A Reminder of why an entire generation once wanted to live in a Pokémon world.
The nature of the “Pokémon” anime existing as a means to propel and perpetuate the popularity of the RPG video game series and merchandise line of the same name is far from a secret.
Growing up as a product of an age post commercially driven
animation, enjoying several generations of “Transformers” and even being a “Pokémon”
fan myself, I’ve never found that to be a particularly bad thing; few would
argue that the franchise would have ever hit its status as a mega phenomenon to
catch a second wind through nostalgic appeal were it not for the televised
adventures of Ash and his journey to become a vaguely defined Pokémon master
and that’s primarily because seeing shades of his journey mirroring the one on
your Gameboy, limited by the technology of the time, in the glory you always
envisioned them having along with getting glimpses of what would be in store
for future games via a media that can thrive on decompressed narrative is both
storytelling and marketing genius.
Sadly, the annually released anime films have been historically
far more transparent about their market driven nature, serving mainly as a
giant tech showcase for a legendary Pokémon from the games or an upcoming creature
from the yet to be released new entry of the series, in the form of a flimsy
story that felt more like an overly long episode of the cartoon from which it
was derived.
All of this was until last year, when after “Pokémon Go”
managed to make an unanticipated splash riding up on the franchise’s 20th
anniversary, It was decided to take the film series back to its roots with 2017’s
“I Choose You,” a retelling of protagonist Ash’s Pokémon journey with corporate
mascot Pikachu, meeting new friends and having new adventures along the way,
unbound by the continuity of the television series not dissimilarly to the JJ
Abrams and Justin Lin helmed “Kelvin Timeline” movies of the “Star Trek”
franchise.
“I Choose You” wasn’t without its hiccups but the benefits
of the reboot are apparent right from the jump in so much as the pop from the
characters and Pokémon Ash comes across are far livelier than the anime has
ever been and the focus has noticeably shifted from shilling action figures,
cards, and games to simply basking in a fun fantasy setting with noticeably
tamer and infinitely more human stakes.
While its sequel noticeably suffers from similar growing
pains of a staff more used to building up larger than life circumstances with
their fantasy setting rather than a more humanistic character driven story, “The
Power of Us” nevertheless shows the series to be moving in the right direction.
Arriving in Fula City at the advent of its wind festival,
celebrating the legendary Pokémon Lugia from saving their settlement from a
wildfire that threatened to engulf it years ago, Ash finds himself embroiled in
a potential catastrophe threatening the town, forced to work with patrons of
the festival to save it.
This is a “Pokémon” movie dear reader. If you are not on board
with that for the many valid reasons one may not be into “Pokémon,” “The Power of Us” will do little to change
your mind. As an adult film critic adhering to a strict objective lens that is always
hoping to see the things that I grew up with approached with more sincere
visions of polished revisionist storytelling in mind, it’s perhaps the closest
I have come to being reminded of why I fell in love with “Pokémon ” as an adult.
The film intentionally avoids leaning heavily into plot in
favor of exploring the lives of a supporting cast inhabiting the world and
attending the festival for a multitude of different reasons and hailing from different
backgrounds.
While the long term effect of this can make the film feel a
tad bit on the bloated side, those vignettes are just too damn charming to turn
up your nose at.
Risa’s humorous ignorance of Pokémon despite her arrival at
the festival to catch a common Eevee she mistakes for something rare is amusing
and endearing before she reveals her fears of returning to life as a track
athelete after sustaining a rough injury, which aren’t played melodramatically
but just sort of matter of fact.
Bitter old Pokémon hating codger Harriet seems one note
until they reveal exactly what drove her away from Pokémon to begin with in
what may be one of the darkest sequences the franchise has ever animated, and
its pretty hard to not smile at least once watching the clearly anxiety
stricken Toren using his Chansey as an emotional support animal.
The story isn’t without a few sub plots that could be cut
here and there but the vibrancy with which a slice of life within this setting
has been so well captured, between making the mundane elements of life fun to
play out with the help of Pokémon and the attention to detail paid in almost
every background frame, which is amusing to watch alone, the brisk runtime
never bored and when all of the threads coalesce into plays for the third act,
it really hammers in just how mundane these movies have been up until now.
For the “Pokémon” skeptics, I can’t imagine “The Power of Us”
will particularly change your mind but for those that have always been along
for the ride, you may be in store for what is possibly the best “Pokémon” movie
made thus far.
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