Pokémon, le film : Je te choisis !

The movie progresses too fast. It felt like some clips from season one stitch together to remind us what happened in the first season, but the story goes to a different place. If you are a fan, -You will like how they remade some iconic scenes (but originals are still better) -Beautiful piano version of the theme song

If you are new to pokemon, -You will not really introduced to the world of pokemon -They put legendary pokemon and a lot more from all generations unnecceserly.

This is my new favorite Pokémon movie. Way more better than these other modern Pokémon movies.

So on Pokemon Day, Fans gathered together and celebrated the colossal and heartwarming series that is Pokemon. Along with that, the Official Pokemon Website released the 20th film in the series. Wow. . . I cannot believe there's been that many. and to be honest I haven't even given each film a watch. The thing that struck me as odd though, was the amount of views the film had on the official website. I watched this thing a week after its initial release date and it only had about 50,000 views but I guess people could have viewed it from different sources. Anyway the story revolves around Ash. Beginning his journey in the same way the Original Anime began. Ash wakes up too late and because of this he has only one choice as his Starter Pokemon, Pikachu. It takes the two a little bit of bonding over almost losing their lives to some crazy Spearow to build their friendship. This was the main reason I decided to watch this film as it gives me nostalgic feelings of when I was a kid watching this very same guy bond with his first Pokemon 20 years ago. Now this film takes a sharp turn and does not follow the original Anime to a tee. For Instance, we only see three of Ash's Pokemon throughout the entire film. This being Pikachu, Caterpie and Charizard. And while out on their Journey they meet Trainers Verity and Sorrel. Instead of Misty and Brock. Sorrel talks about how he is studying The three legendary beasts Raikou, Entei and Suicune (who all make a brief appearance in the film.) I thought the way they developed these characters was great and you almost don't even miss Misty and Brock here. I mean, Why should you? I feel the whole point of this film was to go another direction. You get a look into their past and see who these characters are. And this was one of the most solid points of the film. They were pretty relatable too. Ash and Pikachu see Ho-oh like in the Anime. Instead Ash is given the Rainbow wing meaning he is the Rainbow Hero Chosen by Ho-oh Itself. The story goes from here and doesn't have much of a direct plot except that the follow of Ash on his Journey in kanto. We meet Charmander and he's been left behind by a shitty trainer like before. This guy named Cross. In my opinion, this guy is the typical villain trainer who thinks strength is more important than friendship blah blah blah. . . . . Ash takes Charmander under his wing, He evolves and proves the Trainer wrong. I found a lot of the things that were brought from the original anime felt noticeably rushed. Like when Caterpie evolved into Butterfree and then meets his mate and then leaves for mating season. I found it funny at one point when the Primeape were attacking them, Sorrel recommends (metapod clip) Yeah. . . .that wouldn't go well in the video games. . . Another thing featured in this film was Marshadow following ash through his shadow. He gives Ash a glimpse of how important it was to be a good Trainer and the destruction it can cause if you were like Cross. Team Rocket even makes a few appearances throughout but in my opinion they didn't even need an appearance.

hey don't serve any purpose to the plot and don't even make any funny remarks. Haven't we had enough of Team Rocket throughout the series? Please just be off. Also one thing that sort of ruined it for me, was Prof.Oak's voice. . . . Yeah no... I know he wasn't featured for very long... but why couldn't ' Stuart Zagnit ' or ' Stan Hart ' return?. . So The story at times seems very Lazy and they just threw in little parts to give us all Nostalgia. But wasn't that the whole purpose of the film? It was released on the 20th anniversary of Pokemon and the writers probably felt free to throw in whatever they wanted to fit. I enjoyed it for what it was but it was no grand achievement. The little throwbacks here and there are what makes it so enjoyable for me. If you didn't watch Pokemon when you were young, you probably won't get a kick out of it. My Favorite parts were the battle between Charizard and Incineroar and the moment when Charizard saves Cross and the Explanation was that "charizard hasn't forgotten you were once its Trainer." The main thing I MUST mention here is the artwork and animation. This was absolutely my favorite thing. Everything looks so beautiful and updated and it's great to see Kanto this way. I Loved the parts with Ho-oH and seeing all the rainbows and bright sunlight. If you've been a Pokemon Fan since day one, why not give it a watch?

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.

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.