Pokémon 11: Giratina und der Himmelsreiter

Despite the change in the Pokémon franchise with ownership and the voice actors behind it, newcomers still found it entertaining. It also wasn't like these changes would halt any production going forward because some avid followers would still watch whether the original voice cast was there or not. With that said, it should be no surprise that after one bad anniversary special and a film entry in the lineup, another one would come around. Interestingly enough, this entry somewhat improves upon the last film but is still needlessly complicated in the world this franchise is trying to expand. That's not to say there isn't effort here but there are several questions about what gets set up. As it has been before, the Yuyama Sonoda duo are the main headers to this entry, which is good but some are probably wondering how much longer are they going to remain attached.

The story relatively picks up where the last film left off where Palkia and Dialga had their spat over what seemed like nothing. However because of the last event, another Pokémon called Giratina is annoyed by this. Giratina who is the Pokémon of the reverse world watched as its home became invaded by the disruption the two others causing dark matter to appear. To try and stop that from happening again, Giratina tries trapping Dialga in its realm only to be foiled by another Pokémon called Shaymin who has powers that can convert pollution into freshness. Meanwhile a man by name of Zero (Christopher Kromer) is seeking to get his hands on Giratina to control the reverse world. So it's nice to see the consequences of the last film impacted this one, which kind of explains the reasoning behind it too. Why that couldn't be said for the film itself instead of here, who knows.

There is reasoning why Shaymin is involved with the plot which is helpful. Sometimes these tinier Pokémon seem to be thrown in more for cute factor based on marketing more than anything else. However, the use of this character has nowhere near the same kind of charm compared to previous ones. For some reason this particular Shaymin can communicate via telepathy with Ash and company. The reason why is never explained as it is later shown other Shaymin exist and do not interact with such abilities. Okay...whatever. That's not where the issues end though. Although it is more entertaining compared to the last story, a couple minor subplots do not get resolved when it concludes. For the characters though, the actors put in well-earned performances. The five main cast members who voice the characters fans know and love are fine.

The new characters to join for this film are Shaymin also voiced by Michele Knotz. Shaymin as a character is ok for the story but personality wise comes off frustrating. Christopher Kromer is good for voicing Zero having past roles in Berserk and Giant Robo. Lastly there's Marc Thompson voicing Newton Graceland a scientist also studying the reverse world. Thompson has also had various roles in anime like Duke Devlin in Yu-Gi-Oh. He even had a role on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Aside from those additions, everything else is very much standard which means nothing to really go on about because things have been in place now for quite some time. With this entry being apart of the eleventh season, the new voice actors have had enough time to settle in.

The visuals to the film were fine. Takaya Mizutani as the default cinematography was acceptable for however that applies. Maybe. The blend of digital animation and CGI have gotten pretty good now where the renders don't look completely out of place. Lastly the music from Shinji Miyazaki is no shocker either. He's been scoring the series for several films now and looks like he's just another component to the franchise as like the Yuyama Sonoda duo. And of course, no domestic release on the soundtrack. The tracks heard in the film have that familiar sound which is good. Nothing really felt out of place, but an album would have been nice sometime.

The story reverts back to its sort of status quo entertainment value which is okay. From a narrative perspective it misses on some subplots and explanations but perhaps that's expected by now. The animation, voice acting and connective tissue to the last film makes up for that a little bit.

Nice movie with comedy and action ..... One of the best pokemon movies

Back in 2009, I stopped watching Pokémon shortly before this movie came out and moved on to other things. I did it because of how the series was losing its steam and was not going to end anytime soon. Watching this movie for the first time recently reminds me of why. While not terrible, this is definitely one of the weaker entries in the series.

Shaymin is one of the if not the most annoying Pokémon ever. He totally got on my nerves. If he is the "gratitude Pokemon", why was he so full of himself and such a jerk to Ash? The emotional "goodbye" at the end despite him and Ash's hate/hate relationship had me cringing.

Zero (that's the best name they could come up with?!) is one of the most boring, generic villains the series has to offer. He is mostly a rehash of the villain from "Pokémon 2000." Even Vicious from "Pokémon 4Ever" was a more interesting villain than him. His motives were also pretty questionable. What is so great about ruling the reverse world?

I will admit, though, that the reverse world is really cool and interesting. It is such a creative setting, and they did some cool stuff with it. Giratina is one of the best and most "legendary" legendary Pokémon. However, the inclusion of Regigigas was totally unnecessary and added nothing to the story.

There are some good action sequences throughout, but nothing that truly stands out. The animation is really good, however, and I love "It's a Beautiful World."

