Les héros Pokémon

The Pokémon franchise has always been one of the most recognizable icons of Nintendo. There's an intense loyal fan base who take pride in the wide variety of Pokémon events. One of those moments being the annual film releases. With Season 5 coming to a close, the next film was on its way for fans of the show. While this film itself marked quite a low for the brand due to its poor box office return, over time it has garnered a following because of course it would. Despite the nostalgia many fans have for Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back (1999) and that the majority of those watching this entry would only be fans of the show anyway, this movie actually surpasses the original film to some degree. This is in part due to technology and the rest is because of the experience in general.

The story for this entry follows Ash & company to the city of Alto Mare, the Pokémon version of Venice Italy. There they learn the legend of Latios and Latias, the legendary Pokémon that protect the city after it was once attacked from an evil Pokémon trainer. Keeping the city alive is the soul dew, an orb that contains the past Latios' essence who saved the city. This would all be fine if it weren't for Annie (Megan Hollingshead) and Oakley (Lisa Ortiz), top members of Team Rocket looking to steal the soul dew. Watching over this item is Bianca (Tara Sands) and her father Lorenzo (Wayne Grayson). The crew behind the Japanese and English productions are again the same pretty much as they've always been. Original direction is from Kunihiko Yuyama and the adaptation was done by Jim Malone. The script was written by Hideki Sonoda.

While the production crew is very much the same set of people, the reason why this story hits a higher mark than the last is due to a number of factors. For one, the story is dialed back in scale. Pretty much every film before it felt huge when it came to the number of Pokémon and trainers involved. Here, the narrative is focused more on Ash and the new characters introduced. Not even Jessie, James and Meowth do much in this film despite them also having their own scenes. And somehow that's okay because of how the story is executed. Not everyone has to be involved every waking minute. Additionally, the fact that the antagonists in this feature have a clear background and the audience will easily understand their intentions is a good thing too. Perhaps the one thing that doesn't make sense is a hint of a romantic relationship between two characters.

What throws this off though is that it is between a human and a Pokémon. It's a little...odd and because of the situation, it's not specified what it was really supposed to mean. Of course, voice acting is going to be good. The regular recurring cast members who voice Ash and company do what they do best, no questions asked. Tara Sands as Bianca who's no newbie to anime in general or Pokémon does just fine. Wayne Grayson is also not fresh to anime voice acting before this but became best known for playing Joey Wheeler in Yu-Gi-Oh. The same could be said for Lisa Ortiz as Oakley, who also voice Serenity Wheeler. Megan Hollingshead as Annie is also best known in Pokémon as Nurse Joy. As for action, while it's not as abundant as the previous entries, it is just as entertaining mainly because of the look of the film.

Cinematography again was provided by Hisao Shirai and it still isn't the clearest on the usage. With the use of more prominent CGI, there are sweeping camera shots in the film. Maybe it was used there? This does make the experience feel more cinematic than any other Pokémon entry before it. This also blends well with the animation which not only has better shading but more detail as well. It's the best it's ever looked. Lastly the music composed by Shinji Miyazaki was a great listen. Unfortunately, the soundtrack did not get a domestic release but it still can be enjoyed because of how unique it sounds. Because of the setting, it has a more Italian feel with instruments sounding like they came from the country. Additionally, there's the usual Pokémon cues and even a new spy genre motif for Annie and Oakley. Also, the song Secret Garden by Madoka is a very relaxing song.

Deep into the series, fans of the franchise should find this entry not only entertaining but also even better than all other entries before it. Aside from one little out of the blue romantic subplot and cinematography, if that exists, the animation, acting, action and music makes for a solid Pokémon feature.

As it should be. This movie continues along the concept of the original movies: to further the sales of the games by expanding upon their concepts. For those of you who actually play the game, this movie makes complete sense. For everyone else, I suggest you start by playing the game to get some background before delving into the Pokémon Universe (and giving this movie a one).

Here we are at "Pokemon Heroes," the latest installment in the Pokemon movie series. I know the naysayers among you are thinking, "What? ANOTHER Pokemon movie? Why are they beating this 'dead' franchise?" Though it's far from the powerhouse that it once was, Pokemon still enjoys a level of popularity in the U.S. that justifies the release of a new movie every year (the cards and videogames still sell briskly to this day). Cross the ocean to Japan, and you'll see that Pokemon is STILL going strong after all this time; the 6th Pokemon movie has just been released over there, and Japanese Pokemon merchandising continues heartily.

