Despite the Pokémon franchise continuing on and on with its show and some viewers feeling the formula had gotten repetitive, movies were still being released. Of course like any other entry before it, the means of it was to make money whether it had something new to display or not. While the first trilogy of films was unbalanced, the second trilogy seemed to be a stronger effort. Starting in the seventh entry, this film attempts to make a concept fresh out of a somewhat familiar idea. That is a Pokémon from outer space. Okay…that’s not too different from another dimension or time. Unfortunately, it’s because this idea has already been explored more than once that the viewing experience here is not as engaging as would expect. It’s not bad though, more so forgettable. You can’t win them all!
The plot to this installment follows Ash and company to LaRousse City where Ash wants to test his skills at the battle tower. It’s also the location of high tech gadgetry. Living in the city is Tory (Tara Sands), the son of Professor Lund (Sean Schemmel) who four years earlier witnessed the arrival of an alien Pokémon they ended up naming Deoxys. However, because it arrived so suddenly, another powerful Pokémon called Rayquaza seeks to destroy it thinking it’s a threat. Now in LaRousse City, Deoxys returns and so does the impending battle between the giants. As usual the original script and direction in Japan was worked by the Sonoda, Yuyama duo. In the US, Darren Dunstan did the English direction adaptation, while Norman J. Grossfeld, James Carter Cathcart and Kathy Pilon handled the English script adaptation. Honestly though, all these credits didn’t amount to the greatest of entries.
The two biggest attributes to this feature that work against it is first the focus. Unlike the film before which didn’t focus on Ash but on Max, who was also a main character felt acceptable. Ash can’t be the only character to get development among the group. However, this entry aims its attention at Tory who the audience has no history with until now. The character of Tory is about a scarring moment that left him reluctant to be near Pokémon. Why couldn’t this be put one of the original characters? Additionally, while Ash and company visit La Rousse City, they encounter more side characters that very much are the same kind of forgettable characters inserted in past films. Ash creates a small rivalry between another trainer named Rafe (Sebastian Arcelus) and Misty runs into another trainer Sid (Matthew Labyorteaux) who develops a crush on her. Okay, but is it needed?
If Team Rocket’s Jessie, James and Meowth are put in the film only for laughs and not used in the plot, then meaningless cardboard cutout side characters shouldn’t be given anymore or equal focus. The other strange thing about the story is the setting. La Rousse City has security box robots, which manage the area. There are a number of them, but apparently there can be so many that they can be more overwhelming than anything else. That idea is just silly. Aside from this though, the acting is still well done, including the characters that aren’t or shouldn’t be important to the story. The new Pokémon shown in this feature are unique in design and the two giants that cause the whole stir are impressive looking. Deoxys looks intimidating considering it can change form in a number of ways depending on the situation it’s in.
The animation looks good as always though. Rarely has a Pokémon movie looked out of date or had bad animation. This doesn’t omit the fact that there’s still cinematography linked to this film, shot by Takaya Mizutani. For what reason, is yet to be explained for any of the films. As for music, the film score was composed by the consistent Shinji Miyazaki. While he reprises the title theme as done before, Miyazaki also creates a new motif for Deoxys which sounds accurate for the character. The track contains electronic synthesizers that match Deoxys’ mysterious alien qualities. As usual though, no domestic US release for the album. Only in Japan, only in Japan. Still a good listen though if one can get a hold of it.
After two trilogies of films, the next film in the anime franchise starts off rather shaky. Animation, voice acting and music are all fine. But the setting is a little odd seeing how it impacts the story later on, and, the random side characters getting more attention doesn’t make the viewing experience as entertaining.
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