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Pokemon - The Movie 2000 Director: Kunihiko Yuyama Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Animated, Dolby Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Running Time: 102 minutes Studio: Warner Home Video Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-06-07 Buy from Amazon |
 "Not exactly my favorite Pokemon movie"First of all, the main problem with this Pokemon movie(in whatever version) was that it was too darned predictable. One of the main characters, Melody, practically sums up the whole movie from the start! Ash basically has to go find three ancient treasures in order to restore the peace which was disrupted by a greedy Pokemon collector, Lawrence III. The english version(which sadly is the only language track, besides the french track, on this DVD) makes the movie even more unwatchable. 4Kids Entertainment really wanted to mess with the plot this time, making Ash's role 'bigger' by making him 'The Chosen One' just so they could put another message in the movie. To make matters worse, they totalled the soundtrack again, replacing it with their MIDI junk. Luckily, there ARE some music scores in this movie that are good, namely the last scene's. The DVD has a lack of extra features, because the only ones here are some videos of some 'bands' and 'singers', a trailer for the 3rd film, and the short film, which was toyed with just like it's predecessor. Strangely, the movie doesn't have a widescreen mode, which is very irritating. Sadly, Warner Bros.' track record of Pokemon DVDs isn't looking too good. This movie may not convert non-Pokemon fans, but it will be an entertaining little ride for the fans.  "Not nearly as good as the first."In the second theatrical release of the Pokemon series, we are given nothing but an environmental disaster for Ash and friends to solve - and this makes it quite a bit less great than the first movie. This would have been much better as a multi-part episode of the TV series. If you're unfamiliar with the basics, Pokemon (short for "POcKEt MONsters") are creatures a little like those from this world, but with strange and unusual powers and abilities that they use for their masters - masters that can be either good or evil. Ash and his friends train their Pokemon to fight battles with their enemies. They travel all over the planet to collect new and unusual types of Pokemon. They trap Pokemon in "Poke Balls" - a small device that hangs from a belt. When Ash's enemies release their Pokemon to do their work, Ash and his friends release their Pokemon, and they have a big battle. The environmental message in this story is just about shouted out loud and clear. This heavy handedness in story and plot makes it less enjoyable to begin with. Then, to make matters worse, there's a section near the beginning of the movie that almost comes right out and tells you the plot for the rest of the movie. If I had know that this was the case, I could have turned it off right then. Ash and his friends must save the three legendary bird Pokemon Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres from the clutches of an evil Pokemon collector. But the "evil" of the collector is only superficial at best - we are given no reasons for his obsession with "Gotta Catch Em All" other than the collector's card that he both begins and ends the movie with. He doesn't seem nearly as threatening as the menace of MewTwo. And there's almost no resolution to his story - he is left with exactly what he stared with and does not seem to regret his evil ways, nor does he seem to care that he was ultimately responsible for the environmental disasters that faced Earth. Meanwhile, Lugia must help Ash replace the three orbs on the island where they belong while flying through the fight between the three legendary birds and the environmental damage that they have created. Ash's life is in jeopardy again, and after the first movie, you would think that the Powers That Be would come up with a more original plot. What's worse is that the message is presented in such a way that it Cannot Be Ignored, which is always a plot device that I have hated. There's not any story for parents to love in this one unless they're members of Greenpeace. My favorite part of this movie was the few scenes where the original Team Rocket, Jessie and James, have a change of heart and must side with their former enemies Ash and friends. I sometimes wonder why those two have never learned the error of their ways. This was the only saving grace of this movie. There's also another Pikachu cartoon in this one that fans of the TV show will enjoy, but parents will find a herd time making any sense of the Pokemon "talk". Not nearly as highly rated as the first movie - in fact I only recommended it for Pokemon fans.  "Wow..."GOOD HEAVENS!!! For some strange reason, I get this strange feeling that this will be my favorite movie of the bunch until I see "Pokemon Heroes". Mind you, I have seen only this and "Mewtwo Strikes Back", so that's only a prediction. Now let's get started. First, I will review the traditional 20-minute short "Pikachu's Rescue Adventure" This can be reviewed with on sentance: ""Pikachu's Vacation" was better". Skip it entirely. The only interesting scene is the "Bellossom concert". Now for the good stuff: "Pokemon: The Movie 2000" WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW. This is honestly one of the best movies I have ever seen. The story? Oh man, it's great. It starts with the explanation of an ancient legend. The Titans of Fire, Ice and Lightning, are the bird Pokemon Moltres (Fire), Zapdos (Lightning) and Articuno (Ice). The Collector (voiced by Neil Stuart) is an evil man who collects Pokemon and Pokemon-related items (like his Mew card (similar to trading-card game)). The legend reads that if Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno are brought together, they will flush out the real prize of all this collecting: The Beast of the Sea, Lugia. Sadly, taking these Pokemon from their respective islands (Fire, Ice and Lightning Island) will throw the entire balance of nature out of whack. While this is going on, good-ol' Ash (Veronica Taylor) with his old time pal Misty (Rachael Lillis) and new friend Tracey (Ted Lewis) are traveling the Orange Islands (home of those huge bird-like freaks) with another friend, Erin (Tara Jayne). While traveling, they get caught in a strange storm and blown to one of the Orange Islands, Shimouti Island. There, they are greeted by the island folk who are celebrating the Sea Festival. One of these folk is a friend of Erin's, Carol, who then introduces them to this year's Festival Maiden, Melody (Amy Birnbuam). Since Ash is a Pokemon trainer, they then decide that he is "The Chosen One" (guess they need one in a hurry) and explain to him that he needs to get 3 crystal balls from Fire, Ice and Lightning Island and bring them back to a shrine. Ash, Misty, Tracey, Melody and Erin set off to do so but are soon captured by The Collector in addition with Moltres and Zapdos. After finding out about his "diabolical" scheme, they team up with Team Rocket's Jessie (Lillis), James (Eric Stuart) and Meowth (Addie Blaustine) (they're out for Pikachu again) in order to "save the world". The story may sound generic, but it ain't. Takeshi Shudo's scrpit and Michael Haigney's and Norman J. Grossfeld's adaption is much better than their work with "Mewtwo Strikes Back". The dialogue is well written and Team Rocket is actually funny! Even their puns are funny!! AND I HATE PUNS!!! The animation is much, MUCH better than the first one's. The effects and CGI look great, and the graphics are lush and colorful. A delightful piece of eye-candy (more for me because I have a sweet tooth for lush graphics). Also, it makes me feel good to know that there is some sort of romance going on between Ash and Misty (I always thought that they would make a cute couple ^_^). While there was a small and not so obvious seed planted that Misty has a secret crush on Ash when he died in the first Pokemon movie, here it becomes quite obvious with Melody constantly teasing Misty about it (but Misty keeps denying it so Ash still doesn't know). Shogakukan Video (the company that makes the movies), please make it happen when you start work on the 7th movie if it hasn't already happened in the 6th (it's just come out in Japan). I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to see her, if not hugging, kissing, or holding hands with him, at least confessing her true feelings to Ash. My only complaint is the use of some of the characters in the movie. Melody was a great character who was not given a big enough role, and The Collector and Tracey have absolutley no personality at all. All in all: This is a great movie with a sharp script, wonderfull animation and the G rating that the first one didn't. Ta-ta! "Best of the lot!"Although probably not met with as much praise by the critics as with the Pokefans, it was significantly better than the first film, Mewtwo Strikes Back. This may be a biased opinion, however, as Lugia is my favorite Pokemon, but Mewtwo is one of them as well. Anyway, in this film, a Pokemon collector wants to capture the legendary bird Pokemon, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres to flush out the big prize, Lugia. Unfortunetly, this tips the balance of power, and disrupts the weather around the world. Meanwhile, Ash, Misty and Tracey journey to a small island near to the island homes of the legendary birds and keeps up its old traditions with a yearly festival. The young girl who leads the tradition this year is Melody, who chooses Ash as the festival's "Chosen One." He is to travel to the islands to collect three elemental spheres and bring them back to the first island. How this movie is better than the first (and the ones that follow, too, I might add) I will explain in numerous points: First of all, the movie is less dark, and has a bit of a lighter mood. This can be good or bad, depending on how you like your Pokemon movies, but people who watch the anime series tend to like the lighter mood more. All in all, Pokemon 2000 is my favorite of the 4 Pokemon movies, and continues to be a popular film among the Pokemon fans. "The Best Movie"I think this movie is my most favorite Pokemon movie of all time! I have not seen Pokemon Heroes yet, but when I do it might be my new favorite movie. (Who Knows?) Why is Pokemon 2000 my favorite movie? Because I like the whole story and Lugia is the best! Mewtwo Strikes Back was okay, but it didn't interest me. The Spell of the Unown is a whole different story It does not have a rich exciteful story it is just about kids wanting their parents back. Celebi, 4-Ever was better than 1 & 3 because of it's awesome graphics and two wonderful new Pokemon, but 2000 is still my favorite Pokemon Movie. |
