Pokémon: The First Movie

Pokémon: The First Movie (Worldwide except Australia) / Pokémon: The Rise of Mewtwo (Australia only) (Pikachu's Vacation, Origin of Mewtwo & Mewtwo Strikes Back)
US theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Haigney Kunihiko Yuyama
Produced by	Choji Yoshikawa Tomoyuki Igarashi Takemoto Mori
Written by	Takeshi Shudo
Starring	Veronica Taylor Rachael Lillis Eric Stuart Ikue Ootani Phillip Bartlett Ryan Drummond Maddie Blaustein Michael McGaharn Ted Lewis
Distributed by	Japan: Toho North America: Warner Bros. (Kids' WB) Nintendo Pictures
Release date(s)	Japan July 18, 1998 North America November 12, 1999
Running time	Japan 85 min. North America 75 min. 96 min. (w/ Pikachu's Vacation)
Country	Japan North America
Language	Japanese English
Budget	$30,000,000
Gross revenue	$163,644,662
Followed by	Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns Pokémon: The Movie 2000

Pokémon: The First Movie, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters Mewtwo no Gyakushū (ポケットモンスター ミュウツーの逆襲, Poketto Monsutā Myūtsū no Gyakushū^?, lit. "Pocket Monsters Mewtwo Strikes Back"), is the first theatrical release based on the Pokémon anime. Like the anime, it is directed by Kunihiko Yuyama.

The title Mewtwo Strikes Back is a direct translation of the movie's Japanese name, Mewtwo no gyakushū, which can also be interpreted as Mewtwo's Counterattack.

As Pokémon were extremely popular when the film was released, it was a box office hit worldwide. It primarily consists of three segments: Pikachu's Vacation, a 20+ minute feature focusing on the most popular Pokémon character Pikachu; Origin of Mewtwo, a 10-minute featurette that functions as a prologue to the main feature; and Mewtwo Strikes Back, the main 75-minute movie feature. However, the United States dub version by 4Kids Entertainment omitted "Origin of Mewtwo" from the package before its U.S. theatrical run due to its dark nature, as the target MPAA rating was a G; it was partially restored in the movie's release on VHS and DVD. The featurette was eventually dubbed and restored as a special feature in the U.S. release of the direct-to-video follow-up movie sequel Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns.

Plot

Pikachu's Vacation

Pikachu's Vacation (ピカチュウのなつやすみ, Pikachū no Natsuyasumi^?) is a 21-minute short movie that is shown before Mewtwo Strikes Back in both the theatrical and the DVD version of the main movie. It is the first of the “Pikachu shorts” in what would be a traditional process of hosting a 20+ minute mini-movie before the main Pokémon feature that would last up until the 6th movie. Pikachu's Vacation, like the five Pikachu shorts that would follow, focuses primarily on an action-packed affair involving solely the Pokémon seen from the anime as they take part in a scenario that eventually illustrates a moral.

In Pokémon fan communities, Pikachu's Vacation was noted for introducing the never-before-seen Pokémon character Snubbull (albeit spelled Snubble), as well as the first primary anime appearance of the already popular Marill. This became a tradition for all Pikachu shorts, as they were used to introduce new Pokémon from the upcoming “generations” of Pokémon games, cards, and anime material.

When Ash and his friends stumble upon a Pokémon-only vacation resort, they decide to let their Pokémon have a day of fun and relaxation and let all their Pokémon out as the trainers go relaxing on their own. Pikachu and the Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charizard, Squirtle, Pidgeotto, Geodude, Onix, Vulpix, Zubat, Staryu, Goldeen, Psyduck, and Togepi) go off into the resort and immediately contend with an unhappy Togepi, which they succeed in doing. Soon, a group of border-ruffian Pokémon comprised of a Raichu, Cubone, Snubbull, and Marill come along and immediately cause trouble for Pikachu's group. The ensuing standoff soon becomes a series of competitions such as a swimming race. Their increasingly passionate rivalry soon comes to a standstill when Pikachu's companion Charizard finds its head stuck in a tight storage receptacle. Putting aside their squabble, Pikachu and Raichu's groups join together to release Charizard, and they soon find themselves as friends for the rest of the day. At the end of the day, Pikachu and his fellow Pokémon leave the resort with fond memories and new friends and rejoin their trainers.

Mewtwo Strikes Back

In a prologue, Dr. Fuji, a research scientist of Team Rocket, describes how his researchers uncovered some fossil remnants of Mew, a rare Pokémon that is believed to be extinct. Using the DNA of Mew and a research laboratory, they created Mewtwo. However when Mewtwo learns that the researchers intend to experiment on him, Mewtwo levels the base, killing Dr. Fuji as well as everyone in the lab. Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket, offers Mewtwo an alliance; Giovanni promises to help Mewtwo control his powers.

