The vast world of anime has a vast, eternally-growing roster of films for any fan to choose from, no matter what genre they may prefer. For fans of action and dark fantasy, Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke is sure to be a favorite thanks to its poignant narrative and unforgettable characters. Meanwhile, an audience looking for a film that is not action-packed but still has a unique fantasy twist might enjoy Mamoru Hosada's Wolf Children, a charming and emotional journey following a young woman and her two children, who have inherited their late father's werewolf genes.
In the anime industry, the Pokémon franchise is one of the most famous examples, with the original series being a beloved classic even today. Ash Ketchum and his best friend, the mascot Pokémon Pikachu, aim to be the very best at battles, taking them to new places and meeting a plethora of new people and Pokémon. During one such adventure in Kanto, they are given an invitation to meet one who claims to be the ultimate Pokémon Master.
However, this is revealed to be a trick; Mewtwo, a Pokémon built in a laboratory owned by Team Rocket, wishes to dispose of humanity and any Pokémon who align themselves with their Trainers in order to create a new world. Though the premise is simple, Pokémon: The First Movie deals with themes that are surprising for a franchise built on training powerful monsters to compete in battles. The climax of the film is especially poignant when combined with the elements of before, creating a new perspective for fans new and old to reflect on after the narrative has ended.
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Mythical Mew and the Genetic Pokémon
Playful Mew Encounters the Bitter Mewtwo
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Team Rocket is the most infamous evil organization in the entire Pokémon franchise, thanks to their history and the comedic relief of the clumsy quartet consisting of Jessie, James, Meowth and later Wobbuffet. While the quartet are usually hilarious and good-natured deep down, the rest of Team Rocket are not so kind. One of the most unforgettable narratives of the games lies in Generation I, where Team Rocket grunts mercilessly kill a wild Marowak attempting to protect her child; the orphaned Cubone can be met after the horrifying incident. Their leader, Giovanni, is perhaps the most wicked of all, willing to fight any being who dares to stand in his path.
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The ancient Mythical Pokémon, Mew, remains a mystery to both the characters of the franchise and the fans of the Pokémon media. When the DNA of the New Species Pokémon is found by Team Rocket, the scientists are quick to try and use this find to not only create a clone of Mew, but a superior version of it. The process takes a long time, with cruel gene-splicing experiments utilized and the deaths of several clones before one manages to survive and finally awaken. However, Mewtwo, the surviving experiment, has memories of a better world than the one it sees now. Before waking up, Mewtwo's soul flies in the sky in a dream world, alongside clones of the three Kantonian starter Pokémon and one of Amber, Dr. Fuji's deceased daughter. When Mewtwo was not fully mature, it watched as the rest of the clones' spirits would disappear before its eyes, never to awaken in the real world.
Troubled by how those who watched it wake up in the real world only seemed to view it as a mere experiment, as something to use, Mewtwo destroys the lab and leaves it in a state of flame and debris. Giovanni, who was alerted of Mewtwo's actions, arrives in a helicopter and takes the Genetic Pokémon away. There, Mewtwo is bound by machines and told that they will help it learn to control its psychic power; however, Giovanni only uses Mewtwo to battle other Trainers and Pokémon, otherwise keeping Mewtwo bound to wires and technology when not fighting. Upon realizing that the leader of Team Rocket has tricked it, Mewtwo breaks free and escapes, vowing to rid the world of humanity.
While Mewtwo builds a palace from the ashes of the old laboratory, Mew explores the world, a gentle melody playing as it travels closer to the Genetic Pokémon's castle. Mew has retained its childlike wonder of the universe since its birth, yet it also has a surprisingly wise side that is revealed at the end of the film. The New Species Pokémon appears at the castle later on as Ash and his friends arrive in the castle and realize that Mewtwo is the self-proclaimed Pokémon Master, and wishes to create a new world without humanity due to the cruelty it had suffered at the hands of Team Rocket.
A Grim Perspective on the Cycle of Violence
The Film's Atmosphere Shifts Completely in Its Climax
Pokémon battles are a way of life in every region, and remain important in the lives of even those who do not partake in these matches themselves. Pokémon Centers are always open to make sure the special creatures are kept in good health, and civilians who aren't Trainers themselves are rarely seen without a Pokémon companion in their midst. However, the mainline Pokémon games will require the player character to become a Trainer and raise their team to become powerful enough to take on the Elite Four and even the Pokémon Champion.
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However, as Pokémon: The First Movie explicitly shows, there is a stark difference between Pokémon battles and fighting among Pokémon. After everyone's Pokémon friends are captured, Mewtwo's machine creates clones of each creature, clones who know no purpose but to fight. Thus, the original Pokémon are forced to fight their clones, a sight that Ash sees from a high place after being rescued by Mew. There, the atmosphere changes completely as "Brother My Brother" by Blessid Union of Souls plays in the background. The castle setting was originally dark, but still retained an action-packed aura; now, everything feels much more somber, as creatures not meant to wage war against one another fight in ways too grim for a normal battle.
The Pokémon's human companions can only watch with horror at the display before their eyes. Even the character rendering begins to change; usually, the Pokémon animation has minimal, subtle shading, yet now darker shadows illuminate the designs as the humans' expressions grow grim. They remark on how this is not how Pokémon are meant to be, how they should not fight like this. The display before them is not a battle; it is mere conflict, a spiral of strife.
