Pokemon: The First Movie

First of all, let me clear some things up. Not as bad as most people say (and certainly not excruciating to endure!) and no sexist treatment of girls (where did they get THAT from!?). The violence may be a bit much for a G rating, but nothing worse than large cartoonish explosions. All that said, the story is pretty boring. It's not as good as later movies, most notably the sequel, Mewtwo Returns, which is much better (possibly the best Pokemon movie ever).

The seen where the main character, Ash, lives up to his name is a little disturbing. Some kids who see Ash as a role model might feel traumatic. I know what it feels like because I experienced it when I was 6. I wouldn't let it go for a whole year. Anyway, the plot's dumb, so just don't watch it.

This movie's point is often misunderstood, which is why that is the first thing I'll cover. Many say that its message of nonviolence is hypocritical considering that's the whole series' point, but this is not the case. In the series, trainers battle each other for fun, as a sort of sport or recreation. Think of it like football or boxing. It's harmless fun for them, especially since their pokémon are power-brimming creatures always eager to express their abilities. However, the sort of fighting this movie shows as wrong is not the same. Mewtwo forces his superclones to battle their regular versions tooth and nail, suppressing their special abilities. The helmet and pads are gone from the football game; the boxing gloves come off. They're no longer fighting for fun, they're fighting just to prove superiority. If anything, this movie tries to explain this difference to the naysayers saying Pokémon promotes violence. It stresses the difference between friendly competition and pointless fighting. Again referring to sports, it's the difference between boxing and street-fighting. Now, on some other points, I do not think this movie is unbearable for adults. The plot is pretty cheesy, granted, but one shouldn't always take things too seriously. Keep in mind that half the dialog is spoken with the character's tongue jammed into their cheek; Team Rocket especially feels the need to deliver humorously ridiculous puns such as "I wonder if [the clones] feel... Clonesome" at every turn. As for noticeable product placement, well... it's a movie based on a show that's based on a video game. All of the characters can be seen in said video game; that's promotion enough if you ask me. There's also mountains of merchandise out there too, but as a recommendation I say stick to the games: they're actually worth the cost and are the reason I still love this series after 12 years.

Loved this movie since i was little, Loved it 10 years later in life. Currently i'm 17 and i live in new York and i watched this movie when it released in Movies when i was 7. In my [Opinion] this movie had a stronger meaning/message towards kids rather than adults. For some adults to respond or quote "Excruciating to endure" is a very one sided answer. Even thought i currently understand that the dubbing from Japanese to English wasn't perfect the message was Set clear for children or kids that watched the series. Fighting won't solve anything. Great movie recommended to kids or Teens/adults that watched it during my generation. To add on The graphic on this movie was done really well considering what technology and media hardware/Software that was available.