User reviews

Another Pokemon movie has hit the theaters, and again, I'm hearing the same old, "Pokemon is dead, blah blah blah." The franchise's detractors couldn't be more wrong. Kids are still playing the trading card game, they're still watching the TV series, they're waiting for the Game Boy Advance games, and they want to see "Pokemon the 4th Movie."

That said, "Pokemon The 4th Movie" introduces us to two more "legendary" Pokemon: Suicune, the "north wind" of lore, and Celebi, guardian of the forest (and star of the show). Celebi transports itself and a boy named Sam 40 years into the future, to the present day, where Pokemon trainer Ash, his faithful Pikachu, and his friends Brock and Misty are traveling through Johto. Sam and Ash become fast friends, once they discover the other's mutual love for Pokemon (Sam's vintage Pokeball with screw-on top is a great moment). Together, they decide to protect Celebi from the villain of the story, the Team Rocket agent aptly named Vicious, who is hell-bent on capturing Celebi for his own ends. Will Ash and Sam be able to protect Celebi from Vicious' Dark Balls? Where does Suicune fit into the picture? Will Jessie, James, and Meowth have bigger parts in this movie than before? And just who is Sam, really?

Like with the first 3 movies, if you go into the movie deciding that you're automatically going to hate it no matter what simply because it's Pokemon (or just because your child/niece/nephew/younger sibling/et cetera "dragged" you into it), then you're going to hate it because you've decided that you want to hate it. That may be, but to blindly trash "Pokemon The 4th Movie" simply because it is a Pokemon movie, and especially without having seen it, is just plain stupid. Even non-fans can enjoy this movie without having to know every last detail of the world of Pokemon. I'm not saying that you WILL become a Pokemon fan because of this movie, but you CAN indeed enjoy it, if you'll let yourself.

Unlike the first 3 Pokemon movies, "Pokemon the 4th Movie" is being distributed by Miramax, who I've heard is also working on securing the rights to the 5th Pokemon movie, which was released this past summer in Japan. Miramax claims to have some boffo-aggressive marketing strategy for "Pokemon The 4th Movie," but all I've seen so far is a feeble limited release, which doesn't include the usual Pikachu short in the beginning, which I was really looking forward to this time. I hope that Miramax will see fit to put the Pikachu short, called "Pikachu's Exciting Hide-and-Seek," onto at least the DVD/VHS release, if not with a future wider release of "Pokemon The 4th Movie." I hope that the current release is just the tip of the iceberg for this very entertaining film.

Pokemon 4ever is just a kids' version of Princess Mononoke. Celebi is even called the "Spirit of the Forest." The monster is just like the Nightstalker from Mononoke. There is a healing lake, Suicune looks like the spirit and acts like the wolf gods from Mononoke.

The only good thing about the movie was its revelation at the end. If you pay close attention to foreshadowing, you can guess the secret as I did.

Of the first four Pokemon feature films, Pokemon 4ever has the strongest Disney vibe, and I feel like it is a good choice for the youngest pokemon viewers. For the more adolescent fans (however many there are), I am more dubious to recommend this. Pokemon 3 may have been dark, but the story was imaginative and had some wisdom and emotional depth. Whereas Pokemon 3 could almost have been a family movie, Pokemon 4ever is easily just a kids movie.

Pokemon 4ever takes Ash and friends out of the darkness and back into sunlight. As beautiful as this fourth entry is, it is also quite corny. All pokemon movies integrate a new legendary pokemon into the story. Pokemon 4ever showcases Celebi; a forest spirit who is chirpy, but nothing more. Celebi has about as much personality as the sugar fairies in Fantasia. She may be a pokemon, but a character she is not. Equally unmemorable is the cackling antagonist, who dresses like the terminator's second cousin and behaves like a shallow Disney villain.

Pretty much the entire film takes place in the Johto region forest, (having been aired at the end of the fourth season) This is a visually spectacular piece of landscape, which becomes the setting for a less than spectacular storyline. Pokemon 4ever, may be concise and simple in plot, but not only is it rather shallow, but it feels strangely rushed.

Pokemon 4ever also has the kind of syrupy ending that tries to pull to emotions out of us which it has not earned. The pokemon world can offer a variety of strong story possibilities, but this movie does not exploit them. This is essentially a Disney movie, that has pokemon in it. My conclusion is that Pokemon 4ever is a visually strong but thinly written entry in the adventures of Ash Ketchum.

