Pokémon - Der Film: Die Macht in uns

After years of not so good Pokemon movies, this one is up there with how good the first few movies were, loved it, plus was great to see my favorite Pokemon Lugia on the big screen again. If you're a big Pokemon fan like me, you won't be disappointed.

It's probably safe to say with the long history of the Pokémon franchise, none of the returning or diehard fans should be expecting newcomers. The TV series has many seasons and to boot, many movies in between. Any convert would have to start from the very beginning and work their way through all of that just to reach this point. On the other hand, if that is the drive, then fans should be happy that another film in the list of entries remains to have standout qualities for its viewing experience. Know that there are still some aspects that still make it the typical entry for this franchise, but it's not as average as some of the other previous films. At this point it seems like the films are no longer sticking to the TV show timeline which is okay since the movies never seemed to play into the TV show anyway.

This entry drops the audience into Ash Ketchum's world with no indication of time or place, other than around the same time as the shows latest season. Along with him are several other characters that end up weaving their way into the story line which in time cross paths with Ash. Unbelievably, the writer director duo attached to this project is not Kunihiko Yuyama or Hideki Sonoda. This time, it's Tetsuo Yajima directing and Eiji Umehara writing the screenplay. Umehara has other credits to their name but nothing Pokémon related. However, Yajima does go all the way back to season one, so it's nice to know the director has experience with the franchise. The key part of the story and direction that make this film another strong entry is the focus of the plot.

Unlike other films which revolved around a legendary Pokémon and how capturing, controlling or destroying them would disturb the balance of nature or something like that. This time it focuses more on the human characters and the development of their arcs. Since this story has nothing to do with the show now, Team Rocket, Ash and Pikachu are the only main cast to return. Risa (Haven Paschall) is a new trainer who has yet to discover how important the connection is between Pokémon and trainer. Toren (Eddy Lee) is a timid researcher who hopes to be able to speak for himself one day for his love of Pokémon. Harriet (Kathryn Cahill) is an elderly citizen who hasn't learned how to love Pokémon again. Callahan (Billy Bob Thompson) is a lying uncle to his niece Kellie (Laurie Hymes) who doesn't know he lies. Then there's Mayor Oliver (Marc Thompson) and his daughter Margo (Erica Schroeder) who's hiding a secret from him.

The secret is a legendary Pokémon that no one else knows about. This is one of the couple pitfalls to the movie. No matter what, it seems like no movie can stay clear of directly being about a legendary Pokémon. The good thing is again, the main focus is on the human characters and their development. Of course even with some of these characters are tropes that viewers could anticipate what'll happen part way through the story because how obvious it is. The voice acting is also obvious but in a good way. None of the performances heard within the viewing experience sounded wrong, off or read poorly. Much of the cast are voice actors who have taken part in the franchise many times before. Additionally, it would be noticeable if they didn't sound invested in the project.

Visually speaking, the animation is another great part of the viewing experience. The colors and character expressions are as vibrant as ever. There's also fairly good CGI work thrown in as well. What this has to do with cinematography again though goes unknown. This time handled by Kenji Takahashi and Ryou Kujirai. As for film scores, Shinji Miyazaki returns once more as the composer to the project. Also again there is no domestic release for the album but it does contain an hour of tracks to listen to. At this point it would be more of a surprise if it was released domestically only. However, that won't happen considering the country of origin of the franchise. The music sounds good as usual and has its moments memorable tunes.

Showing that films related to the franchise can be entertaining, the viewing experience this time focuses on the human characters. As usual it includes the annoying character familiarities and legendary Pokémon, but also completely new characters, great animation, and consistently pleasant music.

For all us fans of the Pokemon franchise, the release of a new movie is something we're all fairly excited about (not the Ryan Reynold live action one, but the anime one). Even for me, personally, although I haven't been following the anime since the Diamond and Pearl series, the movies are quite my way of catching up on what's new. It has been going on for 21 years now, at a rate of a movie per year, and this is sort of my gateway into the past, revisiting the series I loved so much as a kid. But are the movies really that great? Well, they're Pokemon movies. You just watch them to go on a nostalgia trip.

