Duckyworth's Thoughts:Pokemon The First Movie~1998

EDIT: Added some stuff.

Hello, my friends, and welcome to the next Duckyworth's Thoughts review!

Well, everyone, as I said at the end of my Balto review, for the next few reviews, I shall be reviewing all of the Pokémon films to date in order. As you all probably know, and judging by most of the contents of my gallery, I ADORE Pokémon. I've loved it since I was FIVE years old, back in 1999, and started with Pokémon Yellow, and since then, I've come all the way to making comics today. Creative parts, cool fights, awesomely designed characters, and some actually pretty heartfelt scenes have been worked into the series. But, how do the FILMS hold up? Which are the best, and which are the worst? Do some do some elements better than others, and WHY have some of the more popular ones BECOME so popular, and why are the LESS popular ones NOT as popular? The Pokémon films, while mostly JUST for Pokémon fans, have been BIG hits nonetheless – the box office and the fans have benefited from these films, and I love the franchise, and the films are a big part of that. So, for the next 16 reviews, watch this space for – THE POKÉMON SUMMER!
Let's sing along now...  www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVp-zI…

'I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test
To train them is my cause

I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Teach Pokémon to understand
The power that's inside

Pokémon (Gotta catch 'em all), it's you and me
I know it's my destiny
Pokémon...ooh, you're my best friend
In a world we must defend
Pokémon (Gotta catch 'em all), a heart so true
Our courage will pull us through
You teach me, and I'll teach you
Po-ké-mon
Gotta catch 'em all!
Gotta catch 'em all!
Po-ké-mon!'

And, what a better place to start than the very FIRST film in the series – Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back!

I saw this film when it first came out at the cinema..... and let me tell you, I loved the film then, and I STILL love it now.... Like Balto, some of the flaws are more noticeable now, but ALSO like Balto, for me, they don't ruin the experience. True, this film may NOT be the best thing to show to someone who's NEW to the franchise, but for people who grew up with the games like I did, this was BRILLIANT to watch. But with many more films having come out afterwards, how does the film that started the films off hold up now? Well, a LOT has changed since Pokémon The First Movie has come out, but I am REALLY surprised HOW much I remember about the film from my childhood, and it's been EONS since I last watched it. When I saw this at the cinema with my family, even if my mom fell asleep , my sister and I ADORED it. True, some stuff may not make much sense now, even for Pokémon, and some of it COULD have been expanded more..... But still, I still remain a fan of the first film. Like SpongeBob, this film is a cherished childhood memory. So, let's delve into our childhoods and look at the Pokémon film that started it all off.

This film, like most of the Pokémon films to date, revolves around a Legendary Pokémon, and Ash and his friends' encounter with them. Now, of course, we ALL remember how tough Mewtwo was in the Unknown Dungeon to catch.... I remember my sister catching him and kicking my butt in Link battles on her Pokémon Crystal file.... Anyway, my childhood embarrassments aside, this film is about the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo – a Pokémon who was created by a group of scientists who were led by a scientist named Dr Fuji. Dr. Fuji, wanting to find a way to restore life by cloning, leads an expedition to Guyana after finding evidence of a shrine dedicated to Mew, the world's most powerful—but now said to be extinct—Pokémon. Actually... hold on. MOST POWERFUL? That's debateable... ARCEUS is said to be the GOD of all Pokémon, and later on in Kyurem Vs The Sword of Justice, KYUREM is said to be the strongest Pokémon. But still, this came out in the days when Generation 1 were ALL there was to Pokémon, so I'll let it fly. And can you REALLY Mew is extinct? Judging by TWO FILMS with little Mew in, I think it's another thing scientists in this universe aren't completely sure about Pokémon yet. For those who don't know this, Mew is said to actually be the ANCESTOR of all Pokémon.... WOW.
Wait, so Mew is the ANCESTOR of all Pokémon, and Arceus is the GOD of all Pokémon..... Er, which came first? I know I'm probably nitpicking by bringing this up, but the Pokémon series have been said to have the occasional plothole here and there, and..... I can see why they say that.
Anyway, relating back to Mewtwo, Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, funds Fuji's research in return for an enhanced, living replica of Mew. OOOH dear, that can't be good! Can't these scientists TELL that Giovanni wants to exploit it for his own selfish needs?!