I just returned from the un-expectantly entertaining Pokemon 4. It is a matter of great wonder to me that others did not find the rich storylines in the film as enlightening as I did. I suppose the unfortunate reality is if a film doesn't cater to the 'lowest common denominator', its success domestically (and more and more in foreign markets) is questionable at best.

At first I wish to address the flaws. The animation, as has been pointed out before, is at best sub-par. But where they skimped on artistry in the drawings of the characters, the storyboard simulated camera angles and image composition are superb. The film lover will note the use of techniques from film auteurs such as Orsen Wells (note the second part of the opening scene, which is quite obviously an homage to the master) or Sam Peckinpah (pay close attention to scenes leading up to the first Pokemon Battle and try to tell me you aren't reminded of Straw Dogs). I also thought the sound was pretty crummy.

That aside, the film was a pure masterpiece. As in the preceding three Pokemon movies, the story centers on the loveable 'Pikachu'. Pikachu looks like an overfed mouse that can use his powers to fight other Pokemon, sometimes to the death. All Pokemon (Japanese for 'The Monster who lives in the pocket') have special powers. It has been said that Pikachu is the most powerful of all of these, but to find out that one must become a 'Pokemon Master'. As a parent, I am still confused to what that really means, and I suspect that in 10 years, the entire lexicon of Pokemon movies and television programs will be required viewing in the more credible Psychology and Philosophy departments in Universities around the world.

Countering the hero that Pikachu presents us is yet another Pokemon, who is called 'Meowth', brilliantly voiced by the multi-talented yet under-rated Addie Blaustein. Meowth, unlike every other Pokemon can speak in English (who only know and converse in Japanese. As a side note, I hope in the DVD version the English translation of the Pokemon's conversations will be provided). Meowth travels with a hapless game of criminals called 'The Rocket Team', who battle with Pikachu and his owner Ash to become Pokemon Masters.

Within these two characters lie the classic storyline of the Epic struggle between good and evil, truth and deception, black and white. It is highly recommended that the casual fan revisit the entire running of the TV series in order (including the surreal yet awe inspiring Jhoto Journeys) and the films before returning to this work.

Nine out of 10. Near perfection in my book.

Out of these Pokemon films (which are in order of best to least for me): Pokemon The First Movie, Pokemon 4Ever, Pokemon Heroes, Pokemon 200 and Pokemon: Entei and the Unknown, this is probably the one most concerning the environment, arguably the most beautiful and the most calming one. Whether these are good points for you or not, "Pokemon 4Ever," still has entertained many.

As well as the three points covered above, this pokemon film includes good humour and good CGI (as well as anime). The time travelling theme of the film is represented in a good way and Team Rocket (the comic reliefs/rubbish baddies) end up with quite good gags and end up being more main characters than sidekicks.

The flaws are, as always, the rather unnecessary violence and action and the baddie is pretty uninteresting, even more so than a few Pokemon film baddies.

A strange pokemon is being tracked down by a pokemon hunter in a forest. A young boy tries to save the pokemon and it takes him somewhere...

Meanwhile, Ash, Brock and Misty are entering a large forest...

Curious? Watch the rest...

Good for all Pokemon fans and "American" anime movie fans, enjoy "Pokemon 4Ever"! :-)

The film begins with a fantastic chase through the forest. The whole forest is beautifully created, and the anime style fits in nicely with the stylized CGI. The plot is fairly simple. A boy saves a time traveling Pokemon and is brought forward 40 years where he meets Ash and co. They must battle a Pokemon hunter that wishes to enslave the super awesome Pokemon. It's a fun movie that actually adds to the relationships of those in the Pokemon universe. Once again it has an obvious eco message, but you also get to see a huge CGI woodland monster type thing, so I ain't complaining. Again, this is just for Poke fans, but may be entertaining enough for those outside their comfort zone.

Maybe if I watched the whole thing but I wasn't interested in finishing it in the slightest

This Movie Is Boring, I Love Pokemon And When I Watched This Movie, I Discovered To Be An Infamous Film Franchise

After The Next Film There's No Caring About It

I have watched some Pokemon movies (not all) and out of them it is the most boring boring boring stale movie , the battles and fight scenes were outrageously boring , and the emotions were forcefully put and the film moves with a snail's pace , it is even more boring than wish maker jirachi movie , I watched this movie a few days ago and I really regret I wasted more than an hour on this boring Pokemon movie , by the way I really really like the Pokemon series and I M a fan still this movie is the worst Pokemon movie I have seen till now

As a Pokémon fan I enjoyed this movie very much. It introduces new legendary Pokémon (as each movie does) and adds depth to the relationships between its characters. I however do not expect those who are not Pokémon fans to enjoy it(This includes MOST adults). Some of the lines were corny, but that can be somewhat unavoidable when dubbing the movie over to English. The animation was beautiful, although there were a couple parts that did not look good. And although the villain is kind of corny, I think that the movies have done a good job of cycling through different types of villains, and I guarantee you that they aren't all like this one. Those who did not like it, I say to each his own, but Pokémon fans will love it.

