Number Rolled: 59
Movie Name/Year: Pokémon
the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction (2014)
Tagline: When
destruction rises, can life prevail?
Genre: Anime,
Fantasy, Family
Length: 76
minutes
Rating: G
Production Companies:
East Japan Marketing & Communications Inc., GAME FREAK, Oriental Light and
Magic, Pikachu Project, Production I.G., Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, TV
Tokyo, Taka Tomy
Producer: Kenichi
Arai, Mitomu Asai, Ryo Fujita, Susumu Fukunaga, Nobuyuki Hosoya, Junya Ishmoto,
Yasuteru Kamei, Yukio Kawasaki, Toshio Miyagawa, Takemoto Mori, Takuro
Muratsubaki, Jun’ya Okamoto, Kanji Okubo, Satoshi Shimodaira, Katsuhito
Yamauchi, Toshifumi Yoshida, Masanori Yumiya
Director: Kunihiko
Yuyama
Writer: Hideki
Sonoda, Satoshi Tajiri, Junichi Masuda, Ken Sugimori
Actors: Ikue
Otani, Sarah Natochenny, Haven Paschall, Mike Liscio, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld,
Caitlin Glass, Aliver Wyman, Brittney Lee Hamilton, Lianna Marie Dobbs, Marc
Thompson, Michele Knotz, James Carter Cathcart, Rodger Parsons
Blurb from Netflix:
A princess calls upon Ash and his friends to help her find the energy-giving
Heart Diamond, save her domain from its enemies and restore her kingdom.
Selina’s Point of View:
When the original Pokémon came out I was super on board. I
played the games and watched the TV show/movies – though I never did pick up an
interest in the trading card game. I always prefered the complexities of Magic:
the Gathering.
Back then, I learned the first 151 Pokémon rather quickly
and always played along with that silhouette game during commercial breaks.
Even now, at over thirty, I’m still into Pokémon. I play Pokémon
Go pretty often. (There is no shelter from the storm! TEAM INSTINCT!) However,
I did stop keeping up with the cartoon many, many years ago. As a result, I
ONLY know the first 151 Pokémon – with a very minor sprinkling of the next
generation. Very small. Like, maybe four or five not included in the first gen.
Anyway, when this movie came up I was really interested in
seeing where Pokémon went after I stopped watching.
First thought I had was that I 100% prefer Brock and Misty
to the sidekicks Ash has in this film. Of course, that could just be because I
connected with them more. I also had some issue getting behind the thing where
some Pokémon talk. That was reserved for Meowth and Mewtwo when I was watching.
That made it difficult for me to connect to Diancie. It’s a stupid and minor
thing, but I’m old and crotchety and I like my Pokémon to say their own name
god damn it.
There really was nothing wrong with this film. It tugged at
the right heart strings, it had the kind of action that kids love and that
adults can tolerate without needing a glass of wine to get through it. I just
felt such a disconnect from the newer Pokémon and the newer villains, that I
had a hard time seeing it as anything but a general offering of nostalgia.
 |
| Credit to: FireXtremeID |
I’ve watched a few episodes of the TV series with my
daughter; but this was my first Pokémon movie. Of course, my kiddo had already
seen this movie and it was quite a feat to prevent her from bombarding me with
spoilers. She was excited that I’d be watching this – even if she wasn’t up for
watching the whole thing again with me.
The Pokémon Go game has become a staple in our household.
We’re enjoying getting out and interacting with other players as we hunt down
these critters and get a bit of exercise in the process. Because of this, I
think I got an extra level of enjoyment out of the film because I was able to
pick out the Pokémon that I was familiar with on the screen. There were many
involved in the movie that aren’t in the game, though. (I’m hoping that
changes. I want a couple of the adversary Pokémon, darn it.)
Before I chase that wild Pikachu down a random alley,
though, I’ll get back to the movie.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I tend to get a little
bored during the cartoon series. I was
pleasantly surprised that it didn’t happen with the movie. Sure, it wasn’t the
most sophisticated thing I’ve ever seen – but it’s aimed at younger kids. There
are good messages here about friendship, perseverance, and self-confidence.
Fans of the Pokémon experience – whether the card games,
video games, television shows, or mobile app – will likely really enjoy this
movie and feel more of an emotional connection with it. For those that are
unfamiliar with Pokémon, fear not. The movie gives enough information as it
goes so that the viewer won’t get entirely lost.
This is definitely a good recommendation for a fun family
movie that’s not all fluff.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 64%
Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 3/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3/5
Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 3.5/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score
– 3.5/5
P.S. Scenes during
the credits. They are epilogue-esk.
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