Pokémon Movie 1: The Origin of Mewtwo

AKA: Pokemon Movie 01: Mewtwo no Gyakushuu / Gekijouban Pocket Monsters: Mewtwo Strikes Back / Pokémon: The First Movie Kanzenban / Pokémon: The First Movie Complete Version / ポケットモンスター ミュウツーの逆襲 / Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back / Pokémon: Der Film / Pokémon La Película: Mewtwo vs Mew / Pokemon Le Film: Mewtwo vs Mew
Format: Movie (85 minutes)
Studio(s): OLM
Original Publication: N/A (unknown)

The Pokémon anime is godawful, but I have a soft spot for the first three movies. For one, they aren’t extended infinitely to drain the brains and money out of unsuspecting kids. Instead, they’re 1-2 hour cash printers. Much more tolerable, and enough time to satisfy any nostalgia with a stand-alone story where events actually conclude.

The debut is weakest plot-wise of three. It barely has an act structure. The team gets to Mewtwo’s whatever lab quickly and then Pokemon beat the shit out of each other until the team decide this is wrong until the next episode of the series where they beat the shit out of each other again.

One thing I gotta give this movie credit for is the sheer theatrics of its release in America. It was a fucking event that went beyond your normal movie, and the creators recognized this and made it so. Opening the main event with a bunch of different preview shorts was incredibly cool and probably opened up many unfamiliar parents to the world of Pokémon. So much fun. I have to hand it to them for that.

Pokémon Movie 2: The Phantom Pokémon – Lugia’s Explosive Birth

AKA: Pokémon: The Movie 2000 / Pokemon Movie 02: Maboroshi no Pokemon Lugia Bakutan / The Power of One, Gekijouban Pocket Monsters: Revelation Lugia, Pokémon Movie 2 / ポケットモンスター 幻のポケモンルギア爆誕 / Die Macht des Einzelnen / Pokémon Película 2: El Poder de Uno / Pokémon Film 2: Le Pouvoir Est en Toi
Format: Movie (80 minutes)
Studio(s): OLM
Original Publication: N/A (unknown)

If you ask me, the Pokémon anime is godawful, but I have a soft spot for the first three movies. For one, they aren’t extended infinitely to drain the brains and money out of unsuspecting kids like the series is. Instead, they’re mere 1-2 hour cash printers. Much more tolerable, and enough time to satisfy any nostalgia with a stand-alone story where events actually conclude.

First of all, the literal translation of this movie’s Japanese title (seen in the header) is hilarious, so I’m keeping that. In the west, this was released during its titular year as Pokémon: The Movie 2000, even though it was released in Japan in 1999. So you’re being bullshitted to right off the bat, which is cool. I don’t remember getting any cool promo cards like Ancient Mew when I saw this, which isn’t cool. The plot kind of reminds me of a JRPG with its “go gather the magic elemental orbs before the villain does” trope, so that’s cool. Also, Lugia is one of my favorite Pokémon, which is cool. And I had a crush on the new girl character when I was 7 or whatever, and that’s cool. Cool! I’m sure this movie’s lame, though.

Pokémon Movie 3: Lord of the “UNKNOWN” Tower ENTEI

AKA: Pokémon Movie 03: Kesshoutou no Teiou Entei / Pokémon: Spell Of The Unown / Gekijouban Pocket Monsters: Lord of the UNKNOWN Tower ENTEI / Pokémon Movie 3 / ポケットモンスター 結晶塔の帝王 ENTEI / Pokémon 3: The Movie / Pokémon Film 3: Im Bann der Icognito / Pokémon Película 3: El Hechizo de los Unown / Pokémon Film 3: Le Sort des Zarbi
Format: Movie (73 minutes)
Studio(s): OLM
Original Publication: N/A (unknown)

If you ask me, the Pokémon anime is godawful, but I have a soft spot for the first three movies. For one, they aren’t extended infinitely to drain the brains and money out of unsuspecting kids like the series is. Instead, they’re mere 1-2 hour cash printers. Much more tolerable, and enough time to satisfy any nostalgia with a stand-alone story where events actually conclude.

This one is just fucking strange. The downright-bizarre surrealism in this (as far as Pokémon goes) makes it one of the most watchable things to come out of the franchise, because it actually has a speck of something interesting about it. I remember my mom taking me to see this and we both came out not knowing what the fuck to make of it. I might return to this one someday to crack this case, which is an enormous compliment as far as Pokémon anime goes.