Sequels always face uphill battles to their predecessors. Whether it's the first iteration or if it's many others down the road. Usually, being able to stand on its own is hard to do. So far, the Pokémon series has been on average okay but nothing that is overwhelmingly groundbreaking. Really there's only been one horrible entry and that was Pokémon 2000. The rest have been serviceable. Now four entries in, this sequel believe it or not manages to make itself feel very much the same to that of the original film that came out. Of course there are issues with it like all others that came before it, but there's something else to it that allows it to stand out. Unfortunately, not much detail can be given in order to keep it spoiler free but that should be all more of a reason why to see this entry for fans of the show.

The plot takes place after season 4 of the show where Ash & company find themselves in a forest where they spot the legendary Pokémon Suicune. However, what they don't know is that they'll also come across Celebi another mystical Pokémon which has the ability to travel through time. Of which the gang will cross paths with a boy named Sam (Tara Sands). Together they seek to protect Celebi from an aggressive hunter known as the Iron Masked Marauder (Dan Green) looking to capture it. The film crew working behind the scenes on this movie hasn't changed for the most part. Hideki Sonoda is now heading the script writing and English adaptation is still being handled by Michael Haigney. Kunihiko Yuyama is credited as the director and Jim Malone did the English version.

Acting again is as credible as its going to get. All the main actors reprise their role and it all works well. Dan Green who's now been taking part in three Pokémon features should no longer be a surprise either. What is different though is Green playing a confident villain as oppose to a misunderstood one. Green as the evil Iron Masked Marauder certainly plays up his masculine voice to be as dangerous sounding as possible. Tara Sands who's also a franchise veteran playing Sam does a good job. It's an obvious Mokuba clone from Yu-Gi-Oh however, but that's okay. What makes the story to this entry unique though is how it plays into the history of Pokémon. Normally time travel is a risky element to use in a story that isn't in the science fiction genre...but it doesn't go to crazy into detail either.

Thankfully, that's to its benefit because the time travel aspect is left ambiguous due to the mysteriousness surrounding the legendary Pokémon. That's the wiggle room of the script. However, what doesn't work in its favor is a blatant plot hole that was clearly shown in the original film that doesn't occur here. Consistency is key when rules are made about how a certain universe works. That doesn't mean the story itself isn't interesting to watch. In fact, it's safe bet that this film had a much more emotional punch to the gut than that of any other sequel. This factors into the rating and why it's getting more credit than the last couple features. It does beg the question though about the people who travel through time, does that make them all knowing? Is it possible they have a deeper connection with certain characters more than the audience or other characters know? The film kind of answers that but also doesn't.

And until there's clarity as to why cinematography was needed, it's just not going to make sense. It's very likely Hisao Shirai's skill was used somewhere for the film....but it's not clear how cinematography works into animation. That's where things get interesting. The animation is a much more even mix of CGI and regular animation and it looks good. Also the action isn't completely based on Pokémon battles which is a change in pace. Lastly the original music composed by Hirokazu Tanaka and Shinji Miyazaki was used this time as opposed to it being rescored. While it's not all catchy tunes, it definitely works for the scenes at hand and does bring in that recognizable battle theme. Sadly, there's no domestic score available for this so it's not as easy to hear the tracks separately. Maybe someday, but only in Japan.

There's an obvious plot hole and the ending raises questions how much and what some characters really know. Besides this though the voice acting, animation and story have more to offer than the last few outings which makes it more at the level of the first movie.

Pokemon fans will love the Legendary lore, but there isn't much else to love in this movie. It's far too short for the viewer to get emotionally attached to any of the characters, so the emotional scenes at the end didn't pack much of a punch.

