Duckyworth's Thoughts: Pokemon Heroes~2002

Hello, my friends, and welcome to the next Duckyworth's Thoughts review!
Here is the FIFTH review in the POKÉMON SUMMER!
'Gotta catch 'em all!
Gotta catch 'em all!
Po-ké-mon!'


If Pokémon 4Ever was a slight downgrade for the series, the FIFTH film is DEFINATELY another UPGRADE – in the same way Pokémon 3 was an upgrade for the Pokémon films in my opinion. And, this one may actually SURPASS Pokémon 3, in my opinion.
*gets booed by people who think Pokémon 3 is the best Pokémon film so far in the series *
Now, hear me out – I'm not REALLY sure, but although I LOVE Pokémon 3, THIS film may actually be my second favourite Pokémon film. So, which film could be THAT good? None other than my 38th favourite film at the moment...
Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias!

I mean it, I hadn't seen this film until VERY recently, two months ago in fact, but I fell in LOVE with the film after watching it. This is one of the Pokémon films that just seems to get almost EVERYTHING right. I say ALMOST everything because like ALL the Pokémon films, unfortunately, it does still have one or two flaws... But like in Pokémon 3, the flaws in THIS film are EXTREMELY minor and are almost NON-EXISTENT when you compare it to what the film SUCEEDS in.

Now, when I watched this, and when the intro came up.... I thought to myself.... Did I put in Pokémon 4Ever by mistake? The intro is EXACTLY THE SAME as that in Pokémon 4Ever. I guess this was planned to be the regular introduction for the films.... But it is something that... it didn't really BOTHER me, it just seemed a bit weird. But still... it's EXTREMELY minor...

The story in this one is like this – while in a rather BEAUTIFUL town called Altomare, Ash, Brock and Misty have arrived to take part in the Tour De Altomare, a Water Pokémon based race. However, after the race begins, Ash comes across two mysterious Legendary Pokémon, Latios and Latias. It turns out that the backstory of Latios and Latias is different in the dub than in the original Japanese version. In the Japanese version, the intro is told in a storybook style similar to animation used in The Secret of Kells.... It tells about an old man and woman coming across two abandoned children and raising them. When an evil monster attacked Altomare, the children showed their true forms – Latios and Latias, and they summoned their friends – other Latios and Latias to defeat the monster. They offered a mysterious gem called the Soul Dew, which had the power to protect the town. The original Japanese vid is here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=961nMQ…
In the dub, an evil Pokémon Trainer used a Kabutops and an Aerodactyl to terrorize the citizens of Altomare, until the original Latios came to the city, using his powers to drown the evil Pokémon and turning the streets into canals. However, Latios died and his two children, the Latios and Latias were left orphans. His soul is within a special jewel, the Soul Dew.
Now, I can see why they cut out the original backstory here – the way the Soul Dew is made makes more sense in the dub – I mean that in a way that will soon become clear.
Anyway, two members of Team Rocket, Annie and Oakley seek the Soul Dew, who plan to use it to activate the Defence Mechanism of Altomare for evil purposes. Latias, in the disguise of a human girl named Bianca (no, she isn't the ditzy blonde who keeps knocking Ash aside in Unova – this is a different Bianca ) is saved from the two criminals by Ash and Pikachu, and he and his friends meet them, the REAL Bianca, and her grandfather named Lorenzo, and come across Annie and Oakley's plans to steal the Soul Gem, and use it to power the Defence Mechanism, using it to raise the Kabutops and Aerodactyl back from the dead - MORE undead resurrection from POKÉMON – and capture Latios and Latias for Giovanni – unaware of the circumstances it will have.... Will Ash and friends be able to stop these two criminals?
Is this film one that may SOUND weird, but actually turns out to be impressive?
The answer to BOTH of these questions.... is yes.

One reason why I love this movie is that it has the ability to keep my attention ALL THE WAY THROUGH. From the introduction to the end credits, I was invested all the way. Like Pokémon 3 and Pokémon 13, this is a film that just has hit after hit after hit. Just when you think this film is done with throwing entertaining elements at you, there's about FIVE MORE waiting around the corner. These elements are well thought and well put together.

