Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You

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.

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

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.

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 movie took me back to all the memories of this series and my childhood, it was not the plot but the feeling and the memories that got me into tears three times. Made me warm with that feeling only pokémon can.