Up until now that means that I shall be looking at Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow for the Gameboy, and Pokémon Stadium for the N64. I shall also be looking at the various Pokémon ROMs for the PC to see how they measure up to the real thing.
Pokémon Yellow
That's all for now on the games. Expect updates soon...
All five are big fans of Japanese animation so they weren't fazed by the apparently "unoriginal" style. What exactly is that supposed to mean anyway? This is the first time in ages a Japanimation film has been released in British cinemas! Another reviewer rated the animation as "wierd"! I must laugh at him!! This man is obviously a fan of Disney or the more traditional Western styles of animation. Pity him fellow Pokémon lovers.
On to the soundtrack. This same guy describes it as "scary"! This is a grown up individual of at least forty years of age!!! Scary? Not once did we see one young child in the cinema audience cringe in fright!! They obviously have more sense!! But hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I can't say what adults find scary (though I can call them big wusses behind their backs!! No offence intended... Well, not much anyway!) I now have access to the movie soundtrack, and I have to admit its got some reasonable songs on it. Top marks to Mandah for having a Jigglypuff sample in her song lullaby. Britney's song is quite dire actually, but Christina Aguilera's song is pretty good. Billy Crawford's rendition of the Pokémon Theme is suitably dramatic, and has a reasonable beat to it (it also has a massive guitar solo in the middle which at least one of my friends likes - You know who you are!!) There is a big downer on the CD in that Aaron Carter is present. His song is as typically whiny as we're used to, and you can just skip it if you want to. "Brother My Brother" is also quite good, though you may remember it wasn't ideally placed in the movie - It's just not dramatic enough for the final fight. Now here's a track listing, with marks out of ten from me.
1. Billy Crawford - Pokémon Theme (8)
2. M2M - Don't Say You Love Me (8)
3. Ashley Ballard with So Plush - It Was You (6)
4. Christina Aguilera - We're A Miracle (8)
5. Britney Spears - Soda Pop (4)
6. *NSYNC - Somewhere Someday (7)
7. B*Witched - Get Happy (5)
8. Emma Bunton p/k/a Baby Spice - (Hey You) Free Up Your Mind (5)
9. 98 Degrees - Fly With Me (6)
10. Mandah - Lullaby (8) (6 without Jigglypuff)
11. Vitamin C - Vacation (8 - it's catchy)
12. Billie - Makin' My Way (Any Way That I Can) (8 - Not bad Miss Piper!)
13. Angela Via - Catch Me If you Can (7)
14. Aaron Carter - (Have Some) Fun With The Funk (3 - "Boppin'!"?)
15. Midnight Sons - If Only Tears Could Bring You Back (9)
16. Blessid Union of Souls - Brother My Brother (9)
A word of warning though, if you bought the CD to see the "exclusive movie footage" advertised, note that you need an Internet connection to watch it (which isn't really gonna bother you if you can read this, but the warning is there none the less. Oh, and you get a free Jigglypuff promo card - BONUS!!!
And finally to the plot. Well, although it isn't quite as humerous as the atypical cartoon episode, it holds its own. I won't spoil it for you but it envolves the 151st Pokémon, Mew, and Mewtwo's inferiority complex at being a clone - nothing more than "Mew's shadow". What results is a slightly less comicical, and a little darker and more philosophical version of the TV show, packed with enough moral talk to leave even Brock lost for words by the end (almost).
So, is this really a "cynical attempt to continue plundering the pockets of children and parents alike"? I think some reviewers have forgotten that people don't HAVE to spend their money if they don't want to. Only the people who want to go and see the film will go and see it. If you're not a Pokémon fan then what's the point of going to see the movie. Duh!! And if you were a little disappointed, just wait for the next film, out pretty soon in America I believe, or stick to the TV series, just starting Season 2 on Sky1.