As the film shows, the only way to end the cycle of violence is to become aware of it, and attempt to stop it in its tracks. Meowth meets his clone and almost begins to fight it, yet realizes that the mere action is pointless; after all, they share the same moon, the same sky, the same world. Ash's Pikachu notices this as well, while being attacked by the clone made in his image. This Pikachu has never known a time when it was not gathering its strength to fight; after all, it was created now just for the act. Pikachu refuses to fight, leaving the clone frustrated while it slaps its opponent, tears welling in its eyes due to its confusion. What is its purpose, after all, if not to fight?
The Circumstances of One's Life
Mewtwo's Perspective Is Forever Changed
Although Mewtwo is indeed a Pokémon, it appears to have intelligence akin to that of a human. Pokémon with human-like intelligence are not uncommon, yet Mewtwo is the first example the franchise has of how this can be a negative thing. When Mewtwo was created, the Pokédex states that the scientists who brought it to life forgot to give it a compassionate heart, leaving it with a cruel demeanor. However, it is very likely, as the movie hints at, that Mewtwo is not completely heartless. Perhaps the Genetic Pokémon does have the capacity to love; after all, it grieved as its friend Ambertwo's spirit faded from the world before it woke up to the real world.
Being raised by people who did not care for it in the slightest, only to use it for their personal gain, left Mewtwo unable to see the world and the beings inhabiting it as a source of goodness. Though the Pokédex states that the Genetic Pokémon has a "savage heart", the most evil among all Pokémon, this has been proven by Pokémon: The First Movie to be false. Mewtwo, at its core, is not a wicked being. It is merely a creature who has never been shown kindness by another living being, at least not in the real world. In the dream world that Mewtwo once knew, where it was only with clones, did it experience the beginnings of real joy. This may act as a reason why Mewtwo believes the clone Pokémon to be superior to the creatures they are based off of, as the only interactions with other Pokémon, creatures not created artificially, were in violent battles initiated by Giovanni.
Like humanity, Pokémon, especially those with human-like intelligence like Mewtwo, can gain a bitter perspective on the world and its people due to mistreatment. Mewtwo's perspective only shifts once it sees a display of a human not using a Pokémon for their own gain, or even using a Pokémon at all. Ash, in an attempt to cease the fighting in front of him, leaps in between Mewtwo and Mew just as the two Psychic-type Pokémon have unleashed intense psychic energy blasts at the other. In the midst of the collision, Ash is turned into stone, and Mewtwo can only look at the sight in surprise.
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The Genetic Pokémon watches as Ash's Pikachu shocks his friend in an attempt to wake him up, but to no avail. In the Mouse Pokémon's grief, he begins to cry; the other Pokémon weep as well, no matter if they are the original creatures or the clones created by Mewtwo. All are moved by the display, and all mourn for the brave child who simply wished to stop the Pokémon from partaking in a senseless conflict. No longer captured in violent fighting, strife that could have very well been fatal if not stopped, the tears of the Pokémon float towards the stone body left on the battlefield. This power allows Ash to be brought back to life, delighting the people and the Pokémon of the castle alike.
Here, Mewtwo is able to reflect on what it has witnessed. For so long, the Genetic Pokémon searched for meaning in its life, a means to understand the world around it and what it was meant to do while it lived. Its beginnings, kept locked up by Team Rocket, left it with the false belief that its purpose was to rid the world of humanity and those who stood beside them. However, seeing how one human would sacrifice himself to lay this plan to rest, that was thus proven to not be so. Conversing with Mew, Mewtwo then understands that the circumstances surrounding one's birth, surrounding its own origins, do not determine what they are meant to do with their life. Only that being can decide what they wish to do with the gift of life bestowed upon them, and only they will decide what their purpose in the world is.
Mewtwo thus leaves the castle with Mew, taking the Pokémon clones with them. Having been shown hope in the world, hope that there are beings with goodness in their hearts and volition to maintain a world of peace, the Genetic Pokémon wishes to understand these feelings better. It was never given a proper chance to live life upon being born into the world; now, with its friends and the New Species Pokémon themselves by its side, does Mewtwo truly get a chance to begin its life. Such a lesson is monumental in itself, yet it is especially profound being based in the world of Pokémon; thus, Pokémon: The First Movie remains a classic treasure in the world of anime.
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Pokemon: The First Movie
G
Animation
Action
Adventure
Family
Sci-Fi
Director Kunihiko Yuyama
Release Date July 18, 1998
Franchise(s) Pokemon
Cast Rica Matsumoto , Ikue Otani , Mayumi Izuka , Satomi Korogi , Yuji Ueda , Megumi Hayashibara , Shin-ichiro Miki , Inuko Inuyama , Ayako Shiraishi , Chinami Nishimura , Hirotaka Suzuoki , Unsho Ishizuka , Masachika Ichimura , Koichi Yamadera , Toru Furuya , Aiko Sato , Wataru Takagi , Raymond Johnson , Sachiko Kobayashi , Yosuke Akimoto , Shinobu Adachi
Writers Takeshi Shudo
Character(s) Satoshi , Pikachu , Kasumi , Togepy , Takeshi , Musashi , Kojiro , Nyarth , Joy , Junsar , Sakaki , Narrator , Mewtwo , Mew , Sorao , Sweet , Umio , Raymond , Voyager , Dr. Fuji , Dr. Fuji's Wife
Runtime 75 minutes
Producers Choji Yoshikawa
Main Genre Animation
YouTube Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX-NHafvY5I
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