Duckyworth's Thoughts: Pokemon 4Ever ~ 2001

EDIT: I wrote this review after reading a review on Pokémon 4Ever written by - here is the review. kurvos.deviantart.com/art/Poke…

Hello, my friends, here is my next instalment of Duckyworth's Thoughts.
Well, everyone, here's the fourth review in the POKÉMON SUMMER!
'Gotta catch 'em all!
Gotta catch 'em all!
Po-ké-mon!'


The fourth film in the Pokemon series is, in my opinion, the most underrated of the Pokemon films – whenever Pokemon fans are asked which one is the worst, they nearly ALWAYS seem to leap straight for this one....Most people leap at it due to plotholes and being environmentally aware..... Come on, I LOVE environmental films like FernGully and Princess Mononoke, and this one shouldn't be hated for THAT. True, this film may not be the best, and it may have more flaws than Pokemon 3 did – but TRUST ME, it's DEFINATELY not the worst – we've yet to get to THAT atrocity in these reviews.... Which Pokemon film am I referring to?
Pokemon 4Ever: Celebi – Voice of the Forest!

Yep, it seems like this one is definitely given much more hatred than it deserves..... It does things wrong that nearly EVERY Pokemon film can mess up on at times, and yet, for some reason, it gets the most hate from most people.... Why is THIS one hated in the same way The Black Cauldron is hated at times, even though so many other films commit the SAME mistakes? Well, that's a question I hope to answer through this review. So, let's take a look.

Unfortunately, this film did NOT get a worldwide cinema release, but it was released straight on video/DVD in the UK. Luckily, I got one quite a bit ago, and it was worth buying it on DVD. Now, I actually didn't see this for the first time until last December half term, so it was AFTER I saw some more recent Pokemon films, but I still feel this one has held up well.

First of all, one thing I think 4Ever does BETTER than the first three Pokemon films is that it actually INTRODUCES us to Ash and his friends in the beginning, it tells us Ash's backstory AND it actually tells us a bit about the world of Pokemon and - a bit of insight into what Pokemon ARE - instead of throwing us in without any introduction the characters and the franchise - so it may help people not familiar with the series STILL become invested, as they know the characters better. Now, I know that many people may say the films are STILL better suited for those who grew up with the games, but I still think it's a nice improvement, that shows the Pokemon films ARE learning from past mistakes. It may sound like a bit of a minor thing to you, but it does feel a bit nostalgic that they talk about where the series started off.

Okay, so what's going on in this film? Forty years in the past, Celebi, a legendary Pokemon who has the ability to time travel and can also heal plants and Pokemon (shown in the thirteenth film in the series). Being chased by a Pokemon hunter, he travels into the present day. Unfortunately, he also ended up transporting the boy who protected him, Sammy, forward in time as well. And even MORE unfortunately, it turns out that in the present day, Celebi hasn't ELUDED capture, rather come into the clutches of an even MORE deadly hunter – a member of Team Rocket, known as the Iron Masked Marauder, who has created an evil device called a Dark Ball, which has the ability to turn them evil – either by turning into Pokemon similar to Shadow Pokemon or they amplify the darkness in a Pokemon's heart (paha, Kingdom Hearts, much? ) and boost its strength. Now that Celebi and Sammy are in the present day, they come across Ash and his friends, who must now work together to put a stop to the Marauder's evil schemes, with the wellbeing of the forest in the balance. It also turns out that Sammy may have a few secrets of his own due to his origins, which are actually VERY interesting indeed...

Now see, I think the whole TIMETRAVELLING aspect is what annoyed some people, especially with the true identity of Sammy... but I don't mind it, I find it pretty interesting. I think the story is still easy to follow, if a bit more confusing for some, but I don't mind. This isn't the ONLY Pokemon film to feature time travel – the TWELFTH film in the series does it too – and that film worked with it too. And with many other things I've seen with time travel in them – The Legacy of Kain series and Sly Cooper 4: Thieves in Time, I don't think Pokemon's take on time travel is bad at all.... I find it interesting.

Okay, so, what new characters do we have in THIS film?