Over the course of several months, Mewtwo is "trained", battling challengers in Giovanni's gym and restraining Pokémon for the Rockets to capture. Mewtwo learns that Giovanni only sees him as his tool. Enraged, Mewtwo destroys Giovanni's headquarters and flies back to the remains of the laboratory island. He decides to find his own purpose and destroy all those who oppose him. Deeming the relationship of humans and Pokémon horrific, Mewtwo declares that his reign will soon begin.

Elsewhere, Ash Ketchum and his companions Misty, Brock, and their Pokémon receive a holographic message, in which a woman invites them to attend a party hosted by the world's best Pokémon Master on New Island. Excited, Ash and his friends head to a seaport where they can get a boat to New Island. However, a storm has formed by Mewtwo, causing the boats to the island to be canceled.

There, another woman addresses Ash and the other trainers who have been invited to the island, warning everyone about a similar storm that took many lives and how the weeping Pokemon revived the lost people. Several trainers head out to the island, while Ash and his friends are left on the dock. Disguised as a pair of vikings, Team Rocket offers the trio a lift in their small boat, but the boat is destroyed by a wave. Ash and his friends use their aquatic Pokémon to reach the island. The woman from the invitation leads the trio up to a large room where other trainers, Corey, Fergus, and Neesha, wait.

Mewtwo appears and berates the relationships between humans and Pokémon, tortures several of the trainers and their Pokémon, and reveals the woman from the invitation is Nurse Joy, who went missing previously. Ash challenges Mewtwo to a battle, which Mewtwo accepts. Team Rocket, who also survived the storm, come across a secret lab and find a video of Dr. Fuji explaining how he created Mewtwo. They find a cloning machine in which clones of Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur are resting. Jessie accidentally activates the cloning machine and Meowth is also cloned.

Ash, Corey, and Neesha battle Mewtwo's clones with their own Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur, but all three are defeated. Mewtwo claims all of the trainers' Pokémon so he can create a clone army which will replace humanity and real Pokémon when they are destroyed by Mewtwo's storm.

Mewtwo conjures hundreds of his strange Poké Balls and sends them at the trainers. Ash tries returning Bulbasaur and Squirtle (who have been fighting the balls bravely), but two of Mewtwo's Pokeballs fly over and capture Bulbasaur and Squirtle's Poké Balls. Brock, Misty (after tucking Togepi safely in her bag), and Nurse Joy try running away with Psyduck right behind them but it is captured, much to Misty's fury. Vulpix is then captured right out of Brock's arms, to his horror.

The balls manage to capture all the trainers' Pokémon except Pikachu (and Togepi). When Pikachu is caught, Ash pursues the Poké Balls down into the cloning room and manages to save Pikachu, but the cloning machine explodes and releases both the clones and real Pokémon.

Ash leads the real ones upstairs to the battle arena to stop Mewtwo and his clones. Mew appears to save Ash; Mew and Mewtwo take command of their armies and fight in a brutal battle that leaves all the Pokémon wounded to the point of death. Ash's Pikachu refuses to fight and receives a severe series of slaps from his crying clone.

Horrified, Ash yells for it all to stop and leaps in the middle of an attack fired by Mewtwo and Mew and in the process, is turned to stone. Pikachu tries to revive the fallen Ash with multiple electric shocks, but fails. Seeing Pikachu's grief, all the other Pokémon begin to cry. Their tears begin to glow and gather in Ash, resembling the words of the woman who was at the seaport. Ash begins to glow and is revived.

Upon seeing Ash's selfless death, Mewtwo has a change of heart. Using his powers, he leaves the island with Mew and the clones, but he erases the memories of Ash and all those present on the island, knowing it to be for the best.

Ash and his friends find themselves back on the dock with no idea how they got there. Nurse Joy, who had been Mewtwo's captive, now returns to her duties with her offer to look at the trainers Pokémon. Ash and his friends go outside as the storm clears up. Looking up into the sky, Ash spots Mew in the clouds and reveals to Misty and Brock how he saw a rare Pokémon on the first day of his journey. The film ends with Mew flying and disappearing into the mountains.

It was renamed Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns when it was released on DVD standalone.

