comes back during the end credits. In the American version, he comes back near the very end, so that the audience is assured that Molly is not left an orphan. Also, Charzard comes at the ends, and battles Entei. That's awesome.
If I could point out flaws, the power of the Unown isn't well defined. It tends to be very nebulous, and the power it actually has tends to vary from scene to scene. The crisis at the end is unclear. I'm not sure what is happening to the Unown. Also, Team Rocket is useless in the plot, which is common for most Pokemon movies, but here is somewhat more apparent.It also has a tendancy to pad some scenes, such as the battle between Molly and Brock and Misty, as well as the very end.
This is my second favorite Pokemon film of all time. It's simply very, very good. The plot, the character, the Pokemon, the elements combine to make a perfect Pokemon movie. And it's a legitimately good film on its own, with a good story, good characters, an explanation of the world of Pokemon, all that nice stuff. If you're a fan, or even if not, I highly recommend this film. See you next time, with Pokemon 4-Ever.