The film BEGINS awesomely, in my opinion. After the opening titles, the Tour De Altomare is really fun. And what makes it even better is seeing the Natus and Xatu be the ones who start the race. They're just so cute! The island of Altomare is also possibly one of my FAVOURITE settings in the Pokémon films. The crew who made this film went to Venice to gain inspiration for the settings in this film, as well as Amsterdam – hopefully, they didn't get inspirations from the more..... adult stuff Amsterdam is known for... It also explains why some names are Italian, and why people say 'Ciao!' and 'Arrivederci!' But still, next to Crown City, the crystal castle in Pokémon 3 and the ancient town in Pokémon 12, Altomare is probably my favourite setting from the Pokémon films. If this is based on Venice, hopefully we won't see Sly Cooper and Bentley rush by on a gondola while chasing Don Octavio from Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves...  When Ash and Latias get lost, it also reminds me a lot of the almost labyrinthian mazes of streets that I saw when I was on holiday once in Italy. The same can be said for the arch with wisteria that Ash walks through – it reminds me of an orange grove I walked through when I was in Sorrento and a wisteria grove when I went to Hampton Court once. The museum has stained glass which reminds me not just of the stained glass in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but of when I went to many churches and cathedrals in Italy. And we even get the BELLS, THE BELLS! I wouldn't be surprised if Quasimodo is on a summer job in Altomare as their bell ringer, and for once, he doesn't have Frollo ordering him around.
On the DVD I have of this film, there is a cool special feature that shows the director of the film, Kunihiko Yuyama (who actually directed ALL of the Pokémon films )and some of his crew going to Venice for location scouting, and it is really cool seeing JUST how closely Altomare mirrors Venice.
Also, the Defense Mechanism of Altomare, after talking to my friend looks like Aughra's orerry from The Dark Crystal. When evil runes start running across the ground when it's used for evil purposes, it also reminds me of some of the settings in Bayonetta, the alien planet in Dead Space 3 and the concert at the end of Rock and Rule.

Speaking of Sly 3, the music in this film is REALLY awesome and Italian in taste – it reminds me of the music in some scenes in The Godfather films, and in Spagonia in Sonic Unleashed – yes, I DID like that game. The music can be very beautiful at times, especially with the flutes and violins... almost sounding like the gypsie music from The Hunchback of Notre Dame in parts, as well as reminding me of some street musicians we listened to when we were having tea in Rome.... The music when Latios and Latias are playing in the garden reminds me of Bayonetta for some reason. The last song in the credits actually reminds me a little bit of music that sometimes plays in the end credits of DISNEY films. While I think it's a bit weird how they choose to play THREE songs in the ending credits again, and while I'm not TOO fond of the second song, I do like the first and third ones, and the remix of the Master Quest theme in the opening of the film.

While it is a bit of a shame no real Pokémon BATTLES take place (unless you count Pikachu electrocuting Annie and Oakley ), the action scenes are still pretty cool – like when Ash, Pikachu and Latias are zooming down the canals of Altomare in the same way Don Octavio in Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves or Ezio Auditore in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood did , and when Latios and Latias are trying to fight off the two thieves. I forgive the Pokémon films for not always putting in actual Pokémon BATTLES as such, as I feel that it could become a bit difficult to always work them in. And I believe it goes to show there's MUCH more to Pokémon than just taking part in Pokémon battles.

The animation is also really great in this film. While... maybe not AS impressive as Pokémon 3 was, it is still cool how they animate things in this – and I personally feel that the CGI HAS improved since Pokémon 4Ever – especially on the settings and the town. But one thing that seems a little odd is when we see Annie and Oakley's camera spying on Latias – the way the PEOPLE walking in the street is animated seems a tad weird, it reminds me of the phoned in CGI animation that was put in Hunchback of Notre Dame where the citizens of Paris are fighting Frollo's soldiers. But it doesn't mean it's BAD – no, I still love the animation in this – it just feels a little bit odd seeing parts like the people.

This film also has some of the CUTEST moments in the Pokémon films – as well as an adorable Aipom, Ross's Wailmer, Ash's Totodile and Pikachu, Murkrows hanging out, a sweet Yanma, Pidgeys in a bird bath, swimming Poliwags, Butterfrees, Latios and Latias – okay, you know what.... Almost ALL of the Pokémon in this film are adorable... I haven't seen this many cute moments since Sparky from Frankenweenie, Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas and Scraps from Corpse Bride. This has so many KAWAII moments in it.