Voice cast

Production

Kunihiko Yuyama directed the original Japanese version of the film, while Choji Yoshikawa served as that version's producer and Takeshi Shudo served as the writer. Norman J. Grossfeld then the president of 4Kids, served as the English-language film's producer. Grossfeld, Michael Haigney and John Touhey wrote the English adaptation, and Michael Haigney served as the English version's voice director.^[1] The English version editors translated various Japanese texts, including text on signs and on buildings, into English. Shogakukan digitally altered the backgrounds for the U.S. English version.^[2]

Grossfeld said that the English-language producers rescored the music since the new music "would better reflect what American kids would respond to." John Loeffler of Rave Music produced the English-language music and composed the music with Ralph Schuckett. Loeffler collaborated with John Lissauer and Manny Corallo to produce the English-language "Pikachu's Vacation" score. Grossfeld said that the English version of the film "combines the visual sense of the best Japanese animation with the musical sensibility of Western pop culture."^[2]

Box office

For the movie's theatrical release, select theaters would give away exclusive Pokémon trading cards, to capitalize on the success of the trading card game. The cards featured likenesses of Electabuzz, Pikachu, Mewtwo, and Dragonite, and were dispensed in random order for each week it was in that particular theater. The subsequent releases of Pokémon: The Movie 2000 and Pokémon 3: The Movie featured a similar marketing campaign. For the 2000 VHS/DVD release of The First Movie, a limited edition Mewtwo card (different from that used for the theatrical release) was packaged with the video.

The film was a box office hit, making $10,096,848 on its Wednesday opening day and $31,036,678 over the Friday-to-Sunday span in at the time, in an ultra-wide 3,043 theaters, averaging to about $10,199 per venue and ranking as the number one film at the box office for that weekend, however collapsed 59.72% in its second weekend. It closed on Thursday February 27, 2000 making $85,744,662 in North America, and internationally it made $77,900,000. All together, the film made $163,644,662, making it the highest-grossing anime film in the United States and the third highest-grossing animated film based on a television show worldwide. It was also the highest-grossing film based on a video game at the time, until Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001.

When the film was released in North America, it briefly held the record for the largest opening weekend for an animated film. The record was broken two weeks later with the release of Toy Story 2.

Reception

Though the movie was praised by viewers and fans of the show at the time of its release, the film was panned by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 15% "Rotten" approval rating, with the consensus being, "Audiences other than children will find very little to entertain them." On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 35 out of 100, meaning "generally negative reviews".

Both Pokemon: The First Movie and the short Pikachu's Summer Vacation received generally negative reviews. Anime News Network's review of Pokemon: The First Movie called it "contradictory", saying that "the anti-violent message that is pretty much crammed down our throats works directly against the entire point of the franchise" and criticized Pikachu's Summer Vacation for being "incoherent, pointless and fluffy". ^[3] Patrick Butters, of The Washington Times, accused Pokemon: The First Movie of taking ideas from other movies such as Star Wars and being "just another cog in the mighty Nintendo machine".^[4] Michael Wood, of England's Coventry Evening Telegraph said that Pikachu's Summer Vacation "can only be described as a mind-numbingly tedious piece, with no discernible storyline and lots of trippy images and silly voices". Wood did note that Pokemon: The First Movie had a "mildly intriguing premise", but said that the rest of the film "was like a martial arts movie without the thrills".^[5]

Soundtrack

Main article: Pokémon: The First Movie (soundtrack)

Pokémon: The First Movie Original Motion Picture Score
Soundtrack by Various artists
Released	1999
Recorded	?
Genre	Orchestral, Film Soundtrack
Length	46:12
Label	Koch Records
Producer	John Loeffler
Various artists chronology
Pokémon: The First Movie (1999) Pokémon: The First Movie Original Motion Picture Score (1999) Pokémon World (1999)

Tracks 11 to 13 are from Pikachu's Vacation. Some versions of the CD come with a 14th bonus track, listed as the theme to the first Pokémon series, when on the CD, it is the theme to the second series.

Another soundtrack released alongside the score, Pokémon: The First Movie soundtrack, features a selection of songs by popular artists.

Purchase of the soundtrack also came with a special edition Jigglypuff Pokémon card.

Differences between the Japanese and English versions

• According to the director's commentary, the American edit of the film contains CGI effects that weren't included in the original Japanese cut. These include realistic-looking clouds, and smoother animations of the doors on New Island. (The original doors can be seen briefly in the North American DVD animation.) Those CGI effects can also be seen on the Japanese DVD.
• In the original Japanese, Mewtwo is angry because he was created by scientists and not God, and attempts to fight back against the world to prove he should be alive. In the American dub, the references to God were removed and he is taking over the world for the benefit of his cloned Pokémon. They cut 8 minutes out on the origin of Mewtwo because it showed human cloning: this footage was later added as an extra feature in the American DVD release of "Mewtwo Returns".
• The original Japanese soundtrack was removed, and an entirely new soundtrack was composed for the American dub. This was due to the soundtrack being too dark for American audiences, since the rating was G. The soundtrack featured many melodramatic chorus music scores that gave the atmosphere a more ominous sound than what the U.S. version had.

References

External links

• Official English site
• Pokémon: The First Movie at the Internet Movie Database
• Pokémon: The First Movie at Allmovie
• Pokémon: The First Movie at Box Office Mojo
• Roger Ebert's review of Pokémon: The First Movie
• PokeZam's Summary and Comparison of Pokemon: The First Movie
• Nostalgia Critic's review of Pokémon: The First Movie