Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)
In offering franchise-familiar fun and adventure, Pokémon: The First Movie prioritizes efficiency and the economy of time above all else. The film is built around minimizing exposition, decentralizing dense story premises, and delivering simple but effective imagery.
We pick up with the main trio of the franchise at an opportune moment; it is left vague enough that all viewers will feel comfortable regardless of where they are in their Pokémon journey.
No time is wasted in making a few things clear. A Pokémon battle plays out, perfectly accompanied by the classic theme of the series, setting the format for newbie viewers. Togepi and Donphan are also on display, pushing audience awareness past the first generation of Pokémon.
Dynamic cartoon cinematography has us rotating around the battlefield, the camera passing through blades of grass before refocusing, and full use of the foreground and background of combat shots. This sets the visual template for Pokémon battles.
In other words, the entire dictionary of Pokémon is recited with clarity to the audience in a matter of minutes.
The film is also appropriately direct in the framing of its villain. Mewtwo pits clone Pokémon against their normal counterparts, boasting of the superiority of his creations. Mewtwo's preoccupation is not really with his clones, but with himself; his purpose is to prove that as an iterated Pokémon, he is a superior being. Mewtwo, as a laboratory creation, is in possession of a massive inferiority complex augmented by awesome power.
In stark contrast with Mewtwo's view of humanity, Ash and Pikachu's bond is depicted as unbreakable in a number of key moments. Ash acts as a body shield so that Pikachu may escape the hunter Pokéballs; shortly afterward, he leaps from a deadly height in order to save Pikachu as he is falling. The film doesn't burden the viewer with a deluge of dialogue between the human characters; Ash and Pikachu's relationship is conveyed through swift actions and shows of affection.
While the film features typical energy throwing action, the ultimate climax of our conflict is an emotional one. Combat is brought to a halt when Ash is struck and presumably killed. Without unnecessary explanation, he is brought back to life by the tears of the grieving Pokémon. Even Mewtwo is moved and compresses his moral development for us, "I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
The film falters in a few ways. Perhaps the only noteworthy among them is that it engages in one of the reviewer’s least favorite tropes, whereby the events of a movie are effectively erased at the end for ease of storytelling. But the negative impact of this is lessened by the fact that the film remains respectful of the viewer's time in its pacing and length.
Children's media means a couple of things: kids have to contain it within their attention span and adults have to be able to sit through it. This film does well on both fronts, feeling like a breezy watch that speaks directly to its audience. Filled with fun imagery, containing a calibrated story, and seldom wasting time, Pokémon: The First Movie will leave us all saying the same thing: "Pikachu, I choose you!"