Our two legendary Pokémon in this film are, as I said before are Latios and Latias. Now, before I saw this film, I'll admit, I didn't really think much of them – only that it was REALLY annoying trying to catch Latias on my Pokémon Ruby file.... But in this film, they are just SO likeable and enjoyable in this film, they may actually be two of my favourite Legendaries now.
They are known as the guardians of Altomare, and they are emblazoned on Misty's Tour De Altomare medal and on statues in the town. Their father rescued the people of Altomare from danger, and brought water to make the canals and rivers – but he sacrificed himself in the process. He left the Soul Dew in his place, containing his spirit. The Soul Dew is kept in a pool, and it is actually capable to destroy the town if placed in the wrong hands...
Their abilities are invisibility, the ability to have human forms, and .... let's be honest.. The ability to melt my heart whenever I watch them. I mean it... EVERY single scene that they were in was so cute to watch. Celebi, Jirachi, Mew, Zorua, and Victini were all really cute, but Latios and Latias may be just as adorable. How do I describe how they SOUND? They sound a little bit like Sasha the seahorse from Help! I'm A Fish, actually....
Another thing I love about them is the bond that they have as brother and sister. This bond that they have is, in my opinion, very legitimate. Like the mother/son relationship Zorua and Zoroark have in Pokémon 13, I can COMPLETELY believe the bond that they have with each other is genuine. This also makes way for a cool power they have –while Latios scouts the island, Latias can use her psychic powers to allow Ash, Lorenzo, Bianca and Pikachu the power to see what he sees – sight sharing. Also, when they're asleep together, Latios goes to attack Annie and Oakley first, and he protects his sister from them.... Even taking on TWO of their evil spider web like nets to save her....
Latias is quite a bit more playful than her brother, shown in the early scene where she, while invisible, pulls along Ash's Donald Duck Totodile at high speed, to help Ash in the Tour De Altomare, but then Latios pulls Latias the wrong way.... Maybe Latios knows better than his sister that cheating is wrong. Cheaters never prosper, Latias... just look at Steele from Balto. Latias also has a really cute scene after Pikachu comes up to a water fountain, where a trainer has finished giving her cute Vaporeon a drink, and Pikachu notices the water's stopped. Then, Latias, disguised as Bianca (more on her later) runs the water for Pikachu. Aww... the way Pikachu drinks it and cools off is just so cute.... I also love Latias' cute curiosity and innocence in this film. She's just so sweet... When she's on a swing, I thought 'Okay, this Latias is so sweet... I may die from cuteness overload.'  In fact, now that I think about, she can be seen as a slightly less rash version of Aisling from The Secret of Kells. She ALSO almost made it on my favourite female characters list.
Another reason Latias is great is because she uses her powers to destroy the tsunami Oakley summons to try and DROWN Ash and Pikachu, and while doing so, breaks her control over the Defence Mechanism.
Latios may not be as playful as Latias, but he is also very likeable. While he doesn't trust Ash and Pikachu the first time he sees them, Latias does stop her brother from attacking Ash, and then, when he curiously comes up to Pikachu, he gets an EXTREMELY adorable scene.... He licks Pikachu in a very cute way....
Unfortunately, Latios is the LESS fortunate of the two.... Annie and Oakley capture him, and use him as one of the power sources to power the Defense Mechanism along with the Soul Dew, which mortally wounds him. He is freed thanks to Latias, Pikachu and Ash's force-field fetish , but then, after the Soul Dew dies and the water goes out of control, Latios and Latias then combine their powers to calm the water. In a PRETTY epic way, I might add.
And then...... Well, let's just say we've reached this movie's attempt to carry out a move DON BLUTH would use in a Pokémon film.
BOTH times I've seen this part, I literally covered my mouth in shock. This affected me in the same way the end of TOY STORY 3 affected me.... Latios sacrifices HIMSELF to make a new Soul Dew, in the same way their father did..... When Latios releases Latias' paw and floats away..... It reminded me of the sad scene in Sonic 2006 when Blaze the Cat died.... The water is returned back to the city, the lockdown is ended, and Aerodactyl and Kabutops are back in the ground where they belong...
But we still have a death that is on the same level of sadness as the death of FELICITY from Felidae, Blackavar from Watership Down, and even XION from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days..... *grabs a box of tissues* And I thought the death of AMBERTWO was sad....
Another cute thing Latias does at the end is – get ready for this, KISS ASH ON THE CHEEK.
WOW! ASH GETTING IT ON WITH A POKÉMON! Seven words I never thought I would say in the same sentence, but.... WOW! And once again, Misty is jealous, and Brock has a hilarious reaction, who is also pretty jealous.
Seen as she doesn't talk, I think this is Latias who kisses Ash on the cheek – as Bianca never showed any real affection towards Ash in the film, I just think Bianca is the one who drew the picture.

