Pokémon, Vol. 1: I Choose You! Pikachu! (G)

A captivating series for the under-10 set.

(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)

About Our Ratings

Common Sense rates it

Seen the movie?

Watch video review
Save It!
Email it
Compare Prices

Movie details

Studio: Actual Pictures
Cast: Veronica Taylor
Running Time: 75 minutes
Release Date: 11/24/1998
Video/DVD Release Date: 11/24/1998
Genre: Family and Kids
MPAA Rating: G
MPAA Explanation: General Audiences

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that kids will see cartoon battles. Pikachu gives extreme electrical shocks to opponents. The hero and Pikachu are attacked and injured by menacing bird Pokémon. The series emphasizes friendship and loyalty over winning, despite the heroes oft-repeated obsession with being the "best Pokémon Master in the world."

Families can talk about cartoon violence and commercialism. What happens when Pikachu "shocks" someone? What happens when people really get a shock. Why do the shows drill viewers on the names and characteristics of different Pokémon? After watching the shows, do you want to collect all the Pokémon cards, toys, etc.? Why or why not? Who gets the money when you buy Pokémon goods?

Message
Violence
Sex
Language

Message

Social Behavior:

Consumerism:

The series seems to have been created to sell a vast variety of Pokémon-themed goods. But just in case kids don't get the message by watching the shows, which introduce at least one new Pokémon per episode, the theme song spells it out for them: "Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all!"

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Violence

Cartoon battles between humans and Pokémon. Pikachu gives extreme electrical shocks to opponents. The hero and Pikachu are attacked and injured by menacing bird Pokémon.

Sex

Language

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Brian Camp

This volume contains the first three episodes of the popular Japanese animated TV series Pokémon, which debuted on U.S. television in 1998. In a future world, 10-year-old Ash Ketchum sets out on a mission as a Pokémon trainer to seek out and capture prized Pokémon (pocket monsters), mutant animals and hybrid creatures which populate the wild. In episode one, "Pokémon, I Choose You!," Ash begins his journey accompanied by his chosen Pokémon sidekick Pikachu, whose electrical powers come in handy in battle with the Spearows, malevolent winged Pokémon. In episode two, "Pokémon Emergency!," Ash is joined by Misty, a girl his own age, and first meets his opponents, Jessie and James, a brother and sister collectively known as Team Rocket, whose mission is to capture the most valuable and exotic Pokémon. In episode three, "Ash Catches a Pokémon," Ash manages to use his first Pokémon capture, Caterpie, a bug Pokémon, in battle when Team Rocket tries to abduct Pikachu.

Is it any good?

As Japanese animated TV imports go, Pokémon is neither as visually sophisticated nor as starkly dramatic as Dragon Ball, an action-packed series designed for slightly older kids. However, quest narratives for children are hard to find on American television and this one has captured its target audience, the under-10 crowd, as completely as an earlier Japanese hybrid, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, once did. Pokémon draws its viewers into a complex alternate universe populated by a host of youthful human characters and a cast of 150 Pokémon who all pop up in the course of the series.

While the animation is often static and the character design streamlined, even by Japanese standards, the animators compensate with lots of movement, fast cuts, and expertly rendered backgrounds. The action is underscored by a rousing, full-bodied music score, supplemented by the tape's closing feature, the full-length "Pokémon Rap," a clever hip hop-style musical number which introduces (and spells out the names of) all 150 Pokémon. The English-language voice cast does an above-average job of dubbing.