Now, a lot of people say that the BACKSTORY of Mewtwo is a bit too contrived, and how he came to be and learned to hate mankind is a bit convoluted. While I don't agree with this, I can let you all in on something – there is actually a part of the film that was CUT from the English dub on Youtube – it's called the Birth Of Mewtwo... And let me tell you.... I REALLY wish they had actually worked this in to the released film in cinemas, it would have made people who say Pokémon is just a stupid waste of time eat their own words.... Here is a link to it for you all – some of you may not have even HEARD of this prologue before, but you shouldn't go without watching it any longer.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1a34c…

I'll talk about the plots of the prologue and the rest of the film that we actually SAW in cinemas separately.
The prologue was based on a RADIO DRAMA named The Birth of Mewtwo , and it revolves around Mewtwo's creation, and let me tell you... I LOVE the reason WHY Dr Fuji wanted to learn how to clone people. You see, he had lost his DAUGHTER, Amber, many years before, and he wants to use cloning to bring Pokémon and possibly even his DAUGHTER, back to life... We see some scenes where he argues with his wife about bringing her back, and how he has made a consciousness for his late daughter, and his wife left him due to his experiments... Okay, that's pretty strong stuff for a series that has been dubbed as CHILDISH, you have to admit....
Oh, and by the way, my Pokémon Tales characters Lorita, Xavier and Drake (the three professors who are all related – Drake and Lorita are the heads of Amber Industries, and Xavier is Katar Klism's henchman) were designed as three scientists who actually worked on the Mewtwo Project and escaped. I just thought it would be cool that Drake could have been stealing some of Dr Fuji's plans for cloning and edit the blueprints so that he could use a similar method to extract amber from prehistoric Pokémon, as Drake is the evil one, you remember. And I do try to make references to the canon Pokémon series in my works.
Okay, back to the prologue. Via telepathy, Ambertwo, Mewtwo (who looks ADORABLE as a child... ), Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo and Squirtletwo (yes, they have TWO after their names because they're clones ) are all communicating to each other, and the scientists are all talking about how their created clones are getting stronger every day – you know, the experiment that could show them whether bringing back the DEAD could go as planned! Er, sorry, Dr Fuji, I think VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN'S plan to bring Sparky back to life from Frankenweenie was more likely to succeed!
In the telepathy land, all of the clones can see what the world Amber used to live in was like, as Amber's mind is apparently stronger than all the others.... And Amber looks a bit like a blue-haired version of Regan from The Exorcist, doesn't she? Even though she has similar MIND-WAVE strength to the demon that possessed Regan, at least she doesn't turn her head around, puke green vomit, or use a crucifix to stab herself in the...... er, nether regions... Anyway, this scene where they go through her memories (or her REMEMBER PLACE, as she calls it ) is actually a pretty cute scene.... When I was younger, I actually drew comics BASED on this scene, I saw it when I was about 12 or so, and I found this to be such a nice scene... especially with the speaking voice of Amber. The voice just sounds so sweet...
But of course.... we have to encounter perhaps the most HEARTBREAKING element in this scene... we see Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo and Bulbasaurtwo FADE AWAY! They hinted that they may not survive the cloning process – but still... how SAD is this?! It's even worse when AMBERTWO starts fading away, and Mewtwo starts CRYING. Oh, GOD! It's the death of Littlefoot's mom all over again! Even in death, Ambertwo tells Mewtwo not to be sad, because he's still alive, and life is wonderful.... *feels his heart breaking* When I was younger, this made the room FLOOD with tears.... And even if it didn't make me cry now... It still feels like SUCH a depressing scene... With little Mewtwo all left alone, and him trying to call her back....
And it gets even WORSE when the scientists realise the brainwaves are becoming too strong, and they administer a memory serum to make him FORGET all about it... At least it's not as VIOLENT as the serum injected into Hans Leggio to calm him down in Dead Space Downfall... But still, only Mewtwo survived the cloning, and as he ages, we hear his thoughts saying quite a sad monologue...
'I have slept for so long, it feels like... forever. But I remember.... something.... someone. Life... is wonderful.... But.... why?'  
I know what this scene needs! The bird song after Bambi's mom is shot! 'Lalalala, tweet tweetatweet tweet tweetatweet tweetatweet, lalalala!'
Wow. Quite a POWERFUL prologue for a Pokémon film, no?

Actually, after playing Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, something occurred to me... Mewtwo and Ambertwo's relationship, him having feelings for her like a best friend, but then her dying and leaving him alone, and THEN having his memory wiped of her, but the memories themselves remained.... Doesn't it seem an awful lot like the relationship ROXAS AND XION had?! In fact, young Mewtwo sounds a LITTLE bit like Roxas, doesn't he?! *mindblown* Even though Ambertwo doesn't sound a LOT like Xion – possibly a younger version , the whole thing suddenly seems EXTREMELY similar to me now.... Here is the scene I'm referring to, if you haven't played Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days – beware, though, heavy spoilers, and like this prologue... HEAVY HEARTBREAK...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFAex4…
And here's another thing Xion said at the end that reminded me of the prologue.
youtu.be/9mkOg9vZJ-M?t=8m39s
By Arceus! I may have to draw a picture based on this in the future!