Our two legendary Pokemon in this film are Celebi and Suicune. Celebi is yet another cute Legendary Pokemon – for some reason, his voice reminds me of Aisling from The Secret of Kells. I love how they animated the power he gives off when he travels into the future, and it may be the fact that I enjoy Princess Mononoke and FernGully that gives rise to this, but I can see Celebi as being a Pokemon version of Magi Lune – only not as wrinkly or wise, but just as powerful, and seen as he's a steward of the forest, whom all of the forest Pokemon care for, he could be like a smaller version of Treebeard from Lord of the Rings, too. Celebi, when time travelling, can have the ability to protect someone in danger and transport them in time with them. Celebi seems a bit more skittish than legendaries in other films, and it is pretty cute when Ash and Sam calm Celebi down. He reminds me of a vegetable version of Jirachi – he may notbe as cute as Jirachi, but he does sound very familiar and is still pretty cute. One very cute/cool bit with Celebi is when he goes into the Lake of Life, and at the same time, bathes in the sunlight – a nice touch, seen as he's a plant. A much MORE impressive plant than Timothy Green, that's for sure... When Celebi is wading about in the lake.... I just can't believe how cute he is! And when he uses his psychic powers to allow Ash and Sam to fly.... He does also use his healing powers to cure Misty's twisted knee.
Hmm.... I'm not sure what the flying reminds me of..... Either The Snowman, Peter Pan (well, Celebi is like a fairy Pokemon, so maybe this is more apt, seen as Tinkerbell's fairy dust allowed Wendy and the boys to fly ), but definitely NOT The Flight Before Christmas – Pokemon 4Ever is a GOOD FILM!!
It seems that Celebi also partakes in SCRUMPING. Well, if it belongs to the forest, maybe not scrumping, but it is still pretty sweet when he starts eating the berries on the trees. Some people find it annoyingly cute.... but when I saw it, I squeed – the way he squeaks, and when Pikachu eats one too! In the thirteenth film in the series, we get more cuteness from Celebi.... But for now, we also have a scene where Pikachu and Celebi are sleeping side by side, and when Pikachu gets up, it is pretty cute when Pikachu gets up, and Celebi just flops over.
Unfortunately, Celebi IS captured by the villain in a Dark Ball, and when he's let out after transformation - *sees Dark Celebi* OH NO! HE'S TURNED INTO A HEARTLESS!!
AAAAGH!
Celebi starts drawing in all of the greenery, and starts KILLING the forest to create a nest for himself... One thing I think is weird about the nest is that it starts to look a tiny bit a horned version of RAZIEL... but despite the fact that it has claws like a Scyther, it only uses HYPER BEAM to attack.... A bit weird, don't you think? At least it also uses evil vines to zap Suicune with dark energy.
I think the electric attack must have REALLY hurt Celebi, and the dark energy must be slowly sapping his energy and life essence, as after Celebi is freed from the Dark Ball's control, he starts WITHERING. The way this was drawn, it almost reminds me of that horrible scene in Grave of the Fireflies when the main character's mom's irradiated CORPSE is shown on screen.... I actually felt pretty SCARED for Celebi watching this the first time, and it STILL maintained its fear factor this time – ANOTHER POKEMON DIES?!
You know –for KIDS!
Because Celebi is like the Pokemon version of the Great Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke, the forest begins dying as well... including the lake. What's missing is that evil black sludge that kills whoever it touches....
A wizard should know better! NOOOOOOOO!
This is yet another scene from Pokemon where.... well, to be quite honest, I actually felt pretty emotional.... Where's the song after Bambi's mom's death when you need it?
(Please note, I am aware that the Bambi's mom joke is a bit inappropriate, but in this case, I simply found it unavoidable. You will not be seeing this joke ever again. )
We then see OTHER Celebis come from other time periods to save Celebi..... wait... shouldn't there be only ONE Celebi, if it's a LEGENDARY Pokemon?! Well, there are more than one Lugia.... I.... I'm confused. This kind of thing gets to me in Pokemon.... Well, if they found a Mew FOSSIL, that would mean there's more than ONE MEW.... So, yeah, it kind of makes sense if there's more Celebis. Some people may have seen this as a bit of a cop-out, but I think it's pretty beautiful. And the imagery when Celebi is resurrected is BEAUTIFUL.
Celebi may not be my ABSOLUTE favourite legendary, but he is ADORABLE.

