Pokemon Heroes: The Movie

Pokemon Heroes: The Movie
by Kunihiko Yuyama, Jim Malone

Pokemon Heroes: The Movie
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Category: DVD
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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Eric Stuart (III), Ikue Ootani, Madeleine Blaustein, Rachael Lillis, Veronica Taylor
Director: Jim Malone, Kunihiko Yuyama
Brand: Disney
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 71 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-01-20
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Miramax

Movie Reviews of Pokemon Heroes: The Movie

Movie Review: A good film, but wish the special features were better
Summary: 3 Stars

Pokemon Heroes: Latios and Latias is the fifth film released for Pokemon. The film clocks in at 71 minutes, and it's the right length for the story being told in the film. The pacing of the film is perfect; as a viewer, I didn't feel it was taking too long or that it was going too quickly. Like the other Pokemon films, an attempt was made to combine computer graphics with the 2D animation; unfortunately, just like in the other films, the computer animation stood out too much from the 2D animation and called too much attention to itself.

On this disc, the short "Camp Pikachu," which was shown before the film in Japanese theaters, is included as one of the special features. In this short, the Pichu brothers fall off of the train they're riding on top of. They run into Pikachu, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Phanpy, Corsola, Togepi, Psyduck, and Wynaut. They work together to try to get the Pichu brothers to the train station to catch another train. Meowth and Wobbuffet also make a cameo appearance.

Another special feature is "Location Scouting in Venice." This runs for about two minutes, and it shows the director and some of the crew scouting out locations in Venice. This is intercut with footage from the actual film that match what the director and crew are seeing in the city. "Animation Stages" includes six sequences. By using the angle button, you can see the 2D elements, the 3D elements, and the final version of the sequence.

"The Characters of Pokemon Heroes" includes six Pokemon: Kabutops, Aerodactyl, Ariados, Espeon, Latias, and Latios. For each Pokemon, there are several still images of the Pokemon, along with writeups for them (describing their personality and other traits, as well as information on its species, type, height, weight, ability, and evolution).

The "Pokemon Heroes Trivia Game" has you use the remote to select the answers for seven questions, and the seven questions are chosen randomly. If you get the question right, you see a clip of the film that is connected to the question. If you get a question wrong, the word "WRONG" appears on the screen, and the male voice over tells you that you got the answer wrong. Personally, the male voice over actor (who explains how to play the game, reads the questions out, tells you if you're wrong, and tells you how you do at the end) sounds rather bored when he's delivering his lines.

Pokemon Heroes is a good film. While this DVD release is better than the DVD releases for some of the earlier Pokemon films, I think the special features could have been a little better. If you're a fan of Pokemon, you should have this film in your collection.

Summary of Pokemon Heroes: The Movie

The fifth installment of the phenomenally successful POKEMON series takes place in a mysterious city on water. Set against a baffling maze of canals and alleyways, Ash, Pikachu, the rest of the gang take on a slick new pair of thieves in this glamorous, high-stakes adventure story. The film introduces two new Pokemon characters -- Latias and Latios, who possess strong psychic abilities and the power to disguise themselves as humans!
The fifth Pok?mon movie takes Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu to the city of Altomare, a thinly disguised Venice guarded by the shape-shifting Pok?mon Latios and Latias. Two new agents of Giovanni's, Annie and Oakley, are out to capture these rare Pok?mon--reducing Team Rocket to the role of spectators. Latios and Latias are linked to an elaborate, computer-generated mechanism that defends the city, controls the tides and brings fossil Pok?mon back to life. Ash and Pikachu foil the evil plan with some help from Misty, Brock, and Bianca, a girl who lives in Altomare with her kindly grandfather. The contrived story suggests that as far as features are concerned, the Pok?mon franchise has pretty much run dry. (The film earned less than $1 million in its U.S. theatrical release.) Extras include a Camp Pikachu short and a Pok?mon Heroes trivia game. (Rated G, all ages: minor cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

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