Anyway, back to the film.... The film actually BEGINS with the same thing the first few Pokémon films started off with – a Pikachu short. This one is called Pikachu's Vacation, and it revolves around the escapades Pikachu and his friends encounter while Ash, Misty and Brock leave them while they.... er, do stuff... I guess. Okay, maybe it may be a little weird talking about THIS when it's not ACTUALLY part of the film – but EVERY version of the film starts off with this, even the theatrical releases. Like a longer version of those animated shorts Pixar has at the start of their films. This is a cute little short revolving around the escapades of the gang's Pokémon, and again – I love how they can get across the appropriate emotions without any WORDS actually being spoken – except for Team Rocket's Meowth, but that's to be expected. And it probably has a lot of the funniest and cutest moments in the film... including Pikachu's INCREDIBLY strange gurning , and Bulbasaur rocking Togepi with his Bulbabye....
KAWAII! I mean it, some may not like the childish humour in this short, but one reason why I love Pokémon is because while it can be incredibly cool, it can also have some ADORABLE moments as well, and this short is full of them.
We also get some INCREDIBLY trippy transitions showing different kinds of Pokémon with some really weird backgrounds, which I have to admit, are WAY too common, I just feel they put in a bit too many, but some like the Slowpoke one are pretty funny, if a bit weird... And sometimes, not even 15 seconds pass without a transition... These are even more STRANGE and common than the AUSTIN POWERS segways...
The main story around this is that Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Squirtle try to look after Togepi in the Pokémon Park, while dealing with a gang of Pokémon that seem as though they make as much noise as PINGU does in the episode of Pingu 'Noise' – a Marrill, Raichu, Cubone and Snubbull. Rivalries abound, such as Squirtle challenging Marrill to a race – the one scene where Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Togepi cheer for Squirtle, while Raichu, Snubbull and Cubone GLARE at them is just too funny, as well as Squirtle being carried back to the start on a Goldeen. Pikachu tries to keep everyone calm, setting a good example for Togepi, but when he tries to protect Togepi from Raichu's electricity (which is a pretty cute scene ), he gets zapped on his BOTTOM, and he has his own rivalry quite literally SPARKING up.... And of course, Meowth, Weezing and Arbok, three Pokémon belonging to Team Rocket, get knocked aside by Raichu and Pikachu zooming by– even on HOLIDAY, those three aren't safe from the odd scrape or two!
And of course, EVERYONE'S favourite team member, Charizard, gets a cameo. Pikachu and Raichu accidentally squash his tail while running, resulting in Charizard quite literally getting steamed, re-enacting KING KONG, and rushing after them. I think you can probably guess where Pyro may have gained some of his personality traits from Ash's Charizard... True, Ash's Charizard is definitely NOT a perv, but still, when I was a child, I LOVED the personality Ash's Charizard had, and when I was coming up with Pokémon tales, many of the funny rage moments, and the angry outbursts that Ash's Charizard had were something that kept in my mind when I was designing him. And of course, we all remember when Charizard gets his head stuck in the pipe after he scares Raichu and Pikachu for running over his tail, and they get squashed by a Snorlax.
All of the Pokémon work together to try and get Charizard free, and I will admit.... it is pretty sad when Charizard CRIES when he thinks he'll be stuck forever.... And even so, when everyone who's trying to help fails the first time, those four bullies start LAUGHING! Er, sorry, I had enough mean-spirited scenes from Balto, thank you very much.... Of course, Pikachu acts like the voice of reason, asking the group to help, and.... I don't know why, but for some reason, Pikachu never fails to be cute... I don't know HOW the voice actress Ikue Ohtani does it, but she always makes Pikachu sound adorable. Even the CUBONE comes to help, even though it's classed as the Lonely Pokémon – usually being a bit of a jerk and only caring for itself, but of course, I think this short, as simple and light-hearted as it can be, actually has a definite moral, in my opinion – co-operation is better than confrontation. True, it may be done to death, but still, for the short, it delivered it pretty well.
Of course, Meowth gets annoyed at everyone breaking his peace and quiet, and... he somehow gets a BOMB to shut them up!! Has he been pick-pocketing Bomberman?! Charizard LANDS on Meowth, and the bomb doesn't hurt Charizard, but it FRAZZLES Meowth.... Poor Meowth, is he like the SQUIDWARD of this short – all he wants is quiet, but no-one will let him have it? Everyone works together to repair the park, we get one more trippy transition with Jigglypuffs... and one of my favourite parts is when Charizard is lying happily on one end of a seesaw, and those four rascals from earlier are all on the other end. Ash, Misty and Brock FINALLY come back after..... doing stuff , Pikachu says farewell to the four rascals, and the short ends.
So, even though this isn't the film in question, this WAS shown before ALL versions of the film, so if we all saw it, I thought it would be best to talk about it. I'll talk about the animation, music and voice work with the whole film, as I think the same effort went into that as it did with the film itself.