Suicune is another legendary dog Pokemon, which has the ability to purify tainted waters. It is a bit odd how there's SUCH a huge gap in between when we first see her and when she shows up to help. But hey, if LUGIA can get such a big absence and still be cool when he DOES appear, so can Suicune. The CGI on Suicune is actually pretty impressive when we first see her..... For the time at least.... but when I look at it now...
It does bother me a bit how Suicune barely gets ANY time in this film... Comes out of nowhere more than Charizard's appearance in Pokemon 3. But still, Suicune is pretty awesome. Especially when she uses Bubblebeam to attack the Tyranitar, followed by Brock's Onix knocking the Tyranitar into the water and...... possibly drowning it....
Suicune has the power to purify water, so she starts cleaning the Lake of Life after the forest begins dying.... But, it still doesn't save Celebi....
The heroes say farewell to Suicune, and as she leaves, they say they may see her again someday... Don't worry Ash, come Pokemon 13... you WILL.

Sammy is the little boy that saves Celebi and ends up transported into the future along with him. Like Tracy, Sammy has a cool sketchpad, and I also really like the early Steampunk Pokeball, almost like how a Pokeball would look if it was still in the development stage, especially when he works together with Ash to fight the Scizor and Sneasel. A cute bit is when he's drawing Pikachu and Celebi asleep. Those two do look very cute. I do really enjoy his drawing skills – especially his drawing of Bellossums. An interesting thing that is said is that Ash says his sketchbook is like a handdrawn Pokedex. Other than that, it is a bit of a shame that the main characters in some Pokemon films don't have very definite personalities..... But then again, we do get a very cool twist at the end when Ash is contacted by Professor Oak about his adventure..... Professor Oak looks at the sketchpad of PIKACHU AND CELEBI, and he says 'I remember it like it was yesterday....'
That's right, Sam IS Professor Oak! And he says that Ash and Sam will be friends forever... I think this is what angered many people in this film, but I think it's a very COOL twist, and

