Pokémon, le film : Je te choisis !

I Choose You plays out a little like a greatest hits of the show's first season. Ash and Pikachu are initially at odds with one another, they get attacked by a flock of Spearow, Ash catches his own Caterpie which later evolves up through Metapod and Butterfree, before being set free to migrate south, and he shelters an abused Charmander left out in the rain who later evolves up to become his trusty Charizard. However most crucially that brief, inspirational appearance of Ho-Oh in the first episode is not only present, but becomes the primary drive of the film's narrative. Seeing as that cameo never got any payoff in the show, and Ho-Oh missed out on its own movie, I was actually really happy this was the direction they decided to take. With this they also picked up a bunch of stuff from the games as well, such as the Rainbow Wing, Ho-Oh's tower being burnt down, and the creation of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, making for a thoroughly compelling and unique legendary Pokemon hunt (unlike Mewtwo Strikes Back, The Power of One, or Spell of the Unown, Ash actively hunts down the legendary Pokemon rather than accidentally falling into its path).

There's other changes as well of course. This is less of a retelling and more of a complete re-imagining. Brock and Misty are nowhere to be seen, and honestly I didn't miss them. Why would a couple of Gym Leaders abandon their posts to go on an adventure with a ten year old? It makes more sense that Ash would attach himself to like-minded peers. Not only that, but Verity and Sorrel were much less annoying, and had some relatable and tragic backstories that made them instantly more interesting. Sorrel's backstory in particular is surprisingly dark and heartbreaking, while Verity's is itself an obscure reference. Charizard is also not a complete jerk to Ash, which not only saves a bunch of time in an already cramped movie, but also reinforces that this Ash is much more capable and sure of himself. It's not long into the movie's runtime that he's already gathered three gym badges, and he wins most of his trainer battles too. In fact on that note I Choose You has a whole bunch of actual Pokemon battles, something decidedly absent from the original anime, and they're all great to actually watch for once. There's no Gary either, replaced instead with Cross, who's basically the exact same character without the personal connection; all he cares about is winning and strength, and he views friendship as a weakness. This also ties Charmander into the film's story really as well, rather than it just being a random callback like a few others end up feeling like (looking at you Team Rocket).

In fact on that note let me start my criticisms, because the treatment of Team Rocket here potentially ruins an otherwise perfectly fine movie. When they first appeared I smiled at seeing some of my favourite idiots back on screen. But they're ultimate pointless fan-service. They don't interact with Ash at all, they don't affect the story even a little. They appear, make a bad quip, and then "blast off again". You could cut out their scenes and literally nothing in the movie would have changed (other than making it less cringeworthy and giving it a tighter narrative, I guess). Similarly the Bye Bye Butterfree homage is as nice as it was the first time, except without the twenty-odd episodes of build-up. In I Choose You, I felt nothing, because Metapod had only just evolved into Butterfree less than five minutes ago.

Then there's the third act. It some ways I liked it, in others I really didn't. Marshadow plays an uncertain role throughout the movie, never sure if it's helpful or nefarious. When the big climax comes along this is just muddied even further. Marshadow becomes a bit of an antagonist controlling other nearby Pokemon to attack the group, after being told it's there as a protector of the Rainbow Wing and the one chosen by it. Motives unclear, climax confusing. Then things start looking really bad for Ash, and Pikachu talks. I mean I cringed a little at this, but I could easily reconcile it as being Ash understanding more than Ash hearing, and then it turns into a cheap callback to the most heartbreaking scene in cinema history from Mewtwo Strikes Back (I still assert this claim, fight me), except nowhere near as heartbreaking, and it's resolved quickly and without ramifications. It felt cheap, forced, and made no sense whatsoever. That said I am kind of glad they glossed over Ash's ultimate battle against Ho-Oh. Showing Ash win would've squandered Ho-Oh untouchably legendary status, but showing him lose would felt like a bit too much of a downer to end the movie on. Good, albeit unsatisfactory decision on that one.

Visually it's definitely a step up from the original series twenty years ago, with the animation a lot more...animated and crisp, and the backgrounds and settings breath their own life. Pokemon battles are brought to life with fantastic viewpoints and camera angles. However I found some of background CG to be a bit off. It was often a little too detailed, giving it that air of 3D in 2D animation from the dawn of the millenium that always looked a little weird (Titan A.E. springs to mind as an example of this).

I didn't hate I Choose You, and evidently my attachment to the original show was nowhere near strong enough for me to dislike certain elements just because they're not the same. In fact I think I liked the changes more than the similarities. I Choose You didn't feel like a condensed version of that first season, but that's a good thing. It's its own story, giving us payoff to a plot-point twenty years in the making, by taking the entire franchise back to the beginning and reimagining it from the ground up. I give I Choose You an enjoyable 7/10.