And now, onto the feature presentation.
Referring to the prologue I talked about earlier, suddenly, when Mewtwo says 'Where was I before? Was it all just a dream?' makes a lot more sense, as well as the scientists saying 'We CAN'T lose this one!' The film itself revolves around Mewtwo finally awakening, fleeing the laboratory where it was created, and vowing his vengeance on mankind for what they originally created him for, and so he can find his true purpose.

Of course, the coolest character in the whole film is Mewtwo himself. Voiced by Phillip Bartlett, I actually see him as a Pokémon counterpart to Shadow the Hedgehog. Think about it, he was simply created as a laboratory specimen, he wants to find his true purpose, and he has also been fooled by a human to do his bidding (Mewtwo was tricked by Giovanni – the leader of Team Rocket who originally funded the scientists' research and Shadow was tricked by Dr Eggman), and he is actually pretty tragic when you think about it.... Created simply for laboratory purposes? I think the Rats of NIMH, Rowf and Snitter and Claudandus can all sympathise. And of course, like most of these characters – he is BADASS. After being tricked by Giovanni to obey him and wear some strange armour that makes him look like the genetic splice of Metroid mixed with Freiza from Dragonball Z ,  he says one of the most EPIC lines in any Pokémon film – 'I was not born a Pokémon! I was created. My creators have used and betrayed me. So I stand alone!'
HELL YEAH, THAT WAS AWESOME!

Even if his goal is to – you guessed it – take over the world , which may be a little clichéd, like similar characters who JUST want power like Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Jafar from Aladdin, The Horned King from The Black Cauldron and many other great Disney villains, he is still awesome. Another thing that makes him awesome is that strange castle he resides in on New Island... which actually looks quite a bit like HOLLOW BASTION from Kingdom Hearts.... And the music reminds me a little bit of it as well....... www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6WXY4… Is Mewtwo a Kingdom Hearts fan?! I hope he's not looking for the seven princesses of heart, creating Heartless or is working with Maleficent..... But his actions in the Kingdom Hearts games would enhance the darkness in his heart and SUMMON the Heartless... In fact, doesn't he sound a bit like Xehanort's Heartless?! He also mentally enslaves Nurse Joy from the local Pokémon centre to become his maid, and he actually creates a storm as a test for trainers who wish to challenge 'the strongest Pokémon trainer ever' in a battle, with invitations delivered by the post-Dragonite – which my Dragonite character Mr Mail was based off. He kidnapped Nurse Joy for knowledge of Pokémon physiology for his evil plan, which is to create clones of the Pokémon of the trainers who came to New Island using the redesigned machine that he was created from (Meowth has a clone created of him early on)and using the clone army to ensure his rule over those who oppose him. For some reason, this looks more impressive than the cloning process in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones... But still, without Pokémon to make clones FROM, where did he get their DNA from in the first place? If this was the ruins of the laboratory he was created in... perhaps copies of the DNA from the Pokémon clones in the prologue remained... That would explain it – ANOTHER reason why it's better to watch the prologue.

Speaking of Nurse Joy, when she greets Ash and his friends, she does look pretty creepy. Oh look, a woman with pupil-less eyes greeting us with a blue light - how inviting! Well, it could be worse, Gary Oldman's Dracula could greet you, saying something that Mewtwo would probably say-
Velcome to my home. Enter freely of your own will and leave some of the happiness you bring.
Mewtwo's castle looks a little bit as homely as the Bram Stoker's Dracula castle, and just as gloomy.... And why do I get the feeling that ASH would be the one to do a Keanu Reeves like scream if he saw that?

He also has some INCREDIBLY creepy scenes – when I saw it at the cinema, the parts where he throws the fat Pokémon trainer, Fergus, into a fountain, and when Pikachu tells him that he and many other Pokémon are FRIENDS to their trainers and his pupils go tiny when he picks up Pikachu and throws him with his psychic powers.... DRGH! It IS pretty creepy, even now, even worse than the Uncle Boris no-eyes face from Balto! And he almost does it again when he says to Ash in his cool yet creepy voice 'Do not attempt to defy me...' and throws him into Brock , and when he says 'It is no use...' At least he says that unlike Silver the Hedgehog did – in a way that got Silver mocked.

