Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Pokémon: The First Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 28, 2016

Note: This film is currently available as part of Pokémon: The Movies 1-3 Collection: Pokémon: The First Movie / Pokémon: The Movie 2000 / Pokémon 3: The Movie.

For anyone who either grew up in the late 1990s or early 2000s, or who had kids growing up in that era, there’s a certain nostalgia inherent in the very name Pokémon. This oddly sweet franchise began life in the mid-1990s as a Game Boy outing (remember those?), and quickly became a multimedia sensation, one of Nintendo’s all time sales champions across a variety of different formats. For those not acquainted with the franchise, the name Pokémon is an Anglicized portmanteau of sorts which refers to so-called “pocket monsters”, a gaggle of beasts which assorted Pokémon trainers use in various battles. While the video games may have been the first introduction to Pokémon for at least some folks, many will probably best remember the franchise due to the long running Pokèmon anime series, a series which actually was a quintet of series, though some who saw the show in its international iterations may not have been aware of the different soubriquets assigned to various seasons. Beginning in 1998, Pokémon feature films started appearing virtually annually every summer, and this new collection assembles the first three films, Pokémon: The First Movie, Pokémon: The Movie 2000, and Pokémon 3: The Movie. While few would probably accuse any individual Pokémon entry as being High Art, there’s an undeniable goofiness to each of these three films that will at least remind some folks of their own childhoods, and others of watching their own kids grow up entranced by the adventures of Ash, Misty, Brock and (to name just one of the more adorable Pokémon) Pikachu.

Without the prelude shorts of Pikachu’s Vacation and (probably even more relevantly) Origin of Mewtwo included on this release, Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (yes, its on screen title listing is that cumbersome) gets started pretty much in media res, with Mewtwo’s unmistakable voice being uncharacteristically confused about what’s going on, and even who he (it?) is. That turns out to be because Mewtwo has just “awakened” after having been created by Dr. Fuji, who instead of tending to the often imperious creature, instead makes the mistake of standing around shaking hands with his collaborators, heady with the success they’ve just achieved in bringing Mewtwo to life. Pokèmon fans who are already well acquainted with Mewtwo's various behavioral tics can probably guess what happens next. For newcomers to the franchise, let's just say things don't end especially well for the non-Mewtwo folks in the scene.

The scene shifts to a picnic of sorts which includes Ash, Misty and Brock, with Ash feeling out of sorts and kind of lethargic. That soon changes when some nearby ruffians (ruffians are always nearby in this series) arrive to challenge Ash to a duel. But even that skirmish ultimately falls by the wayside when a holographic invitation of sorts shows up alerting Ash to the fact that he’s been included in an elite group of Pokémon trainers who will assemble on New Island to battle a combatant who is supposedly the most skilled Pokémon master in the universe.

Though this film clocks in at barely over an hour and might charitably be called little more than a “very special episode” of the series, it still can feel padded at times, and that tendency arises when Ash and his crew don’t immediately make it to New Island for what will no doubt be a climactic epochal battle. Instead there’s some kind of silly but admittedly enjoyable folderol involving the traditional nemeses of the series, Team Rocket. Ultimately, to no one’s great surprise, the entire group ends up on New Island, where a triumphant Mewtwo announces a plan for world domination that doesn’t necessarily involve humans or even Pokémon, at least in their original forms. Mewtwo has taken a page from the experiments of Dr. Fuji and engaged in cloning, leading the site of a gaggle of copied Pokémon running around, something that leads the typically cheeky Meowth to utter the classic pun, “Send in the clones.”

The last part of the film is a kind of silly showdown between the original Pokémon and their clones, and of course a host of others including Ash and Mewtwo. A series of battles ensues, with a supposedly tragic outcome which is just as predictably solved in a kind of facile “let’s all clap for Tinkerbell” kind of way. That then gives way to what is supposedly the big “message” of the film, namely that fighting is bad and getting along is good (a moral which seems downright odd for a franchise built on battles). By the time even Team Rocket and Mewtwo seem tranquilized, few will probably care that a memory wash accompanies all the characters save for Mewtwo (who initiates it), meaning that everything that happened in the film more or less didn’t.

This first Pokémon movie is frankly no great shakes from any standpoint, but for fans of the franchise, especially those who saw the film as children, it will have a resonant pull that no amount of critical brickbats will dissipate (it’s notable that the film met with blistering reviews when it was released theatrically but still did “boffo” box office globally). While a middling entry at best, the charm and silliness of the series still inform the movie to a high degree.

Pokémon: The First Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Viz Media and Warner Brothers with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While there's nothing too anxiety producing in any of the three transfers included in this new set, this first film is probably the softest and least detailed of the three offerings, especially in midrange and wide shots where even available elements like facial features are sometimes fairly fuzzy looking. While colors are quite vivid, grain is natural looking, and elements are in very good condition, there's still a general softness on display in the first film that is at least relatively less prevalent in the two other films (the second is the overall best in terms of consistent sharpness). Line detail is precise looking and there are no issues with aliasing or other image instability. There's a nicely "thick" organic look to this presentation, and if I were not trying to draw a distinction between the look of this film and the two others in this set, I might have bumped the score up a bit.

Pokémon: The First Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The two biggest issues Pokémon fans have been fuming about in our Forum are the lack of the shorts which originally accompanied the films and the lack of surround mixes that were previously available on at least some of the films in previous releases. Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back does feature only a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track (as do the other two in this set), something that in and of itself isn't a deal breaker, unless your history with this film includes Mewtwo's voice literally surrounding you. Fidelity here is fine, and while Mewtwo's voice is less "dispersed", it still resonates with excellent depth and reverb. Dialogue, the typically goofy sound effects and mishmash of pop and light rock tunes all sound bright and vivid, with no damage of any kind to warrant concern. Fans who are pining for a surround mix will no doubt find fault with the 4.0 score here, but I'm scoring what's on the disc, not what should have been.

Pokémon: The First Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately there are no supplements included on this disc. That means that the Pikachu's Vacation and Origin of Mewtwo shorts are nowhere to be found on this release.

Pokémon: The First Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back has a certain goofy charm, but it's no undiscovered masterpiece. The film's whole anti- violence message is just downright ridiculous when one considers the basic foundation of virtually any Pokémon outing, which is of course battling. There's enough humor and silliness on display here to engage fans, but those who have never seen a Pokémon film or television episode might want to think about another entrée into the franchise. Video is solid if rather soft looking, and the 2.0 audio mix is fine.