BY JOHN CARTER JR
With Pokemon Detective Pikachu’s recent release, the Pokemon Company starts the summer season off with a big bang. With the sale of merchandise and a sequel to the 3DS Detective Pikachu game coming to the Nintendo switch just recently, we can’t help but be excited for what will come next in the world of Pokemon. Concerning Detective Pikachu, upon its release, I was uncertain of its potential to be a great adaptation of its original work, but it proves time and time again throughout the film that it acts as an exact proof of the possibilities that video games and their characters can have in the cinema. Trust me this was no Super Mario Bros movie or Resident Evil or Silent Hill — it was actually good.
Starting off with the character design, Detective Pikachu nails the aesthetic that it is going for, which is that of bringing Pokemon from the video games into the real world. Characters like Psyduck have real feather and beak textures that allow the character to become immersed in the real world while still maintaining their Pokemon charm. Psyduck’s glassy eyes and its sounds add to a cartoon teenager and realistic aesthetic on the same head.
This type of style maintained with every Pokemon throughout this film from Gyarados to Mr. Mime or Aipom, even Gengar who appears for a quick few seconds looks very aesthetically pleasing and stays true to the source material.
This film is similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit and it’s detective-noir in its storytelling, but it also has a comedic aspect that appeals to both youth and adult populations, Pokemon fan or otherwise, to enjoy the film for those comedic moments. The scene including Mr. Mime that was showcased in the trailers added a nice surprise to the film as it was expanded upon and was not just some simple gag moment but held a purpose and perpetuating and moving for the plot for the protagonist. It made the Mr. Mime scene feel more necessary than initially anticipated and made Mr. Mime, a character ripped on by fans, a more likable character.
You also can’t have a Pokemon movie without a few Pokemon battles, and this film surely doesn’t disappoint with the few Pokemon battles it has. The first battle that we see is short but features the aforementioned Gengar and Blastoise hashing it out in an underground illegal Pokemon Battle Ring. This introduces the concept and the realness of the illegality of Pokemon battling in Ryme City. Eventually, we’ll see a battle with Pikachu and Charizard which in the video games would be unfair but we’re going to ignore that fact for the purpose of analyzing this film.
The models of the Pokemon when using their signature moves and attacks are particularly interesting and well executed. We see a great example of the use of moves being executed when Saitek uses a psychic attack, presumably confusion or psychic, later in the film.
Other great Pokemon that we see include Pokemon that evolve into stronger Pokemon. In the underground cage match, we see Magikarp flopping around that will eventually become the monstrous Gyarados, scaring both Pikachu and Charizard.
The movie also showcases the evolution animation of Eevee turning into a Flareon which is elegantly done. These are not the only Pokemon Transformations that are seen in the film, the different types of transformation show this film’s dedication to the source material and its ability to put the Pokemon aesthetic at a high standard in film, we even get to see a Ditto transform in this film on various occasions.
The one major area of weakness for Pokemon Detective Pikachu happens to be in its story. This is mostly due to its contrived plot device usage and similarly contrived antagonist who had goals less intense and convincing than even the most basic Pokemon main antagonist. I would have even taken Jessie and James from Team Rocket as the villains rather than the antagonist from this film. Characters from other regions in the Pokemon Universe would have been an interesting addition to the film but that’s just an idea for future films.
However, the way in which the film does do something right for the story is describing Mewtwo’s background and creating Mewtwo in this Pokemon Universe. The film does right by making callbacks to other Pokemon assets and properties, even referencing previous entries in the video game franchise, Pokemon from said games, and even the regions in which they took place. They go as far as giving us the details concerning Mewtwo’s Creation in the Kanto region which is definitely something that fans eat up. Mewtwo is modeled in such a way that makes him look so real and still fits the Pokemon bill. He makes for a perfect false antagonist and lives up to his description is the world’s strongest Pokemon through his depiction in this film.
In conclusion, Pokemon Detective Pikachu is a great film to bring both children and parents to. It is funny and exciting and it lives up to the name of the character and franchise it is based on. The models are definitely something to get used to, but are amazing amalgamations of both the real and Pokemon world. The film will be remembered as the new standard for video game movies for years to come. And while not perfect, Pikachu pushes the limits that have not been seen before in many video game adaptations. The story definitely needs more improvement, especially if there will be a sequel. The characters, the color, the fun, these are the things that make this movie very exciting and worth the watch.
I give Pokemon Detective Pikachu a 7 out of 10 Pokeballs for its great design and first shot and a great video game adaptation, but it needs work in the story department.