The technology Mewtwo has made is pretty awesome – the Nausicaa-style castle and the cloning machine are examples, but he also has something even MORE awesome – a strange type of Pokeball that he uses to catch all the trainer's Pokémon, make clones of them for himself, and keep them safe on his island while his storm destroys the rest of the world.... Probably because he only trusts Pokémon created like he was, so he won't be alone.... Anyway, the scene where he coldly looks on, and the Eyeballs (that's what I'm calling them, because they have weird red eyes on them... - but they're actually called CLONE balls. ) chase the Pokémon is another scene I find pretty intense – maybe because I'm a lifelong Pokémon fan, but still..... And of course, when Pikachu runs up the stairs away from the Clone Balls, up the weird Hollow Bastion-esque stairs, I can imagine this music being played - www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYUPnT…
Wow, making a lot of Kingdom Hearts references today, aren't I? I can appreciate how much it hurt him to have been experimented on, but planning GENOCIDE?! Anyway, at the end, after Ash sacrifices himself to make a point how much DEATH can hurt those who witness it, he learns that 'the circumstances of your birth are irrelevant – it's what you do with your life that determines who you are.' But still, I do question WHY then he took all the clones away so they could live in peace.... He says he wants to go 'Where my heart can learn what yours knows so well. What transpired here, I will always remember. But perhaps for you, these events are best forgotten.' Wow, so his HEART needs to be strengthened... Okay, I'm not even going to make ANOTHER reference to what I've done so many times before, the jokes right themselves... But still, I do feel that Mewtwo is one of the great characters from the Pokémon series.

And speaking of clones, we have others.... The first three are the Venusaurtwo, Charizardtwo and Blastoisetwo that Mewtwo awakens when Ash challenges Mewtwo to a fight.... like an idiot.
'SEND IN THE CLONES!'
You have to admit, the cloning technology is pretty awesome, even if the clones look as though they went a little overboard with the tribal war paint the boars wore in Princess Mononoke.... Pokémon trained by a Pokémon – wow. Sounds like Torrent the Feraligatr, my character who is the head of the Pokémon Liberators, waging war against trainers and their Pokémon. But it turns out that the cloned Pokémon are MUCH stronger.... has Mewtwo been abusing Rare Candys and vitamins?

Ash, voiced by Veronica Taylor, is the main hero of the series, and as such, he is the main hero of the film. Now, one thing that may sound a bit weird is that I always found Ash to be a little bit of a dork... I mean, sure, he's a.... good trainer, I'll admit (so good that Pikachu can knock out a GROUND TYPE with an Electric move in the opening battle scene, apparently, even though Ground types in the games are immune to electric moves in the games... )- but sometimes the way he laughs and CONSTANTLY yells PIKACHU in the same tone grates on my ears a bit. He's also a bit dim when he just CHARGES towards Mewtwo with his fist, and obviously, he gets thrown backwards..... Luckily, he's saved by Mew... Something also tells me he needs to train his Charizard a bit better.... At this point in the series, he STILL doesn't obey him properly – shown in the scene where Ash's Charizard comes out of his Pokeball, and he immediately BLASTS Mewtwo with Flamethrower, and Ash shouts one of the funnier lines in the film – 'Charizard, I didn't say START!' Mewtwo said it best – 'Your Charizard is poorly trained.' But still, at least Ash does care a lot about his Pokémon, and tries to keep them safe at all costs – and like he is in the rest of the series, the so-called CHOSEN ONE who somehow has the knowledge to save all.... But I will admit, when he runs up the stairs after Pikachu when the Clone Balls are released, I did laugh a bit when he fell down the stairs. Okay, is he the main character or the comic relief?! And when he falls in the water, I also laughed a bit. Good thing a clone of HIM wasn't made when he tries to save Pikachu – also... wasn't he looking a bit funny when he BIT the claws of the cloning machine? At least Ash is able to release all the original Pokémon, so he is pretty heroic in this sense, and I do find it cool when he walks out of the dust cloud with the Pokémon behind him. All of his Pokémon are pretty cute, Pikachu, Squirtle, Charizard and Bulbasaur are my faves.
Speaking of comic relief, for some reason, I laugh when he drops down and lands painfully on the stairs... It's like the height Sly Cooper can fall from and still survive without using his paraglider.... And he falls off ANOTHER ledge and collapses – come on, PI from The Reef got thrown around less than Ash does.
But I will give Ash credit – he DOES take a stand and say it's wrong to fight to the extent Mewtwo wants the Pokémon to fight – and he actually THROWS himself into Mewtwo and Mew's attacks. As stupid as Ash may be at times..... this results in a scene that SCARRED all of us since childhood..... the scene where Ash DIES. Okay, I will admit, it is funny seeing Ash acting stupidly, but the AFTERMATH is what scarred everybody for life....
Pikachu runs up to Ash's stony corpse – has he been staring at Medusa? He tries electrocuting Ash – I'm imagining in Pokémon language, he's shouting 'CLEAR!' - but when it fails to bring him back..... What follows is one scene that is actually really hard to watch..... Pikachu starts crying, with a really depressing tone in his voice, and the other Pokémon also start crying. When I watched this again, I STILL found it hard to watch.... A lot of people think this scene is some contrived way to work in the 'magic healing tear' cliché, but still, even if I think it would be more powerful if Mewtwo had watched the Pokémon mourn Ash and then HE brought Ash back to life... But like with Tangled, it has been stated that Pokémon tears contain life earlier on in the film by someone who prophesized Mewtwo's storm and said that people who drowned in a similar flood were brought back to life by their Pokémon's tears, and THESE are what brought Ash back to life. So, even though I think some people who are tired of this cliché have a REASON to think it should have been improved... The scene is STILL pretty sad because of the tone in Pikachu's voice.... When I was younger, this made the floor flood.... I think this event in this film is actually quite useful for the plot – because all this time Mewtwo wanted his clones to fight to the death, but now he probably realises just how much DEATH can hurt to witness and of course.... Of course, it HAD to be Ash who died, because he's the 'chosen one' after all – but still, I do feel that this is quite a touching scene – how the death of one person can affect so many.... And I also really love the music in this scene – it is pretty beautiful...