The 21st Pokemon movie titled "The Power of Us" is out on the web, and as excited as I was after watching the trailer almost a year ago, the excitement was still in me to check out what's new in the franchise. Now the Pokemon series hasn't done very well in the movie front. There were only a handful of decent Pokemon movies these last 20 years. The first movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back" is probably the most iconic and in my opinion, the best Pokemon movie made up to date. It had everything going for it, with a powerful storyline that was being hinted at and built in the anime series itself. Other notable movies were "Pokemon Heroes", "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" and "Arceus and the Jewell of life". So that's just 4 out of 20.

Although Pokemon kinda made a smart move when they made the 20th movie, revisiting the origin of the protagonist, it didn't quite feel like the way it should have. The replacement of Brock and Misty with new characters, and the mother-of-all-cringe Pikachu talking scene, kinda held the movie back. But ever since the release of the teaser for the 21st movie, it was obvious that something was very different. It seemed more nuanced and this got me quite intrigued. So just as the movie was out on web platforms, I watched it.

I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed a Pokemon movie; something that I haven't done in a long time. The movie's success as a stand-alone movie, in my opinion, comes from intelligent decisions and good character development. The decision to change the drawing style was a good one. It was more striking that something looks different, and different might be good. This is also the only movie where Ash doesn't have his usual travel companions with him, which once again, I think is a good decision. The movie has 5 other supporting characters, all strangers, and all likeable. The lack of likeable characters has always plagued the Pokemon movies. But the way all of these characters were developed, each unique, each with their own goal, each with an obstacle they have to get over, and each with a realistic motivation. This sort of character development was a surprise, and the fact that the team behind the movie pulled this off should be commended. No character seemed forced or out of place, and each character had a purpose to be fulfilled in the plot (even Team Rocket).

Unlike previous movies, The Power of Us doesn't focus more on the Pokemon. Although the plot is centred around Zeraora and Lugia, the movie cuts back on the over the top action, while taking time to develop the characters and advance the story. This is quite a risky gamble, since the only reason we watch Pokemon is for the Pokemon, but this was a risk worth taking, because in my opinion, it paid off well. The awesome Pokemon action wasn't in any way compromised as the movie had its share of epic moments.

The movie did have a few flaws with the pacing and the dialogue (which I understand because the movie is aimed at kids). But the animation was smooth and beautifully done, and it makes the movie feel alive. The Power of Us is a very colourful movie, and I'll even recommend it to Pokemon fans who are sick of the series. Maybe this'll help heal the wounds left by hearing Mewtwo voiced by a girl :p.

This was not at all a perfect movie in any sense, but it manages to do a decent job to keep the audience engaged and actually take the plot seriously for once. In general, it might be a mediocre movie, but in Pokemon standards, it's quite good. This is a good direction in which the Pokemon company is heading. Let's see if the 22nd movie, "Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution" holds up the standard.

PS - This movie is only for Pokemon fans.

I always enjoyed the Pokemon series. I've haven't had the opportunity to watch the first Pokemon series, but I feel the Pokemon series has developed into such a great franchise. I would most definitely, when I have the time, watch all the Pokemon series.

Such a great movie!

It's better than most Pokémon movies. It's certainly better than Detective Pikachu.

Personal point, first: I like the designs for Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket. I'd even go so far as to say these are the best designs for them since their original designs.

Compared to previous Pokémon movies...

The story feels a lot more focused.

The humor isn't all that obnoxious.

Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket are extra likable.

The side characters are much more likable, especially the scientist. You wanna give him a hug.

There was less bad dialogue. Not to say any of it was particularly stellar because why the hell would any of it be stellar?

And it's never boring.

On top of all that...

The animation is very good.

It's bright and colorful.

It communicated how Risa used to run but doesn't anymore because of an injury with zero dialogue. This happened at the beginning of the movie, too. And when I saw it I was like, "This Pokémon movie is actually trying."

Honestly, in many ways it was everything I was hoping Detective Pikachu would be.

That being said, problems that previous Pokémon films have suffered from are still present in this one:

The voice acting was mediocre.

There are familiar plot threads.

The sequence of events was predictable.

There's bad and unnecessary dialogue.

And there are plenty of logistical issues.