Annie and Oakley are the villains in this film – and like the Iron Masked Marauder from Pokémon 4Ever, they DO pose a real genuine threat. While maybe not as intimidating as IMM was, they still make me feel slightly uneasy at times. Annie is the blond haired one, and Oakley is the grey haired one. Annie is voiced by Megan Hollingshead (Nurse Joy, Diane from Pokémon 6), and Oakley is voiced by Lisa Ortiz (Commander Mars, Sabrina, Oshawott, Dewott, Samurott, Deino, Teddiursa, Maractus and.... sigh, Amy Rose from Sonic.... ). They just SOUND so threatening at times, and the music that plays sounds almost like a more threatening version of Rouge's weird jazz theme tune from Sonic X (GAAARGH! Referencing BAD anime in a GOOD anime film... sorry... ). Annie is more bothered with fashion than her younger sister is – like a LESS annoying version of Georgette from Oliver and Company, but Oakley is slightly more concerned about their goal than her sister is. This is shown when Annie is knocked in the canal by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and she just moans about her shirt getting wet. Again, like Georgette obnoxiously cracking a 'I broke a nail' joke – at least Annie doesn't break her cover, she and Oakley are ALREADY being attacked here...
Oakley goes absolutely CRAZY at the end of the film... She gets in the control seat of the Defence Mechanism (after Annie says it doesn't look very comfortable.... ) and uses it to resurrect the Aeordactyl and Kabutops! And the way she says 'Aerodactyl, Kabutops... RISE!' almost reminds me of the Horned King in The Black Cauldron raising the Cauldron Born – maybe not as creepy, but still pretty unnerving! And then, like the Iron Masked Marauder, Oakley plans to use the Defence Mechanism to make herself stronger than GIOVANNI, and desperate to catch Latias, she initiates a city wide lockdown, technically TRAPPING ALL THE CITIZENS inside so Aerodactyl and Kabutops can catch Latias!
This is almost as unnerving as the way the Iron Masked Marauder says Celebi has been turned evil.... So, just to recap. Pokémon has involved, in the first five films of the series, cloning, DYING clones, genocide, lines about a trainer having KRABBIES, a crazy little girl summoning crystals and turning almost INSANE, Pokeballs that technically turn Pokémon into HEARTLESS, Celebi literally DYING and then being RESURRECTED, and NOW, a machine that has the ability to bring an Aerodactyl and Kabutops back to life that are ALSO extremely creepy......
You know –for KIDS!
While, once again, all OAKLEY wants is to, you guessed it, taking over the world , like the Iron Masked Marauder, it's how much she maliciously ENJOYS what she's doing that makes it pretty entertaining. Next to Pokémon Hunter J and the Iron Masked Marauder, she is one of the few Pokémon villains that actually tries to KILL Ash... Oakley summoning a tsunami, which is pretty well animated, to drown Ash and Pikachu!! Damn....
Their Pokémon are an Espeon and an Ariados... wow... an evil ESPEON. Not very often you see one of THOSE. The Espeon is actually pretty creepy, especially when it uses it's Psychic attacks to knock out Lorenzo and Bianca– I felt PRETTY shocked when that happened. I also felt pretty shocked when the Ariados tied up Bianca and Lorenzo in web – has he/she been watching James and the Giant Peach for inspiration?
They pose a genuine threat in part because of how athletic they are – they jump around rooftops in a manner that Sly Cooper and Ezio Auditore would be jealous of, dodge Latios' attacks, and manage to catch poor Latios with ease.
They ALSO have some awesome technology – like a James Bond style car that turns into a plane (which is animated really awesomely ), a speedboat, sunglasses that act as heat sensors and a spy camera that looks like it was designed by Arpeggio from Sly 2: Band of Thieves as it looks like the helicopter Leonardo Da Vinci designed. It reminds me of the cameras Grings Kodai from Pokémon 13 utilises – more on him when I review Pokémon 13.
Luckily, Latias is able to break Oakley's control over the mechanism, but thanks to those two bimbos, the Soul Dew starts turning black, and THEN, Annie – after saying, rather aptly, that Oakley went in over her head (YEAH, you THINK?! )- stupidly TOUCHES the Soul Dew, which effectively DESTROYS it - which means the water in Altomare is now out of control.... They both get knocked into the machine, which closes.... Sigh, if only they were trapped in there FOREVER and SUFFOCATED.
Yep, seen how they technically GOT AWAY WITH MURDERING LATIOS, this makes them WORSE than the Iron Masked Marauder – Celebi DIDN'T STAY dead. They get freed and arrested, hopefully thrown into a prison that punishes murder with the ELECTRIC CHAIR, and while in prison, they read a book on LAWRENCE III. Luckily, I can't see any Legendary Pokémon in this book – so hopefully HE'S learnt his lesson at least. But still, I think it is a little odd that despite the fact that some Pokémon villains actually try to go as far as MURDER to get what they want, they don't get the true punishment I feel that they deserve. If the villains can be killed off in the MANGA of the films at times (Marcus in Pokémon 12 and Grings Kodai in Pokémon 13 BOTH died in the mangas they were in, but they DIDN'T in the films that they were in ), why can't they in the films? In fact, the only villains who REALLY die in the anime are Pokémon Hunter J, and the members of some of the evil teams, like Cyrus, Archie and Magnus.