This isn't a bad movie, but it is brought down quite a bit by a generic villain and an annoying performance by Shaymin. It isn't really a waste of time, though, and it's certainly better than most of the later films. Recommended mainly to Pokémon fans.

RATING: C+

"Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior" is the English title for the eleventh theatrical movie spin-off from the popular "Pokémon" TV series. The movie was a big hit in Japan last summer and the English-dubbed version premiered recently on the Cartoon Network, where I watched it. As a fan of the series and an advocate in print for nearly all the previous Pokémon movies, I have to confess I have mixed feelings about this one. On the plus side, it's arguably the most visually impressive of all the movies, and I'll go into greater detail on this, but on the negative side, I never really got a handle on the chief antagonist, a power-hungry student named Zero, and what motivated him. You need a formidable villain for these movies to work and this entry just doesn't have one.

The movie's basic premise centers around the existence of a "Reverse World," a kind of alternate universe designed to correct imbalances in the "Real World." Five years before the events of this movie, a research scientist named Newton Graceland apparently discovered the Reverse World and its sole resident Pokémon, Giratina, a winged, six-legged, metallic dinosaur-like creature. He then tried to tap Giratina's power with the help of a young assistant, Zero. When Newton had a change of heart, Zero broke with him and struck out on his own to try to trap Giratina by using a machine that Newton designed to absorb Giratina's power so that he, Zero, could gain control of the Reverse World and enter and leave it at will. None of this made much sense to me since there doesn't seem to be much in the virtually empty Reverse World to want to control and Zero doesn't seem to have much trouble getting in and out of the real world when he wants to anyway.

Series regulars Ash, Dawn, and Brock, along with their regular Pokémon companions, get roped into all this through the intervention of a cute, grassy little Pokémon called a Shaymin, who's on its way to the "flower garden" for the "flower-bearing" ritual with other Shaymin. Shaymin can communicate telepathically so we can hear its articulated thoughts, making it one of the very few Pokémon (outside of Meowth and Mew) who can actually "talk." It may be cuddly and vulnerable and all, but it gets pretty arrogant towards Ash and his crew as it loudly demands an immediate escort to the flower garden. However, once Shaymin transforms into its "sky form," enabling it to fly above the breathtaking landscapes they travel through, even Ash starts to warm up to it. Shaymin's connection to Giratina and the Reverse World has something to do with its ability to render toxic material harmless via some internal process. Giratina seems to need Shaymin's help and constantly pursues it, provoking fear in Shaymin and its companions until Newton, who enlists Ash and his friends to help him, finally figures out what Giratina wants.

The background designs of the "real world" are all based on locations in Norway (according to Wikipedia) and are easily the most spectacular I've yet seen in a Pokémon movie (which is saying a lot when you consider the artwork in some of the others, including JIRACHI WISH MAKER and LUCARIO AND THE MYSTERY OF MEW). Especially awe-inspiring is the glacier valley they pass through on a cruise ship, including some high waterfalls and a delightful scene that results when Ash's pokémon fly up with the transformed Shaymin, while Dawn's Piplup dives into the water to meet lots of water pokémon who've clustered around the boat out of curiosity. Later on, the big battle with Zero in his massive, not-so-streamlined retro-style flying craft takes place against the backdrop of the glacier valley and culminates in the arrival of scores of native pokémon trying to avert catastrophe from a sliding glacier.

The Reverse World sometimes looks like a mirror image of the real world seemingly above it, but with distorted streetscapes of the village that Ash & co. are visiting and strange pillars of rock supporting upside-down pieces of land with grass on them. Gravity plays tricks on the characters as they pass though it. It's an interesting-looking place, but I never quite grasped its symbiotic relationship with the surface world. The only time we see a concrete example of this is when Zero starts using his flying craft to crash through ice pillars in the Reverse World, which then causes the aforementioned glacier to start sliding up above. It's never adequately explained what appeal the Reverse World holds for Zero other than that he gets to be alone in it, not exactly a compelling motivation for a movie villain.

I imagine that other Pokémon fans may have less difficulty with this one than I did, although I have to admit I was starting to have trouble on this score with the last Pokémon movie, THE RISE OF DARKRAI, when I couldn't quite understand the nature of the conflict involving Darkrai, Palkia, and Dialga (who makes an appearance here in the first sequence). It's all starting to get a little too abstract for me. Also, I'm still not comfortable with the new English-language voice cast used for the main Pokémon characters, even though I've had about three years to get used to them. A subtitled Japanese-language edition would be preferable. In any event, this latest Pokémon movie is filled with the kind of visual spectacle we've come to expect from these movies, so it's still worth seeing if you've enjoyed any of the other recent ones.