Now let's talk about the villain in this film. Now, Pokemon 2000 and Pokemon 3 had some good villains sure- Lawrence III was a Pokemon collector, and Molly was a sorrow-stricken girl whose selfish desires went a bit too far.... But surely this film can't take a villain with a name as SILLY as the IRON MASKED MARAUDER and make him the LEAST bit intimidating –
*sees design* JESUS!
Wow, even a villain with THAT name is made awesome in this film. In fact, he's actually my second favourite Pokemon film villain – the second being Grings Kodai in the thirteenth film. Just listen to this guy's kickass voice.... Yep, it's good ol' Dan Green again! To Dan Green's credit, no matter who he voices, he ALWAYS seem to be having fun with his role – the voices he provides fit their characters SO well.
Like many other villains, all this guy wants is power and WORLD DOMINATION. But like many other villains, he is still pretty fun to watch. Unlike some BORING villains I've seen, he does at least SOUND intimidating and like he's so sinisterly enjoying what he's doing.... Unlike Ruber from Quest For Camelot who is just too BORING to watch, never has ANY insight into his origins and just looks like a Rocky Horror Picture Show wannabe, Metalbeak from Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole who NEVER shows any emotion and just put me to sleep when I was watching it, like many OTHER things in that film, and Kazar from The Wild, who...... *gets horrible memories of the DANCING SCENES, the terrible song and his absolutely ATROCIOUSLY BAD goal*.... GRRRAAGGGGH!
The Iron Masked Marauder is actually awesome to watch, and on top of that, he's a TEAM ROCKET MEMBER – a team that people who watch this will automatically associate with being evil. On top of that, he's probably one of the most THREATENING of the Pokemon villains – his voice, his design, his technology, his goal – something about him, while not really SCARY, makes me a bit uneasy, in a way that Lawrence III and Molly just COULDN'T do...
His technology is one thing that makes him so threatening. He has a really weird spider like transportation device which, for some reason, remind me of the Garthim from The Dark Crystal or one of the spider droids in Samurai Jack... He also uses a strange type of Pokeball that actually makes MEWTWO'S Clone Balls look WIMPY in comparison – a Dark Ball. When it catches a Pokemon, it has the ability to turn them evil, and it increases their strength. Okay, as much as I like this idea.... how exactly does it turn them evil? I'm imagining that the Dark Ball contains some kind of mechanics that affects the temperament of the Pokemon it catches and enhances its strength in the same way – but the only explanation we get is 'it turns them evil.' Maybe a nitpick.... Anyway, his weird spider device also has claws which I SWEAR he got inspiration for by looking at Mewtwo's cloning device – remember the claws which grabbed the Clone Ball that Ash struggled to get free? He even uses a shield that protects him from Pikachu's Thunderbolt – unlike earlier villains, this guy has actually PLANNED AHEAD. One reason I think he's so threatening. He even ELECTROCUTES Celebi!! I actually felt pretty SCARED for Celebi at this bit.... the fact he knocks down the trees to keep Ash and his friends away, and the close up on his face when he gets a Dark Ball out is also signs why this villain is such a threat....
He uses a Dark Ball on a TYRANITAR - Yeah.... saying that ALONE causes the mind to reel. He turns this Tyranitar into GODZILLA, and it's even more like a tank than usual! Actually, IMM's (Iron Masked Marauder abbreviated ) team, while cool – a Sneasel, Scizor and Tyranitar, the Sneasel and Tyranitar, once again, remind me why I used to be scared of Dark types when I was younger – they were almost ALWAYS associated with the villains, and I didn't want to be like a villain when I played Pokemon, so I was always making sure to steer clear of training Dark types... Of course, mainly thanks to Zorua and Zoroark, I LOVE Dark types now, but back then.... I kept seeing them being used by the bad guys, so naturally, I never wanted to train one....
Speaking of Scizor, I think he's a bit of a wimp – he keeps relying on Double Team, to confuse Ash's Bayleef, as if he's too wimpy to fight head to head... He and the Sneasel are also a bit pathetic.... they're too weak to break out of ROPE that they get tied to the rocks with.... Is rope their kryptonite?