Ross is a minor character who, while he doesn't do very much – he just shows up in the Tour De Altomare with a cute Wailmer and shows them around Altomare – but I love his design, especially his outfit while manning a gondola.

Lorenzo is the curator of the Altomare museum – and for some reason, I really like his design. He looks like a genetic mix of an older version of Wreck-It Ralph and Mario from Super Mario Bros. in my opinion – if Wreck-It Ralph became a curator of a museum instead of wrecking things.
'It's a-ME, Lorenzo!'
Voiced by Wayne Grayson, who also voiced Lance, Butler in Pokémon 6, Karl in Pokémon 13, and Subway Boss Emmet, Lorenzo is a kind old man who is not only the curator of a museum, but is a gondola creator – wow, even the MINOR CHARACTERS are interesting in this film. It is also pretty cool when he shouts 'DON'T TOUCH THAT!' to Annie.

Bianca, voiced by Tara Jayne, who has actually done a LOT of Pokémon voiceover work, including Sammy in Pokémon 4Ever, Bulbasaur, Phanphy, Larvitar, Wurmple, and young Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, Ash is the girl who Latias takes the form of at times – which causes some REAL confusion for Ash... Yet another artist, Bianca uses pastels to draw, and I think Squidward Tentacles (who I do think is actually quite talented in art, just NOT in clarinet playing ) would be impressed with. She is a little bit rash when she first meets Ash – after she sees Pikachu try and use thunderbolt on Latios, she almost orders Latios to ATTACK Ash....  Luckily, Lorenzo stops them. Thank you, old Wreck-It Ralph. Bianca doesn't do TOO much else, but she does draw a nice picture for Ash and Pikachu, which Latias delivers at the end.

And just when you think this film can't throw any more interesting things at you, we get an evil Kabutops and Aerodactyl, which ALSO look like Heartless, and are resurrected using a machine that is technically a mix between Aughra's orrery and the NECRONOMICON from the Evil Dead movies.... By the way, am I the only one who was reminded of Nassor saying 'Rise Colossus, from your TOMB!' when Oakley said, 'Kabutops, Aerodactyl, RISE!'
Every time they appeared, they looked pretty creepy – I think this film even tried putting in a JUMP SCARE when Ash, Pikachu and Latias are heading to the museum, and we just see Kabutops pass them by. It even tries to SLASH at Ash! But, as awesome as they are, I have to bring something up here –
Aerodactyl drowning I can understand, but KABUTOPS? Kabutops is a WATER type, and he can't SWIM?! Isn't that the equivalent of a HEATRAN BURNING ALIVE? Now, if the water current was strong enough and the force of the water CRUSHED HIM, maybe... But still.

