"POKÉMON THE MOVIE 2000"
(2000) (voices of Veronica Taylor, Rachael Lillis) (G)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
None	None	Heavy	*Mild	Mild
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	Moderate	None	None
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
None	None	None	Minor	Moderate

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QUICK TAKE:

Children's Animated: A human Pokémon trainer, his friends and their various Pokémon attempt to stop another collector from capturing the birds of fire, lightning and ice that, when combined, will release a powerful sea monster and possibly destroy the world.

PLOT:

In a world where humans own and train Pokémon creatures, legend has it that hree powerful Pokémon birds, Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno, maintain nature's balance by controlling the elements of fire, lightning and ice from their respective islands. Rumor has it that if the peaceful harmony and co-existence of the birds is disrupted, nature will go haywire, wreaking havoc on the world.

It's also believed that if the three birds are captured and brought together, they'll unleash the legendary, sea-dwelling Lugia, a rare and extremely valuable Pokémon. As such, Lawrence III, a greedy collector of the creatures, has set out to capture the three birds in order to attain Lugia. Having captured Moltres, Lawrence III is one step closer to his diabolical goal, but his plan has already begun to disrupt nature.

At the same time, human trainer Ash Ketchum, his friends, Misty and Tracy, and their Pokémon, including Pikachu, find themselves shipwrecked on Shamouti Island, where locals Carol and Melody are preparing for their annual festival and need someone to fill their hero role. Being game, Ash agrees to do just that.

Soon, however, the boy learns that his role will involve trying to save the world. As Lawrence III continues on his quest to capture the three birds, Ash must not only deal with that, but also various physical challenges, self doubt, and the intervention of his arch rivals, Jessie, James and their Pokémon mascot, Meowth (who collectively make up Team Rocket).

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're fans of the Pokémon trading card craze, the TV cartoons or the original movie from 1999, it's a good bet they will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G

For not containing material to warrant a higher rating.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

While it's debatable whether kids view animated/cartoon characters (especially when they're not human) as role models, the following characters have the following attributes.

ASH is a human boy who shows bravery and resilience while trying to save the world.

MELODY is a human girl who initially has a bad attitude and teases Ash's friend about being his girlfriend, but eventually changes her ways and helps Ash.

LAWERENCE III is a greedy human who only wants to collect Pokémon (instead of training them) and in doing so nearly causes the destruction of all life on Earth.

PIKACHU is Ash's helpful and faithful Pokémon.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick summary of the content found in this G-rated film. While the level of violence is toned down a bit from what occurred in the first film, there's still a moderate amount of such material where various Pokémon creatures fight each other or try attacking the humans. Some of those scenes may be just a bit suspenseful to the youngest of kids.

Beyond that, the accompanying suspenseful/dramatic music and some bad attitudes, however, the rest of the film's remaining categories have little or nothing in the way of major objectionable content. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for anyone in your home, however, and especially since many young kids will probably want to see it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings.

In addition, a short animated feature, "Pikachu's Rescue Adventure" precedes the main attraction. It includes some slapstick material (various Pokémon creatures running/smashing into each other), other violence (one Pokémon creature kicking Pikachu who then zaps the offender with electrical/lighting bolts), a few mildly perilous moments - such as a creature hanging by its backpack on a branch above a huge ravine and nearly being eaten by a large creature that jumps out of the water at him - some suspenseful music, and a storm that may be potentially scary to the youngest of viewers.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

None.

BLOOD/GORE

None.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Lawrence III is a greedy collector who doesn't care that his diabolical plan may just well cause the end of all life on earth.

Team Rocket initially has both (although we never really know their motives), but they eventually turn good and help Ash.

Melody initially has somewhat of a surly attitude, but she changes that as the story progresses.

Melody repeatedly teases Misty that she's Ash's girlfriend (since she's a girl and they're friends).

FRIGHTENING SCENES

While older kids probably won't find any of the scenes (including those listed under "Violence") as unsettling, suspenseful or scary, some younger kids might (although that all depends on their age, level of maturity and tolerance for such material).

Some perilous moments on a storm-tossed boat might be suspenseful to some kids as might moments where the various Pokémon birds battle each other and then try to attack Ash and his friends (with lightning, flames and ice).

GUNS/WEAPONS

Cannons: Located on Lawrence III's large, floating ship and used to fire at various Pokémon creatures.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Dorky" and "Chill Out."

JUMP SCENES

None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

A moderate amount of suspenseful and action-oriented dramatic music plays during the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None.

PROFANITY

None.

SEX/NUDITY

None.

SMOKING

None.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Ash's efforts and determination to save the world and the fact that it shows that one person can make a difference.

VIOLENCE

Lawrence III's ship fires many cannon shots down into an island to stir up one of the Pokémon bird creatures (that it then fires at before capturing).

Team Rocket's boat crashes on the rocky shore in the obscured background of a shot (we just see the smoke, but the occupants are okay).

It initially appears that Pikachu and Zapdos blast jolts of lighting/electricity at one another in a violent fashion (especially since Pikachu is knocked backwards when hit), but we then learn that they're trying to communicate with each other via that method.

Lawrence III's ship fires many cannon shots at Articuno.

Various Pokémon attack and/or use their powers while trying to break the "energy cages" holding Moltres and Zapdos.

The three Pokémon birds battle each other and Lugia in the sky, with the latter eventually falling from the sky injured.

The three Pokémon birds open fire on Ash and his friends (with fire, lighting and streams of ice), with various Pokémon trying to defend them.

Lugia fires a shot that hits Lawrence III's ship (that has already crash-landed on an island), destroying much of it.

Reviewed July 15, 2000 / Posted July 21, 2000

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