Pikachu is as cute as ever, and like Ash, he acts as a voice of reason, and is one of the few characters who refuses to fight to the death – shown where he refuses to fight HIS clone.

Misty is the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Pokémon gym, who accompanied Ash on his journey, and Brock is the Gym leader of the Pewter City Pokémon Gym, who also joined Ash after he beat him in a Pokémon match. Misty is also a bit annoying, but like Ash, overall, she is still likeable – trust me, she's much better than another female team member we have LATER in the series... a certain IRIS.. I do still like how much of a playboy Brock is, and of course – girls like a guy who can cook. But, Brock is as lucky as Pyro and Mung Daal when it comes to ladies.

And probably the cutest Pokémon character next to Pikachu... is Mew. Since the first part where we see her sleeping in a bubble, and flying off, I just find Mew really adorable – even if she looks like an unborn cat foetus that was killed in Felidae... Okay, bit of a creepy comparison there, but that's what her design reminds me of! But still, Mew is probably one of the CUTEST of the Legendary Pokémon, next to Jirachi. And in this film, unlike Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, she ACTUALLY has a plausible role!
*gets booed by the majority of the Pokémon fanbase for mocking Lucario and the Mystery of Mew *I'll explain more about what I mean by that when I review Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.... But please don't throw hate messages my way because of that little comment....
But seriously, Mew is ADORABLE. Her voice is very sweet, and the one part where she playfully rides on the propellers of Mewtwo's castle is so cute... Her voice sounds a bit like the squeaky cat toy from Balto..... Only less creepy and far cuter... And it is cute when she saves Ash from Mewtwo with a bubble, and then bounces on another bubble...
F***ING BUBBLES!
But Mewtwo acts like a TROLL and throws a Shadow Ball through the bubble... But Mew acts like a double troll and chases his tail while Mewtwo talks about 'I am superior than the original.' But despite her playful nature, when Mew HAS to fight, she does have some definite power, and throws an attack towards Mewtwo. And then, Mew acts like a TRIPLE troll, and dodges Mewtwo's Shadow Ball – which hits Ash.
Even though I felt Mew could have had a bit of a larger role in the film – she is still very cute, and of course, she did try to teach Mewtwo that it doesn't matter what your origins are. And I do like the reference to the first episode of the Pokémon series, where Ash sees Mew.

Team Rocket also make cameos in this film – Jesse, James and Meowth. Jesse is voiced by Rachel Lillis, James is voiced by Eric Stuart and Meowth is voiced by Addie Blaustein. They're the Three Stooges of the Pokémon series -  and even though they tell goofy puns that even SLY COOPER would think are a bit too stupid (Sly says a lot of cheesy puns too ), like Meowth's 'I almost made a CLAWFUL mistake'..... HA ..... I still think they're enjoyably silly. The bit when they dress like Vikings to try and get Ash and his friends across to New Island may be a bit culturally insensitive, but like Si and Am, I let it pass because of how HILARIOUS it is – 'We can get you to New Island faster than you can say Abeg Nugen' is my favourite line, and their Norse accents sound pretty funny – they're somehow MUCH more plausible than the Vikings from that horrible SpongeBob episode 'Dear Vikings'. And where Ash says the Vikings come from Minnesota is referring to an American Football team called the Minnesota Vikings – one of the LESS impressive dubbing pieces from 4Kids. At least Team Rocket ENCOUNTER Ash and friends in this film – in most of them, they never cross paths. And it is funny when at the end, they're left on the castle-less New Island, and they decide to take a holiday.

The three human trainers who also made it to New Island are Fergus, Corey and Neesha. Fergus, voiced by Jimmy Zoppi, has quite a cool team, including a GYARADOS , Corey, voiced by Ed Paul, has a Venusaur named... Bruteroot and Neesha, voiced by Lisa Ortiz, has a Blastoise named Shellshocker.... Okay, my Pokémon character names aren't much better, but those names still get me snickering a bit... Now, I don't like it when these three trainers mock Mewtwo for being a clone, but still, they don't have too much to say about – other than Fergus sounds a bit like Gary Oak for some reason.