Plot of the film is basically alternate version of the first season of the series. It has many same scenes but has changed the plot to build around the Ho-Oh encounter, which happened in series but in series that didn't affect Ash's journey. Many of the later scenes are still same ones from series, but just in different places since Ash is traveling with different goal and direction. His travelmates aren't Misty and Brock but instead Verity and Sorrel who are basically same characters but with different names and look. Bad as a movie but if you want to watch how it all started. I think it's better to watch this instead of season 1 of the series. If you are not looking for nostalgia, there are better movies.

Over 20 years after its debut, it seems that Pokémon is not a fad and will be here to stay for the long haul. Of course, considering the mania surrounding the first games in the series back in the mid-1990's, by now enough time has passed for nostalgia to be a contributing factor to the franchise's continued success. The children who grew up with Pokémon are now adults in their late-20's and early-30's (i.e., "millennials"). In an attempt to cash in on this nostalgia, Pokémon's latest movie, I Choose You! recounts some of the memorable first moments of the anime, but with a slightly different storyline.

Initially, I was worried that this plot would be a pared-down selection of key moments from the anime, much like what has been done with other anime movies like One Piece's The Desert Princess and the Pirates (2007) and Episode of Chopper Plus(2008). Fortunately, this film managed to capitalize on some hindsight that ended up linking the first few episodes of the anime to significant plot points introduced in the second generation of games. Granted, this semi-ret-conning diverges from the anime plot (to a point where Team Rocket is completely uninvolved), but at least it provides a more cogent conclusion by the end of the film.

Some have bashed this movie for the controversial decision to give Pikachu an actual voice, but the nostalgia in me (partly from the anime, as much as from the first Pokémon movie) got chills during the climax of this film. That being said, I had trouble getting used to the new voice actors for this movie, which pulled me out of the nostalgia every now and again. In the end, the plot of this film probably follows a lot closer to the actual Pokémon games than the anime ever did, which is probably a plus considering some of the complaints many fans have about the anime.

A nostalgia trip for the millennials who grew up with Pokémon, I give I Choose You! 3.5 stars out of 5.

It's decent. The animation is refreshing and elevated and the storytelling is what one is to expect from a Pokémon movie. It's not a ground-breaking concept nor is it a stand-out film in the tapestry of Pokémon, but it certainly fulfills its role as the 20th anniversary celebration. If you decide to invest time into the movie, make sure to stick around for the credits. In my opinion, the visuals and music found there is the best of the movie, making one wonder why an entire film had to be crafted just to have it's essence buoyed primarily by nostalgia. What this movie does successfully (that nostalgia) isn't necessarily hard for a 20-year-old childhood-favorite franchise to muster up. Perhaps they realized this and took the easy way out.

Nevertheless, expect to walk away with your heart full of childhood warmth and your mind forgetting the rest.

I'm 23. You might wonder why I'm telling you this, but that is not without significance.

When I was 6 years old I would get up every Sunday morning at 07.00 to see the latest Pokemon episode, and it was some of the happiest Sundays I spend watching, and because of that I was very nostalgic watching this movie.

NOW FOR THE REVIEW

What doesn't work:

1st off The movie is very fast paced, and because of that, some of the touching moments in this movie, some new, some recognizable doesn't really pay off.

2nd The animation has some of the old style, but also some new style which doesn't come off great. One moment you're like: Wow, that's like the old days, and in another: ugh that's not good.

3rd Because it rekindles some moments from the old days, you feel bad for the moments left out, which leaves you feeling a bit annoyed and cheated.

4th Team rocket is utterly wasted in this movie. They could have left them out, but they kept them for comic relief, which was a HUEEGE MISTAKE! WHAT A WASTE!

5th It's not for hardcore Pokemon fans. If you're deep into Pokemon new gens and hate the old stuff, this will leave you unsatisfied and feeling like they f**ked the community over.

What works:

1st off The movie is a mix of nostalgia and new gen Pokemon's and characters, and they actually made it work. Kudos.

2nd. If you are anything like me, an OG Pokemon fan and a bit of a GENWUNNER, this is gonna be pure nostalgia love-fest. Right off the bat you're taken back to pallet town and you know where this is headed, nostalgia adventures. You get to see some old legendary encounters and some heartfelt moments, which sweetens this roller-coaster ride.

3rd. We finally gets some closure an in depth story regarding ash an Ho- Oh. The chapter I waited for so long as a kid is finally here.

A MUST WATCH for GENWUNNERS and people who are nostalgic for the old seasons.

It gets a 6/10 and a +1 for nostalgia.

On a last and more serious note. This could have been a 9/10 Pokemon if they made it an hour longer. That would have allowed them to slow it down, focus on story and would have made the heartfelt moments pay off more than they did.