"Pokemon Heroes" finds our protagonist, one Ash Ketchum, his ever present Pikachu, and pals Misty and Brock traveling through the Venice-like city of Alto Mare. It is said that Alto Mare is guarded by the spirits of Pokemon siblings Latios (brother) and Latias (sister), whose father, long ago, brought water to the city and saved the people from rogue Pokemon who had been terrorizing the city. Once again, Alto Mare is in danger, but the threat comes not so much from evil Pokemon, but from the ever dangerous Team Rocket. However, it is not the blundering Jessie, James and Meowth (and now also Wobbuffet) who pose the threat, but the graceful and stylish Annie and Oakley who look to rule Alto Mare (and eventually the world) and capture Latios and Latias to present to the Team Rocket boss as prizes. Latias, who has been roaming the city disguised as a local girl, takes a shine to Ash, who inevitably becomes involved in the siblings' struggle against Annie and Oakley for the fate of Alto Mare. Can Ash and his friends help Latias and Latios protect Alto Mare from the evil of Annie and Oakley? Will Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet ever be more than just comic relief? Will Brock ever get the girl?

As with the previous 4 movies, those who are already Pokemon fans will derive the most enjoyment out of "Pokemon Heroes." Those who are not already fans may still enjoy the movie, if they let themselves. I know what it is like to not have any emotional investment in a movie, to the point of apathy or even distaste for the subject matter or the actors within, yet I have seen and actually enjoyed quite a few movies in spite of my initial impressions. Why many people, including kids who once were rabid Pokemon fans but now for whatever reason claim to now hate it, do not approach Pokemon in the same way is quite unfortunate.

What is also unfortunate is Miramax's marketing strategy for "Pokemon Heroes." As with "Pokemon 4Ever," Miramax has decided to release "Pokemon Heroes" in only a handful of theaters (196 on opening weekend) with a minimum of promotion. I am guessing that it is because they are trying to bolster sales of the future VHS/DVD release by firing up anticipation for it, and what better way to get anticipation up than by making the movie available to only a small number of theaters? Personally, I think it's a lousy way to market a popular franchise, and I hope that 4Kids Entertainment will find another distributor for the 6th Pokemon movie, because this so-called "dynamic" marketing strategy Miramax claims to have had for "Pokemon 4Ever" and "Pokemon Heroes" is a bunch of hooey.

I don't see why this movie didn't get tens across the board. I loved the bond that Latios and Latias share with Ash. I also love how Pikachu zaps the crap out of the bad guys (girls, really) with thunderbolt ( ow). I came close to crying when they caught Latios. It also makes all the other movies shrink in comparison. The Pikachu movie was also very good (only topped by Pikachu's Rescue adventure.) It was without a doubt one of the best Japanese animation I have ever seen. Come on, people! Why don't you get up and give this movie a ten. The graphics have also gone vastly up from the last film. And the music is also so much better. Also notice, Ash and Misty will always have that little bond that no one talks about. The voices are also major parts of the rolls. If you had Jude Law do Lorenzo, yuck!

At 70 minutes (as timed at a press screening), POKÉMON HEROES is the shortest Pokémon movie yet. This may be a relief to parents and Pokémon-haters everywhere, but it leaves Pokémon's target audience hungering for more. The big action climax never quite delivers and the great triumphal note the earlier films ended on never quite comes. This is especially disappointing because the film's first half offered a most exciting build-up involving two spectacular new Water Pokémon and two clever and attractive new villains. Thanks to these elements, the film is still worth seeing but you may want to wait until the DVD release, when it will be accompanied by the Pikachu short that played with it when it ran in Japanese theaters last summer.

The film does at least make its new Pokémon characters, Latios and Latias, a little more powerful and more layered than most Pokémon get the chance to be. Shaped somewhat like dinosaurs and able to both fly at high speeds and swim underwater, they're colorful, graceful creatures, a brother-and-sister team who are thoroughly devoted to each other. Aside from Ash's faithful Pikachu, they get the most screen time of any Pokémon in the film.

Annie and Oakley are the new bad girls in town and they completely blow their colleagues, Team Rocket, out of the water (well, actually, INTO the water--a running gag throughout the film). They're fashionable, if somewhat snobby, teen villainesses with eye-catching outfits and hairdos who get ample opportunity to wrap the audience (at least the older male part) around their little fingers before their ill-fated (and somewhat rushed) attempt to take over Alto Mare, an island city that hosts the annual Water Pokémon Festival (the draw for our heroes, Ash, Misty and Brock). As master thieves, Annie and Oakley seem to be a lot more efficient than Team Rocket and should be given more to do in future Pokémon entries.

The design of Alto Mare deserves note for being the most extensively detailed urban setting yet seen in the entire Pokémon series. Largely created by CGI, and modeled after Venice, Italy, it's quite visually stunning and deserves greater attention from anime fans than it's likely to get.

The big mystery surrounding this film (and the previous one, POKÉMON 4EVER) is why Miramax has chosen to distribute it in theaters without the 23-minute Pikachu short that normally accompanies each Pokémon movie (and did so for the first three Pokémon movies when they were released by Warner Bros.). Certainly, given the short running time of this one, the addition of the delightful "Pika Pika Starlight Camp" (as it was called in Japan) would have gone a long way to giving fans their money's worth.