Digimon: The Movie (PG, 2001)

common sense media says

If you love Digimon, here's more. No surprises.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that at one point some characters believe their beloved Digimon may have been killed, but are later told that "Digimon can never really die." Our heroes are nearly blown up by an atomic missile. Some of the larger Digimon look pretty creepy, particularly the villainous Diaboromon. (One five-year-old girl confessed to being frightened by some of the more monstrous opponents). A lot of fantasy violence. Monsters fight one another in claw-to-claw combat and zap each other with power beams. In one case, a good Digimon uses a mystical sword to dispatch his foe.

Positive messages: Not applicable.
Violence & scariness: A lot of fantasy violence. Monsters fight one another in claw-to-claw combat and zap each other with power beams. In one case, a good Digimon uses a mystical sword to dispatch his foe. Our heroes are nearly blown up by an atomic missile. Some of the larg
Sexy stuff: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Some might see this as an ad for the TV show.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Digimon: The Movie

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the difference between cartoon violence and real-life violence, as well as the consequences of their actions.

What's the story?

What's the story?
The plot of DIGIMON: THE MOVIE is less an actual story than a pretext for staging increasingly spectacular battle scenes between outlandish monsters. Viewers must keep track of a large roster of characters and a swarm of constantly evolving Digimon. The Digimon (short for digital monster) are creatures from the digital world that have befriended a select group of kids, known as the DigiDestined. The Digimon evolve (or Digivolve) into larger and more powerful creatures when necessary, such as when hostile Digimon try to wreak havoc in human society. The ongoing battles showcase a non-stop parade of weird but cool-looking creatures, and one of the more memorable fights takes place inside the Worldwide Web, with monsters duking it out against a surreal backdrop of spinning computer animated geometric shapes.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
As any Godzilla fan will attest, these types of monster movies are not without their pleasures, but enjoying them requires that you buy into the fantasy worlds they create. For the unconverted, and for many parents, the movie is likely to induce a state of total confusion.

 

The movie excels in visual extravagance, and compared to the TV series it has more action and lots of new Digimon characters. However, it fails to build any kind of emotional involvement with the characters, human or otherwise. The protagonists are given little to do other than explain the latest crisis then cheer on their respective Digimon.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Director: Bob Buchholz
Cast: Bob Papenbrook, Joshua Seth, Mona Marshall
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 79 minutes
Theatrical release: February 6, 2001
DVD release: February 6, 2001
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: action violence

This review was written by Paul Trandahl
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

Divine_Munchie_99
teen, 17 years old
 
Great.
Awesome movie. Cute too! Some parts are kind of extreme though. Well, at least it's not "the Wrath of Piedmon", in which the bad guy turns EVERYONE but 4 characters into KEYCHAINS! My fave part is when the ladybug guy says he has to go potty. :D

mkalv
teen, 17 years old
 
Not as good as the TV version.
Like I just said, the TV version is much better.

Uxie Trixie ...
kid, 12 years old
 
Bad dub, glued (the non-canon) Long Title onto the 1st 2 movies the elements of which are important to the show
I really wish you could give a tab for badly done dubs, but you seem to not have made it yet. Well let's start, Jetix (a DISNEY branch, if you don't know already) glued (the NON-CANON) Long Title ( that's what everyone calls it (well, other than "that thing that came with that that One Piece movie")) onto the *very much* canon Pilot and Our War Game, and in the process, removing all likable qualities of Long Title (and the chance of a properly dubbed Diaborimon's Revenge (though they did show a *weakly* dubbed airing (once) that was so bad that they didn't even edit the KANJI on the note to the Kurimon)). Let me further explain, the Pilot and Our War Game are often used to explain how living in the real world effect digimon, or anything involving DNAdigilutions. Long Title, however is non-canon, so putting it in the same movie as the 2 earlier canon ones is confusing, to say the least. The plot of Long Title revolves around the new Digidestined going to America, that part of the movie stays the same in Digimon: The Movie, (because all of the digimon dubs ( at least any that anyone cares about) are still set in Japan) but the reasons are different, in Long Title, most of the old Digidestined are kidnapped, and all the tracks to the culprit lead to America, but in the dub, Kari and T.K. call the new Digidestined to tail Willis (because they don't want any other Digidestined to feel too bad (though that may have to do with the fact that they can't really use Crests, Tags, or Digieggs when they feel like that ( and by extension, save the Digiworld))). This could have been better if the dubbers had been able to only include the Pilot and Our War Game (as was first intended ).

Katlover
teen, 14 years old
 
For young fans
Good movie if your kid likes the anime!

Xela9
kid, 12 years old
 
Awesome show, but hard for kids to understand
Its hilarious!

homealonefan123
teen, 15 years old
 
awesome japenese animated movie but cartoon violence.
This one of my favourite animated movies. But some animated violence.

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About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age