Of course.... the animation is brilliant, in my opinion. Even if the lip synching isn't that great at times – that is to be expected, as the same thing happened in the series. I still enjoy the fighting animation, the designs of the Pokémon and the characters, the effects of the attacks, and the expressions of the characters. The voicework is also something that I enjoy – even though some of the 4Kids dubbing is a little bit shoddy at times, I can still feel that the voice actors in the dub at least put a definite effort into the voicework - P

The action is awesome, in my opinion. Action fights are abound in Pokémon films, and the first one is no exception. The fights between the Pokémon and their clones, especially the one between Charizard and Charizardtwo. When Mewtwo says 'Finish it', I keep thinking the next thing he'll say is – 'Charizardtwo wins.... FATALITY.' And of course, the fight scene near the end with My Brother playing is also awesome.... but I just wish it showed BLOOD when Gyarados and Charizard get bitten.... If Hayao Miyazaki ever directs a Pokémon film, I wish there would be blood – making it all the more awesome. But still, I really do enjoy the action scenes and fights – even with Mew and Mewtwo playing psychic Marble Madness and hitting each other with Psychic shields.... And it is pretty cool when Meowth and Meowthtwo raise their claws at each other.

The music in this film is also awesome. The extended version of the Pokémon theme, My Brother and the songs played in the credits are good, but the best music is the actual musical score itself. John Loeffler and Ralph Schuckett composed the original music, and they've also done musical work on other Pokémon films, the Kirby TV series and..... Sonic X . Still, the music is very cool, especially Mewtwo's theme, the music when Ash gets killed, the music where Ash is mourned, the battle music and the music where Dragonite delivers the message. Pokémon has always had cool music, and this film is no exception. The music in the end credits actually reminds me a little bit of the music from the opening of Help! I'm A Fish. But still... playing THREE in the end credits... even ONE when the end logos start, is a bit much. Speaking of music, doesn't the music in the Birth of Mewtwo prologue, in the start of it in the jungle, sound a bit like the music track from Blood Omen – Legacy of Kain, The Road to Vengeance? www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1k2Ef…
Luckily, Mew sneaking around DOESN'T charge at those scientists in the opening and shout 'Vae Victus!'

Now, one thing I find a bit weird at times is the editing... In the opening fight scene, for example, the scene where Machamp is let out of his Pokeball by the trainer who looks like a ONE PIECE character is shown TWICE. Also, when Mewtwo is creating the storm with his psychic powers, it's cool, but... do they REALLY have to pad out the film by showing it so many times... Another thing that annoys me a bit is the faults in the naming of the Pokémon – one trainer names his Pidgeot PIDGEOTTO, Team Rocket names Scyther ALAKAZAM and Sandslash is named SANDSHREW. Okay, this was back when only 151 or so Pokémon were KNOWN, at least NOW, you have an excuse to get their names mixed up, but back then, making those mistakes is a pretty dumb move...

A lot of people say the big moral in this film is a bit hypocritical – but here, I think the moral MAY be forced down our throats a bit, especially with MISTY saying 'fighting is wrong' and Meowth's big speech to his clone... but I think it's like this – even though Pokémon IS about battles, it's wrong to fight to the EXTENT that the Pokémon and their clones are fighting each other to. In Pokémon battles, Pokémon just fight until they're knocked out – here, Mewtwo wants them to fight TO THE DEATH. Nurse Joy and Brock say Pokémon aren't meant to fight THIS BADLY. True, it may be a bit of a strange moral, especially in Pokémon – a series which REVOLVES AROUND CREATURES FIGHTING EACH OTHER – but again, it's to the EXTENT that these Pokémon are fighting which is wrong. It's like with duelling with swords –duels have victors, sure, but a legitimate dueller wouldn't KILL his enemy in a friendly competition. At least Pokémon isn't like TRON, where if you lose a game, you DIE. But still, Meowth's speech DOES have a point, I think – he adds that the clones and the Pokémon should embrace their similarities, rather than shun each other due to their differences. And of course – seen as most of the clones were CREATED to fight against the other Pokémon to prove their worth... it makes sense that it's sad that that's all they know how to do.... When Pikachutwo starts crying....

And also, Mewtwo wiping the memories of the main characters was also shunned upon by people who aren't familiar with the Pokémon franchise – but.... yeah, I think that's a little bit weird too. Maybe it's because Mewtwo is still unsure about himself and the clones he's made and their purpose in the world, and he wants to remain protected from those who would harm him until he knows his place in the world, and doesn't want anyone to remember so he can truly be safe... I think that's what he means by saying the events are best forgotten for Ash and his friends, but yeah, I can see why so many are angered by this plot-point. At least it's not as infamously hated as Penelope being a villain in Sly 4: Thieves In Time.  As well as the ending, the magic tears and removing the Birth of Mewtwo from the original release , another thing that bothers me a bit is how Misty and Brock don't really DO anything in this film. Of course, this is a common problem with some Pokémon films, but it is something that bothers me a little bit, so I think I should comment on it.