Back to IMM, I like how when he sees Ash and Sam are good trainers, he simply says it will be more interesting – as if he's actually sort of GLAD they're a challenge. It is also kind of... FUNNY when he's attacked by Pidgeys, and when Ash tries to get the Dark Ball with Celebi in from him, I thoughts it cool how he's STILL able to keep his cool.... When Ash is knocked to the ground, one part which I think may have had BLOOD in the Japanese version is when IMM treads on Ash's FINGERS.... With enough force to make Ash drop the Dark Ball.... Even when he sees the Forest Pokemon close in him, he STILL maintains his calm. One line which REALLY seems AWESOME to me is this one – the way Dan Green says it just sounds SO MALICIOUS AND EVIL –
:icon'Don't waste your time. It's too late to save your friend Celebi. Because the sweet little Pokemon you used to know doesn't exist anymore. *throws Dark Ball* Here, SEE FOR YOURSELF!' *sees Dark Celebi released* 'Celebi, GET RID OF THEM ALL!!'
Me Oh.... SNAP.
He starts using Dark Celebi to destroy the forest, and even uses Jessie as a HOSTAGE to show his strength to Giovanni.... Now all we need is the vocals of HEXXUS from FernGully, and it'll be clear how anti-green the IMM is.
'Down beneath me, MMM! Celebi's Heartless! You will bow to my... HA, HA, HA, Toxic Nest!' Just a bit of a change to Toxic Love to fit this situation.
He even plans to KILL GIOVANNI!! Okay, this guy may have a bit of an over the top motive, and again, the clichéd RULING THE WORLD motive, he is still extremely intimidating in how diabolical his plan is.... He almost reminds me of how evil TURBO'S plan from Wreck-It Ralph, Jigo and Lady Eboshi's plans from Princess Mononoke, and The Horned King's plan from the Black Cauldron were... He's one of the first Pokemon villains that ACTUALLY plan MURDER. It takes a pretty cruel villain to plan to kill CHILDREN.
The Dark Balls can be destroyed if the Pokemon that's inside it manages to break free of its influence.... When Celebi is captured and is turned evil, Ash and Sam remind him of their friendship, and all the other Pokemon try to snap Celebi out of its evil mind control – this is as awesome as when Ash's mom snaps out of her mind control in Pokemon 3. But... why are sleigh bells playing when Celebi has flashbacks? Is Santa Claus the one who really designed the Dark Balls? So, it seems like the influence of the Dark Balls are broken by the power of heart!
Iron Masked MarauderDrat! I've been foiled by the power of LOVE!
But even when it seems he's gone, he STILL manages to shock us – he comes out of the water and grabs Celebi AGAIN! Even when he's down and out, he can still make a comeback!! He even has a jetpack to escape! The camera gives us a crotch-shot of the IMM... The part when Ash hangs onto his leg and he tries to kick Ash off reminds me a bit of Miss Decibel in Sly 4: Thieves in Time when Sly hangs onto HER leg and she kicks him off.... Luckily, this time, Pikachu teaches that evil Mexican wrestler a lesson, and manages to electrocute him, deactivating his jetpack!
One thing I do think is a bit odd is that the Pokemon films often have the guts to kill off Legendaries at times, but they NEVER kill off VILLAINS in movies.... Pokemon Hunter J in the anime gets killed by Mesprit, Azelf and Uxie's Future Sight destroying her ship, but I think it's a bit unfair how these villains commit such HORRIBLE things, but they don't die for their sins – like a lot of the Studio Ghibli villains.... When I saw IMM plummet to the ground, I THOUGHT he was going to fall to his death, which would be a pretty cool thing to see, and it would be fitting punishment for what he did, but then again, it is pretty funny when we see this tough villain FINALLY at the mercy of the Pokemon of the forest, and we finally see him without his mask, and it looks as though the dark skinned guy is going to beat him up. It is also nice that at the end, without his evil technology, he realises just how weak he really is – as he fumbles around for the Dark Balls, but notices that he's lost them. It is also funny when he's tied up by String Shot by Caterpie and Weedle.... Ooh, maybe they'll give him to Challus Mercer from Dead Space so he can test out Necromorph tissue by injecting it into his forehead – ooh, wrong universe. Oh well, I suppose a prison sentence he may serve will be pretty long – or maybe they'll give him capital punishment via electric chair!
Wow... now I sound like the evil one. But still, this was a pretty cruel bad guy.... One of the best from Pokemon in my opinion.  And a bit of trivia here, apparently, his REAL name is....
VICIOUS. Much better a name than RUBER, don't you think? He's so evil, his name is Vicious. I think they should have called him that in the film, that's a MUCH more intimidating name than IRON MASKED MARAUDER. It's like in The Adventures of Tintin, where the main villain of the series, Roberto Rastapopolous , has a hilarious alias named the Marquis di Gorgonzola..... Then again, Rastapopolous isn't the most intimidating villain name anyway, but it's another example of a villain who has one name that is much sillier than the other.

