Pokemon: I Choose You! is a little confused on what it wants to be. It desires to cater to nostalgia by retelling the original saga of Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, but it falls flat in many respects. The film attempts to mush together a series of events from the first handful of episodes from the original Pokemon anime series, but here's the thing: despite the lower budget, each of those episodes revolved around a central idea and had a rounded plot. Here, each incident feels like a string of events with no central purpose - there's no compelling link that pulls each of these events together well. Ash and Pikachu running away from the spearows, butterfree finding a mate and leaving Ash, the abandoned Charmander who is left out in the rain...all the pieces from the original series are there, but without any of the heart that they originally had. Instead, they're brushed over in favor of the new elements a poorly constructed plot that centers around Ash Ketchum being a chosen one (UGH, yes that narrative again) and his search for Pokemon that are way beyond his range as a beginner trainer. Another misstep is the inclusion of the new characters, who were remarkably unmemorable. I'm not saying that Brock and Misty are academy-award winning characters in regards to complexity, but these two new kids have next to nothing going for them. Their personalities are boring, and their backstories are so barely hashed out to the viewer that they come across as entirely forgettable when compared to the original companions of the series. There are a few little cameos from other familiar characters, with team Rocket falling very flat, unfortunately. I had hoped in their (very few) appearances throughout the film they would pull out some real, old-fashioned 4th wall humor like they did in the original story, but instead all we got was some pretty 'meh' slapstick. Now, the plot is messy, Ash's character motivation is completely confused and non-defined, the chosen-one narrative is annoying, the new elements are weak at best and frustrating at worse, and the villain is dull and flat. So is there anything to like? Absolutely. The animation, as others have noted, is stunning. The pokemon fights, especially, are shown on a hugely impressive scale, and feel far more intense than anything ever shown in the early days of the show. The 3D elements are well-blended with the 2D, a rare phenomenon for animation. The music,a s well, is beautiful. The classic opening song is played in its entirely, and it's great. The ending song is freaking beautiful, and sounds like it came out of a far, far better movie than what we got. This movie's plot is at its best when it attempts to explore the unusually deep. There are a handful of brief, but powerful dream sequences which place Ash in the 'real' world, a place where there are no Pokemon, and the animation color is heavily subdued. Later in the film, Ash actually...
**SPOILERS*** ...essentially dies protecting Pikachu, and it's a legitimately dark, moving moment. He's sent to the 'real' world upon death, but eventually returns back to life without much explanation once he remembers Pikachu. **SPOILERS END***
So here's the thing. I think I know what would have made this a great film. Granted, it would have been a gutsy film to make, but here's what I think the studio should have done:
-Changed the film from an origin film, and instead make the film a version of Ash's last adventures with pikachu
-Keep the idea of him trying to find the ultimate bird, but get rid of the chosen one narrative
-Keep Brock and Misty as the sidekicks, and include other classic characters
-KEPT the great idea of Ash going back and forth between 'reality' and the world of Pokemon: explore how horrible the idea of a world without Pokemon would be to a kid like Ash
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:
*SPOILERS* After Pikachu speak to Ash, he 'dies', and is stuck in his sort of little purgatory, have the film END when Pikachu jumps into the little portal to where Ash is gone. Show them being happy together wherever they are, as the film does, and then cut to black, and cue the touching end song. *SPOILERS END*
Too dark? Maybe. But something like that would push this movie, a well-meant but very flawed little romp through nostalgia, into something more on par with a Ghibly film in terms of deep messages being portrayed to children. Here's the thing: I don't hate this film. There's a lot of good things about it. But it hurts to see all of the potential it had and didn't use, especially seeing as certain ELEMENTS are amazing - the music and animation especially. Given that the budget was sizable, I wish more thought had gone into the basic structure of the story, and a little less time had been focused on animating Pokemon fights. In the end, the film could use a little more heart. "A heart so true, our courage will see us through. You'll teach me and I'll teach you. Pokemon!"
**SPOILERS*** ...essentially dies protecting Pikachu, and it's a legitimately dark, moving moment. He's sent to the 'real' world upon death, but eventually returns back to life without much explanation once he remembers Pikachu. **SPOILERS END***
So here's the thing. I think I know what would have made this a great film. Granted, it would have been a gutsy film to make, but here's what I think the studio should have done:
-Changed the film from an origin film, and instead make the film a version of Ash's last adventures with pikachu
-Keep the idea of him trying to find the ultimate bird, but get rid of the chosen one narrative
-Keep Brock and Misty as the sidekicks, and include other classic characters
-KEPT the great idea of Ash going back and forth between 'reality' and the world of Pokemon: explore how horrible the idea of a world without Pokemon would be to a kid like Ash
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:
*SPOILERS* After Pikachu speak to Ash, he 'dies', and is stuck in his sort of little purgatory, have the film END when Pikachu jumps into the little portal to where Ash is gone. Show them being happy together wherever they are, as the film does, and then cut to black, and cue the touching end song. *SPOILERS END*
Too dark? Maybe. But something like that would push this movie, a well-meant but very flawed little romp through nostalgia, into something more on par with a Ghibly film in terms of deep messages being portrayed to children. Here's the thing: I don't hate this film. There's a lot of good things about it. But it hurts to see all of the potential it had and didn't use, especially seeing as certain ELEMENTS are amazing - the music and animation especially. Given that the budget was sizable, I wish more thought had gone into the basic structure of the story, and a little less time had been focused on animating Pokemon fights. In the end, the film could use a little more heart. "A heart so true, our courage will see us through. You'll teach me and I'll teach you. Pokemon!"