Ash, yet again, is pretty funny to watch in this film, even if he is still a bit stupid. He gets some funny moments when he falls off the swing and lands on his face – I thought Brendan from The Secret of Kells had some awkward landings - when Latias takes Ash's cap playfully and plays catch with it.
We also have Ash further fulfilling his force-field fetish in this film – he charges into the cage that Latios is kept in.... I can just imagine him saying 'Oooh! This villain is using a force-field! I COULD do what I did in Pokémon 3 and use my Pokémon to break the barrier first, but no, I think I'll follow the Pokémon 2000 route – charge into it and THEN use my Pokémon...'
Come on Ash, you charge into forcefields more than Cale did in Titan AE...
Our hero, everybody... Has your friend been trapped in an evil force-field? Well, just let our local idiot Ash Ketchum body-check it to see if it's tough, and THEN he'll use his Pokémon to free you.... Hey, he needs to check if this is a REAL forcefield and not some imitation.... Ash Ketchum – the hero who always uses the LONG, DRAWN-OUT way of rescuing you!
Well at least in THIS case, he DOES ask Pikachu to shock it first... but he then ruins it by CHARGING into it... TWICE.
One FLAW I can see in this film is that for most of the film, Ash and Pikachu are on their own – it isn't until 40 minutes in that Brock and Misty even MEET Latias... Still, at least at the end, they DO send out some of their Pokémon to help him out when the lockdown is put in place, which do help beat up the Kabutops.

Pikachu does act pretty BADASS in this film as well as cute – he electrocutes Annie and Oakley quite a few times, and the evil Aerodactyl too! I know I haven't really been commenting on PIKACHU that much in my previous Pokémon reviews, but I just feel that a lot of things he does in these films are really cute and cool.

Misty has a few good scenes in this film too – YES, even MISTY has good parts in this film. As well as winning the Tour De Altomare with her cute Corsola, she also says she wants pistachio ice cream... Haha, I think I had pistachio ice cream while on holiday in Italy once. But unfortunately, this IS the last film she has in the series, as this IS the last film in the original series, so that sadly means this is also the last we'll see of cute little Togepi, and her team, especially the funny Psyduck. But still, she had a good run, and she may not have been the best character, but at least in this film, she didn't get as many stupid dubbed lines as she did in, say, Pokémon 4Ever. And besides, she is NOWHERE near as terrible as ONE female character the series throws at us in Unova.... *cough*Iris*cough*

Good old Brock gets a LOT of laughs in this film – one of my favourite scenes is during the Tour De Altomare, where he acts like a gentleman and allows a woman to stand next to him, and then when she leaves and an ugly granny that looks like a smaller version of Yubaba from Spirited Away takes her place, Brock's reaction is PRICELESS. And when Brock says the girls are beautiful like the town, I love the playful little laugh that Ash replies with – it almost sounds like Veronica Taylor GENUINELY laughed while delivering that line. It is also pretty hilarious when Brock sees Latias show her real form.... He pulls off an O face worthy of Thomas the Tank Engine and Lady Everglot from Corpse Bride...
He has a pretty awesome moment when he climbs up the fence brought up by the lockdown. Luckily, Brock will keep with us for a few more seasons – until Unova, where he is replaced by a character I actually kind of like – Cilan.

Unfortunately for Team Rocket, this is the first film they DON'T have a major role in – but they do still get a few good laughs – starting off with them getting splashed while eating at a restaurant, which I wouldn't be surprised is run by the two Italian chefs from The Lady and the Tramp, considering the fact that Altomare looks like Venice, and the spaghetti and meatballs they're eating looks just as yummy. They get even WORSE luck when they rather cutely shout 'We all scream for ice cream!' while holding ice cream cones, and THEN they get splashed AGAIN... Wow, they have even worse luck around water than . They also chase Annie and Oakley across the rooftops in a.... pretty embarrassing way.... treading on Meowth's foot. , and to make it even worse, Wobbuffet appears and breaks the lamp they're on. They then, after being locked in by the lockdown, get swept away by the returning water, saying 'Team Rocket's blast-BLUBLULBULBUBLUB!' In the end credits, we see their awesome Magikarp sub again, and yet again, Wobbuffet causes them trouble....