IMM gets his Tyranitar from the FIRST hunter that Celebi escaped from. While he wasn't AS menacing as IMM was, he still had a cool bike and cage, his Houndoom and Scyther were awesome (the Houndoom is ANOTHER example of why the Dark type scared me slightly when I was younger ), and I actually think he's more three-dimensional than IMM is – in the present day, he's retired, and it is kind of cute that he has a picture of him and his Houndoom on his wall – I guess the Houndooms joined Charlie – All Dogs Go To Heaven, apparently... Bad title dropping, I know.... Even though he has ALL these captured Pokemon, I wonder if the other captured Pokemon will escape.... Bit of a minor character, but his addition was pretty cool – it shows how evil IMM is when he holds an old man by the arm and throws him to the ground.

Unfortunately, it seems like Ash has retained some of his stupidity.... At the start of the film, he almost misses the ferry because he was caught in a Pokemon battle..... True, I don't think he runs into force-fields as much in this film, but it is still a bit of a foolhardy move... However, it seems he is slightly better at climbing than he was in Pokemon 3 (remember when he almost fell down that fountain? ) and I like the one joke Misty says – 'Ash climbs just like a Mankey', and after he gets knocked away by Celebi's psychic blast, he at least is able to grab onto the tree he was climbing up – and when he clambers back up, Brock says 'I think Ash just evolved into a Primeape.' Hey, if Ash thinks THIS is a high climb, try climbing up that huge mountain Frodo and Sam climbed up in Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers.
One thing Ash says which is a bit inconsiderate is when he says to Sam 'I'm glad I'm not stuck in the future like you are'...... Yeah, smooth, Ash...
Luckily, he does apologise for his mistake, and at least Sam forgives him. Took a short while for the problem to be solved. And then they talk about their moms....
Luckily, it doesn't turn into a Yo Mamma joke contest like in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy – the one between Irwin's grandma and Principal Goodbling....
Now, one thing people question in this film is WHY Ash is so excited about Metapods evolving into Butterfrees, when he's seen it before. While that may seem a bit odd – I think that no matter HOW many times you see a Pokemon evolving, it can still be a wonder to behold. Like whenever I play Pokemon, even if I KNOW which Pokemon I'm getting from the evolution, it is still cool to see it take place. Some things, like most of the Pokemon films, NEVER get old – I can watch OVER AND OVER and NEVER get tired of them. It's just a shame that none of the Butterfrees are ASH'S Butterfree.... WHY CAN'T YOU RETURN BUTTERFREE? That episode where you left had me in tears!
But Ash does show some strength in this one – instead of charging into forcefields, he DOES manage to restrain the IMM, and he does manage to keep a hold of his leg and stop him when tries to escape. Pretty cool Ash, I must admit.

One thing people question is how Misty twists her knee early in the film – when running away from the Tyranitar, she DID fall over, and she did land in a position that would injure her, just clearing that up. When Ash gets up after IMM knocks him out later in the film, but clutches his stomach and flops back down, Misty says a bit of a dumb line – 'Take it easy Ash, you MIGHT be hurt....'
NO S***, SHERLOCK. What gave you THAT idea, the fact he was yelling in pain, or the way he was clutching his stomach? Why is it that MISTY gets all the shoddy lines in these films?!

Brock is as funny as ever, especially when he tries to hit on Diana, and Misty and Ash look at him with disdain, and he says his speciality is human relations. But he does say a bit of a strange line when the IMM crashes the airship, and Brock says 'I'm still alive.' At least he does help out Ash, Sam and Suicune by sending his Onix out to distract the Heartless Godzilla Tyranitar. Wow... three of the coolest things EVER in one character.

Team Rocket also haven't changed... Our first scene with them involves Jessie getting a cramp while pedalling one their weird gizmos, which results in them being blown into the distance. Somehow, I don't think they'd be allowed to enter in the flying competition in Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.... But one thing I like about them in this is that they actually get a chance to say their full motto – and in the middle of it, is it me, or does James BAA like a sheep? Almost sounds like the farmer from The Secret of Kells.... And it is funny when Wobbuffet comes out and snaps the branch they're on... Another thing I like about them in this film is that they actually work alongside the Iron Masked Marauder, and Meowth makes a funny joke about him looking like a Mexican Wrestler – it's true, he DOES. I love the expression on the Tyranitar's face when they rush up to smarm, and when Meowth say Pokemon get to work naked. Another funny moment is when THEY try scrumping, and reach for a peach, but get pulled off the IMM's crawler by it. Is it the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom from Kung Fu Panda? Master Oogway would NOT be impressed.... Another great moment is when the IMM uses his crawler to try and catch Celebi, Jessie and James use....
.....nets. Er... unless you're trying to catch Troy from The Reef and ANY OTHER fish for that matter seen as how out of proportion the characters are in that film, that ISN'T going to be of any use – you look like dorky versions of the Bug Catcher class of Pokemon trainer...
Yet again, Team Rocket aren't the REAL villainous ones here, as Jessie gets sucked into Celebi's evil nest, and at least Jessie does save Ash and Sam from falling to their doom. At the end, we see Jesse be reunited with James and Meowth.... and then their raft is destroyed by the Tyranitar, who it turns out DIDN'T drown. At least the Tyranitar and the Scizor and Sneasel are free...
I also like when Team Rocket relax in the water at the end...