Pokémon Movie 4: Celebi – A Timeless Encounter

AKA: Pokemon Movie 04: Celebi Toki wo Koeta Deai / Gekijouban Pocket Monsters: Serebii Toki wo Koeta Deai / Celebi: Voice of the Forest / ポケットモンスター セレビィ 時を越えた遭遇（であい）/ Pokémon 4Ever / Pokémon Film 4: Die zeitlose Begegnung / Pokémon Película 4: Pokémon 4ever / Pokémon Film 4: Célébi, la Voix de la Forêt
Format: Movie (79 minutes)
Studio(s): OLM
Original Publication: N/A (unknown)

Hey, it’s Serebii! How’d they get the rights from him? Jokes aside, I definitely watched this as a kid, but I don’t remember if I finished it. Does it matter? My rating would be the same. This is when the Pokémon movies started to become as predictable as every episode of the series by my reckoning. Anything the anime had going for it is dead now, its soul evaporating under the light of the sun reflected off mountains of corporate gold. I do love Celebi, though. One of my all-time favorite Pokémon. I love it 4Ever. No… I love it 5Ever.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!

AKA: Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon: Shutsudou Pokemon Kyuujotai Ganbaruzu! / Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation – S3 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! / ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 出動ポケモン救助隊ガンバルズ！
Format: TV Special (20 minutes)
Studio(s): OLM
Original Publication: N/A (unknown)

The first Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game was awesome. Some of the others might be as well, but that’s the only one I’ve played at the time of writing this. I sunk so many hours into it, and I really appreciated being able to make any Pokémon viable to play as. I ran around with my homie Mawile until I ate so many IQ-boosting Gummis that it transcended beyond the corporeal realm.

I remember waiting to watch this debut live on Cartoon Network. I don’t know why I was so hyped. Like all of the Pokémon anime, this is just a glorified commercial for the games. Except worse than usual this time around, because it ends on a cliffhanger. I still think a Pokémon series centered around the Pokémon without any humans would be more enjoyable, since it’s a lot easier to accept simple-minded cute animals than plastic, static human characters, but this is all we get for now.

Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns

AKA: Pokemon: Mewtwo! Ware wa Koko ni Ari / Pocket Monsters: Myuutsu! I Exist Here / ポケットモンスター ミュウツー! 我ハココニ在リ / Pokémon: Mewtu kehrt zurück / Pokémon Mewtwo: El Regreso / Pokémon: Le Retour de Mewtwo
Format: TV Special (75 minutes)
Studio(s): OLM
Original Publication: Unknown

I bought this as a kid. I paid money for this direct-to-DVD sequel because I actually cared about why Mewtwo came back. I still don’t remember what this was about. Team Rocket invading Mewtwo and his clones’ Garden of Eden paradise or something. As expected with the Pokémon anime, nothing that happens matters and it’s even more boring than usual. Apparently there was a manga adaptation of this story in 2019, nearly two decades after the original anime release. What a bizarre property.

Pokémon: Pichu Bros. in Party Panic

AKA: Pokemon: Bokutachi Pichu Brothers – Party wa Oosawagi! no Maki / Pokemon: Pichu Bros. Wild Adventure / Pocket Monsters: Boku-tachi Pichu Brothers – Party wa Oosawagi! no Maki / ぼくたちピチューブラザーズ　～パーティはおおさわぎ！のまき～
Format: Special (20 minutes)
Studio(s): OLM
Original Publication: N/A (unknown)

I actually bought Pokémon Channel. It’s a GameCube game where you sit in front your TV watching Pikachu sit in front a TV watching a small number of fictional programs that repeat themselves after three variations. This Pichu Bros. short was your reward for watching all of the fake TV. It sucked. So did the game. At least it was only $20. Gotta milk that electric rat’s high-voltage tits for more cash somehow.

Pokémon: Pikachu’s Summer Vacation

AKA: Pokemon: Pikachu no Natsuyasumi / Pocket Monsters: Pikachu no Natsuyasumi / Pikachu Short 1 / ピカチュウのなつやすみ
Format: Movie (21 minutes)
Studio(s): OLM
Original Publication: N/A (unknown)

I normally think Ash’s Pikachu is an obnoxious spoiled brat, but oddly this might be the most enjoyable thing to come out of a usually terrible anime. It’s like Hayao Miyazaki directed a Pokémon short. Miyazaki at his most shallow, but Miyazaki nonetheless. Normally the Pokémon anime is too obviously halfhearted to enjoy, but this actually has some charm. I remember my mom being really amused by the wacky bumpers featuring various Pokémon. This short movie was most well-known for being attached to the first movie’s western release to help it reach a more standard runtime.