After “Pokémon: The First Movie “came out in Japan in 1998 and North America in 1999, Nintendo and Warner Bros. commenced development on a second installment of the “Pokémon” movie series titled, “Pokémon: The Movie 2000.” Set during the second season of the anime series of the same name, Ash and his friends encounter Lawrence III. His goal is to capture four legendary (top-tier) bird species. To prevent Lawrence’s plans from coming true, Ash goes on a scavenger hunt to retrieve three artifacts. Released in 1999 in Japan and North America in 2000, (same year Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon came out) the second movie earned negative reviews from critics. Even though it made enough money, it grossed less than its predecessor.
In response to Ash’s journey coming to an end after twenty-five years of his quest to become a Pokémon master, I wanna share my thoughts on Pokemon: The Movie 2000 if it holds up.
This review contains SPOILERS. If you’re not caught up, read at your own risk.
Victory & Defeat Aspects
Victory: Voice Actors from the show reprise their roles and they all did a solid job for their respective voiceover performances.
Animation retains the show’s two-dimensional format.
Humor has some legit moments that made me laugh. Particularly Misty claiming she’s not Ash’s girlfriend.
Team Rocket factors in helping Ash to retrieve the stones. Talk about a breath of fresh air.
A scene or two shows our heroes evade a hazardous storm via boat. George Clooney also endured one in “The Perfect Storm.” Which also came out in 2000.
Pacing didn’t feel slow or fast for a short movie.
The second movie introduces four top-tier Pokémon named, Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno & Lugia.
If you have a keen eye, Brock makes a cameo appearance.
Defeat: Lawrence’s hovercraft is depicted as C.G.I. that resembles a Nintendo 64 game. Doesn’t visually translate well.
Lawrence isn’t interesting as Mewtwo. What he lacks is an interesting backstory. Lawrence is not on the same level of great villains of 2000 like Mr. Glass, (Unbreakable) Magneto, Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove) & Commodus. (Gladiator)
Towards the end, Lawrence never gets arrested or meets his end. Can you imagine if Rourke from “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” never got what he deserved?
I can’t take Zapdos’ screaming in pain seriously. He reminds me of the screaming goat on YouTube.
The Final Verdict: C, FOR CLOGGED ARTERY!
Although slightly better than the first movie, Pokémon: The Movie 2000 is disappointment a kid, I used to like it. Now that I’m older, it didn’t age well. If you wanna relive your childhood, watch some episodes of the show or other early films from the past.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 