The animation is still great, of course. While the CGI on some of the forest chase scenes and the vines look a bit.... First Movie-ish, I must admit , some CGI is still impressive.
Also, it seems like the Pokemon series learnt quite a bit from the battle in the opening of Pokemon 3, as the fight between Ash and Dundee is as realistic, in my opinion. We also have some great effects when the Butterfree glitter, the fog effects, the Dark Ball effects, when the sun rises and when Celebi uses his powers.
The forest settings in this film remind me a LOT of Princess Mononoke and FernGully, especially the Lake of Life, and the tall tress with adorable Jumpluff floating through them. :3 While the CGI animation in the forest and the grass can be a TAD distracting at times, they don't ruin any of the film for me – this is still only the FOURTH film in the series, so it can be excused for the animation still having a long way to go. But most of the animation is still very nice. I love the tranquil forest settings, the colours and the compositions are VERY beautiful – almost reminding me of, again, Princess Mononoke and FernGully, and even The Secret of Kells and The Last Unicorn in places. One reason why I am fond of environmental films is how they portray how beautiful nature is – and while I'm not a naturist, I do enjoy the beauty of nature, like when I go out on weekends with my family for hikes in the forests or fields of nearby places to where I live. While the English Countryside may not be that much like the Japanese forests, these forests in the Pokemon films still remind me a lot of why I enjoy them, both in films and in real life. Both at day and when the sun starts to set, this film can be very pleasant to look at, but like Princess Mononoke, when it needs to, it can get pretty intense and intimidating as well – especially when IMM destroys the hunter's home.
When they pick the berries, it also reminds me of when my mom, while on our weekend walks at times, picked some blackberries and raspberries to make pies out of. The town of Arborville is also another setting I drew inspiration from for the place where my Pokemon trainer character Kendra, and her family Clementine and Lars, and their Pokemon live. A LOT of inspiration came from this film for my comics – even the design of the IMM's BEARD reminds me of my villain Katar Klism's beard. It is a pretty cool beard – is it his adventure beard? Did he enter in Peppermint Larry's Beard-off in The Marvellous Misadventures of Flapjack? I take it that if he WON, he wouldn't be very impressed with getting the huge fat girl Candy as a prize...
Also, when the forest starts dying, I like how the evil nest is brown and decaying, indicating the death it symbolises. And the colour scheme becomes more dark and black.... Like the third Pokemon film, when the film becomes cold and dark, the colours and the atmosphere reflects it.
I think the environmental message, especially when Sam said 'A human being forced Celebi to destroy the forest' may be what annoyed some people. The Pokemon films seem to anger people with their morals for some reason – and in this case, saying a human is the reason the forest died may have come across as preachy for some people..... But still, as I said, I like these messages.

The music is also still very enjoyable. The music when Ash and Sam watch the Butterfree sounds a bit like music in The Fox and the Hound, the music when Celebi is resurrected (wow... Pokemon involves undead resurrections?! ) is also really nice to listen to, and I actually like the pop song in the credits. At times, some of the music, especially those in the opening title, it sounds a little bit like The Last Unicorn to me.

I think the main reason why people hate this film is because of the whole 'Sam is Professor Oak' – it creates a sort of paradox... If Sam was forty years ahead of time in the future, how could his present self have given Ash his Pikachu, or caused Ash to go out on his journey with a Pokémon at all, if there was any doubt of him getting back? As well, could Ash have only gotten his Pikachu because Oak thought ahead in the beginning to capture a Pikachu specifically for him, after that adventure? As most Trainers do not have more than one starter Pokémon, and Sammy clearly saw Ash's Bayleef, knowing that he would be receiving a Pokémon from him, as Ash grew up, would have caused Oak to either go with the Johto starters or to capture the Pikachu that would become Ash's ahead of time. As the latter, rather than the former, was the case, perhaps this is exactly what happened.
Yeah, the whole paradox plotholes do seem quite confusing, but still, I don't mind them personally.

But still, WHY is this one hated so much? The villain is awesome – and much more threatening than previous films, Celebi is cute, the animation is still great, even if the CGI can become slightly dated at times, especially on the nest and when Suicune jumps down the rocks, the action is good, I really like that it becomes serious in the same way Pokemon 3 did - when Celebi is withered, that scared me slightly, and seeing Professor Oak as a little boy is strangely cute.