So, this may not be the strongest, but it had some good action, and I love the animation and voicework... even if the moral is a bit hypocritical (why did Mewtwo wipe their memories? I don't know, maybe it would be stronger if he realised how much Ash meant to Pikachu and HE brought him back to life) and even if the whole Pokémon tears thing is a bit weird... It still made me cry when I saw it when I was younger - at the age of 5. And of course, like Balto, even if it has flaws, the flaws don't ruin the film for me.

I find that movie genuinely entertaining. You've gotta feel sorry for Mewtwo, and I don't blame him for blowing up that lab... :0 Though blaming the entirety of mankind and planning genocide might be going a little too far...
But hey, at least everybody got a happy ending.
IT WAS LOVELY AND THE ONLY THING I HATE ABOUT IT IS I KEPT LOSING MY COPY
There is nothing wrong with it, nothing at all.

great film made me sad in parts loved the unique look of the clones heck some of my team members have similar looks
I used to watch Pokémon when I was in the 9th grade, after school. First time in seeing Mewtwo was in one of the episodes where Ash had not yet gotten his last and final badge. Gotta say that I couldn't help feeling bad for Mewtwo at the beginning of the movie, and I thought it was touching in the middle where all the Pokémon shed tears for a life nearly lost.
I first saw it with school, sadly Mother came with me (It was in 2nd or 3rd Grade) and when she saw it, she found it too scary for me, then Pokémon was forever forbidden after the movie... I personally liked it a bit.

Mewtwo is quite an awesome character, and he has quite an awesome film to go along with him. I feel extremely sad that mostly negative reviews were received from critics, saying 'only children will enjoy them.' Many horrible things they said about the film are – and I am quoting here - "the anti-violent message that is pretty much crammed down our throats works directly against the entire point of the franchise", "incoherent, pointless and fluffy", "can only be described as a mind-numbingly tedious piece, with no discernible storyline and lots of trippy images and silly voices", "just another cog in the mighty Nintendo machine", and "mildly intriguing premise, but like a martial arts movie without the thrills".  
HATE.
Pff, what do they mean by that?! But rude of them to not take the fans into account.... Pokémon is TIMELESS – like the old episodes of SpongeBob Squarepants, I loved the series then, and I still love it now! Now, to be fair, people who aren't familiar with the franchise may have the right to think it's stupid, but if you've grown up with it like I have, it's great. And no horrible critics on places like Rotten Tomatoes will stop me from loving this film, and the short Pikachu's Summer Vacation. Like Fern Gully, I may be shunned by the majority for loving this film, those who DON'T like Pokémon... but to be honest, I don't care. I still love them no matter what everyone else thinks – showing how much I love it. I'm not the only one who thinks this either - Pokémon: The First Movie was an instant commercial success, debuting at number one on the U.S. box office charts and making $10,096,848 on its Wednesday opening day.


During its first weekend, it grossed $31,036,678 and went on to generate a total of $50,754,104 since its Wednesday launch in 3,043 theaters, averaging to about $10,199 per venue over the three-day span. It also held the record for being the animated feature with the highest-grossing weekend, which would be broken two weeks later by Toy Story 2. Despite a 59.72% drop in its second weekend to $12,502,869, the film made $67,372,092 within 12 days. It closed on February 27, 2000 earning $85,744,662 in North America, and $77,900,000 in other territories. Worldwide, the film made $163,644,662, making it the highest-grossing anime film in the United States and the third highest-grossing animated film based on a television show worldwide. It was also the highest-grossing film based on a video game at the time, until 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
And, I guess Mewtwo was so awesome that a SEQUEL to this film was made. [Wow!] True, it may have not been released in cinemas, but still, a sequel was made – Mewtwo Returns. [OMG! I can't contain my excitement!] I don't blame them – for a Pokémon fan like me, Mewtwo's story arc SHOULD be continued. Even if it wasn't a film released in cinemas, it's still a film I watched when I was younger, so I'll review it in the future. [OMG! I can't contain my excitement!] Even if the film is SOLELY for people who grew up with the franchise, I still feel that it DOES have a lot of things to please those people. [Aww] And that's good enough for me. [Clap] So, this may not be the best film in the series, but for the Pokémon films, it's a solid beginning, and a great stepping stone to start off the films.

So, join me next time for the NEXT Pokemon film –
POKEMON 2000 – THE POWER OF ONE! [OMG! I can't contain my excitement!]

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 ([hmm])
A Cat In Paris
Basil The Great Mouse Detective
Pokémon Films – ALL OF THEM! [w00t!]
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 ([Yawn] )

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