In a way, I feel this film is pretty GUTSY to KILL off one of the main legendaries like that, and for once, KEEP HIM DEAD, but in a way, like Toy Story 3, even though it is pretty bittersweet, it still ends on a happy note – Altomare has been returned back to normal, and even though Latias has now LOST HER BROTHER.. , she still has other family members, and Latios is the new guardian of Altomare, always keeping a watch over them – and, I think at the end, we see she has more family with her.
Now, the dub didn't mention Latios and Latias often pass through Altomare, so I think this caused confusion for a lot of non-Japanese audiences – but I still think it just goes to show that Latios' sacrifice was not in vain. While I agree the last 30 minutes of the film is a bit of a TEASE when you think about it, especially how happy the first 30 minutes were, and then KILLING off Latios, but I think it actually shows how MATURE Pokémon films can be – it can work in bittersweet endings as well as the shrugging happy endings we get in a lot of the Pokémon films. The emotions it brings out show just how powerful this film is. For me, this film is probably like the Pokémon counterpart of Disney's FOX AND THE HOUND – it's still a children's film, but it still manages to act mature by showing that not all endings can be COMPLETELY happy, and leaves it bittersweet.
And while I can see why some people may not like how MEAN-SPIRITED this film is, but it's ALSO a bit like the Studio Ghibli films – especially ones like Princess Mononoke and .... okay, maybe not AS bad as Grave of the Fireflies, as NO-ONE lives happily ever after in THAT film , but still, I think, in a way, like Felidae is, it's kind of a welcome break that a Pokémon film has been made that is still entertaining and cute and easy to follow, but it still manages to get away with an ending like this. Of course, it was MORTIFYING seeing Latios die.... But in my opinion, it is pretty BOLD of Pokémon to make a film like this.... and it's even MORE impressive that they were able to pull it off the way they did.

LATIAS AND HER HUMAN FORM
THE DRAMAAAA
WHY DID LATIOS HAVE TO DIE
I MEAN
SOBS
//curls up into a ball
Interesting film. The setting and characters are interesting, the story is good, and the orrey reminds me of the one from "The Dark Crystal".
the villains were very clever in there naming XD
I love the relationship between Latios and Latias, and the fact that these were the first two legendaries to have a really strong bond to each other on an emotional level rather than genetic/elemental, that's impressive.
Bwah, the end is so sad! D:

Sorry, not much to say, I can't remember much about it, other than the short that was after the credits on the video of it my cousins rented. -3-
THE FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLSSSSSSS

So, I'm STILL not sure, but I think this film may be the second best of the Pokémon films in my opinion. Everything about it just seemed to come together perfectly here – and even though I know many people won't be able to bring themselves to watch a film where one of the MAIN LEGENDARIES DIES, but I think in this case, Pokémon WAS trying to go the Don Bluth route – 'Children can be able to cope with anything as long as a happy ending is attached'. And while this film may be one of the darkest and most DEPRESSING of the Pokémon films.... I still love the music, the characters, the settings, the animation and the story. I also feel 4Kids made a bit of a smart choice by saying Annie and Oakley are members of Team Rocket – if they were just NORMAL thieves, I don't REALLY think they would be THAT bothered to try and KILL Ash and catch Latias AND Latios... I also think that the father of Latios and Latias sacrificing himself to make the Soul Dew makes more sense – if the Soul Dew was JUST made by normal Latias and Latios like in the Japanese version, it would be more confusing why Latios had to sacrifice himself to make another Soul Dew.
If I could point out some flaws I have (as well as the obligatory WHY DID LATIOS HAVE TO DIE question and asking why Annie and Oakley didn't get the TRUE punishment they deserved for their crimes ), I would ask for the film to be a little bit longer (this one felt a bit too short – it's like Felidae, I love the film, I just wish there was more of it), I thought that it was a bit odd how the police didn't come in until AFTER the problems were all solved.... And I feel that Team Rocket, Brock and Misty could have had a bit of a larger role in this film.
But still, as I said, these are MINOR. Even if it is a bit of a bittersweet film, I still feel it is one of the best of the Pokémon films. Any film that can make me LOVE two Pokémon I was ANNOYED at how difficult they were catch before I saw this film is DEFINATELY doing SOMETHING right.
And which film IS the best, do you ask? Well, that's for another time.

But next time, let the GREATNESS continue, as we look at yet another of my favourite Pokémon films, and ANOTHER adorable one – Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker.

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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