I like it :3 but time travel confuses my little eevee brain @^@
OMG yes! I was JUST talking about this the other day with my friends! In fact, I had no idea it was so hated. O.o Apparently it's so hated because of... plotholes? I dunno, I'll admit I've only seen it once, so I don't really know what everyone means by that.
the villain was very interesting a dark balls were a very cool story element
The plotholes bug me a little, sure, but I've enjoyed that movie. Lots of movies have flaws, especially those that seem unanimously praised. While 4Ever could have been better, it still turned out pretty good. Yes, Celebi was enjoyable in general. It's adorable, hence why it's my favorite Legendary and my sister's favorite Pokémon.
I sadly haven't seen it, but I have wanted to for a long time.
I LOVE THAT POKEMON MOVIE
It´s not my favorite, but it´s great!
I think it's a good film. And by the looks of it, it seems underrated.
Seen it, and loved it. the scene at the end made me very sad,
I liked it.
I LOVED the movie! When I was younger, the big plant monster Celebi made used to scare me, but the concept of Dark Balls was awesomeeee ;-; there are actually people who dislike it?
I love Pokemon 4Ever especially the Iron Masked Marauder, I mean he is voiced by Dan Green and he is badass. And the Dark Ball is awesome. I heard that the reception has been mixed, but I like it. Especially at the end when it turns out the Iron Masked Marauder is actually HEROBRINE! XD Herobrine is a mythological character from MineCraft who looks like the main character Steve only he has glowing white eyes.

And like the earlier Pokémon reviews, if you feel I've missed something out or haven't commented on something like you think I should have, please feel free to comment below with suggestions for additions to the review – I don't want to leave anything out.
So, I can see WHY this one may not be as popular as Pokemon 3... But I actually think it's better than the first and second films. Pokemon 4Ever seems to be like the MARMITE of the Pokemon films – you either love it or you hate it. As for me? I LOVE it.
But as I said – I think it's unfair that while this has many similar problems that MOST Pokemon films have,  for some reason, THIS one receives more hate than some of the others. Is it because it's an environmental film? Is it because it involves time travel? Is it the CGI? Come on... that's a little harsh, don't you think?
And then, after I watched Pokemon 3 again, the answer hit me.... Perhaps the BIGGEST problem with this film is that it came out STRAIGHT AFTER Pokemon 3..... Maybe people were really excited that seen as Pokemon 3 was so great, they set their hopes a bit too high for Pokemon 4Ever, and maybe this was why they were so angry at this film – but still, I really liked this film – maybe it is more flawed than many people would have hoped, and perhaps the plotholes are slightly larger than in some Pokemon films....
But it is definitely NOT the worst.... comparing it to my favourite and my least favourite of the Pokemon films – I think this film sits comfortably in the middle of them. Out of 10, I would probably give this film 7 – 8 stars. It may not be the most POWERFUL of the Pokemon films, but you can TELL it was trying. If you didn't like it when you first saw it, try watching it again – maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised. And if you HAVEN'T seen it due to prejudice you've heard – similar to how Home on the Range is unfairly prejudiced and avoided because of that prejudice – at least check it out for yourself and draw your own conclusions from it.

So, if this one was a bit of a small DOWNGRADE from Pokemon 3, the next film is another UPGRADE in the series.
Next time, I'll review ANOTHER favourite of mine – Pokemon Heroes: Latios and Latias!

COMING DUCKYWORTH'S THOUGHTS –
Beavis and Butthead Do America
The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists!
Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
An American Tail
Animal Farm
Brave ()
A Cat In Paris
Basil The Great Mouse Detective
Pokémon Films – ALL OF THEM!
Dracula (1931)
Hellraiser
Hellbound: Hellraiser 2
The Silence of the Lambs
Zombieland
Hot Fuzz
The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari
Freaks
Fright Night
Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Casablanca
The Godfather - Part 2
The Godfather - Part 3
We're Back - A Dinosaur Story
The Princess and the Goblin
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
Stan Helsing ()
Twilight – New Moon ()
All Dogs Go To Heaven
Tron Legacy ( )

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