The best part of the movie was the 2D animation, which was vastly improved over the series, as expected for the movies. However, even that looked fairly poor whenever it interacted with the background or with the odd 3D animation. The worst though was the terribly written villain. His motives are extremely short sighted and inconsistent. His Dark Balls are way too overpowered and ruin the universe's balance. And I don't know why he can hold his breath for 5+ minutes, or why he would even do that in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, Shigeru Miyamato is a complete game genius, but that's with games. He didn't go far enough with this movie. This is the same as the Pokemon series- dumb. Corny jokes from annoying animals who repeat their names. You wanna know what I suggest? Parents, leave your kids in the movie theater that shows Pokemon, and then take off to see The Transporter. Yeah, that's much better.

In other words, don't waste a good 79 minutes on this lame movie.

The fourth installment in the Pokemon film series is quite a different one. With more of a time travel feel to it, this movie will entertain most fans of the show at it's use of this phenomenon. Attempting to show to use more of a moral about friendship this film does...and that is quite a little overdone. It should be noted that time paradoxes were very much avoided, and they ought to be commended for that. Still, it contained a little too much childishness for comfort, being not an example that Pokemon isn't just for kids. If you,like my father, are watching it for the sake of your child's happiness...don't worry. You'll be entertained somewhat and will not sit through as long of a film as the other three. Still not nearly the best they can do, your family Pokemon fan will like it.

The movie seemed to appeal me because of the new type of Pokemon Celebi. But the plot was out of course and didn't have as an interest as the other movies. It was a waste of money and time. The same corny humor and cliche bad guys. The movie was of no use to make if you wanted to make Pokemon famous. The movie should better not associated with animes such as Dragonballz, Digimon, or Yu-Gi-Oh. The drawing and settings are of no level rising to the standards of original anime. It is a shame even to talk about this movie. I bet Pokemon fans will be disappointed with the outcome of the movie and give up on Pokemon. Digimon is more of an anime and doesn't fall anywhere close to Pokemon.It's second movie is coming out late 2002.

This film is really nothing special as far as Pokemon movies go, although it doesn't do much wrong either. It's a pretty straightforward time travel plot with a rather predictable plot twist. It's a fun adventure to watch but I probably wouldn't recommend it.

Not one of the better pokemon movies.

Two legendary pokemon come into the story. You do get to see how strong Celebi can be, though he turns evil first.

Suicune also makes an appearance, he didn't seem that powerful.

The Marauder didn't have many strong pokemon at all, except for that taranitar? Some fight scenes with his pokemon may have made it better.

Ash and Pikachu meet the much younger Professor Oak, though they don't realise it. Misty I was thinking had it at the end but she didn't get close. I saw this in the credits.

Don't expect much here, the worst of the series so far.

I never in my entire life have seen such crude animation,and a boring plot.The only reason i gave this a 5 was it was 1 hour! also the e reader card isnt anything special its just a bribe to get you to go see this horrible japan cartoon,plus this shows the pkmn craze has died alot sonce 1999.

I can't see the point in burying a movie like this in sulfuric sarcasm, when it is in no way intended to be anything more than a vehicle to entertain children and prepare them for the next line of merchandise to beg madly about.

This is a fun movie. My children sat quietly through the entire thing and loved every minute of it. Granted, the villain is a bit over the top with his silly costume and maniacal laugher, but this is a lot more easier to take than the dark, gloomy, and very morbid Pokemon 3.

My children have been watching Pokemon since it started and they are soon getting to the ages where they will "put off the childish things" and move on to others. I am glad that we got to enjoy this together.

I so love this movie! The animation is great (for a pokémon movie), the cgi looks so awesome. I love the music in the movie. So great they kept the Japanese music.

As for the story: its great. It has a great feeling of friendship. Celebi is a very cute and powerful pokémon. Ash is really great in this movie, and I like his friendship with Sam. The only thing I didn't like was Suicune's appearance, he just suddenly pops up, helps Ash & co a bit and leaves. They could have made his part in the movie a little bigger.

But overall, awesome movie! Can't wait to own the USA version on dvd!

I have always enjoyed the Pokemon movies. Yes, I know, all of them are very corny, mediocre in some certain areas and sure, even though they're aimed at little kids they're too adult in some fields to be able to guard them with the statement,"Hey, lighten up, it's a kids movie," but all that aside, aren't they still good pieces of entertainment? In my opinion, they are so and I enjoy them greatly. This one is just as enjoyable as the previous three, and certainly cuter. It has some really sweet and touching moments since it is the introduction of the lovable, fresh Pokemon Celebi. It's not the best Pokemon movie, but I do enjoy it more than the third installment, even though the third is not bad, and the entire series is just entertaining, harmless, popcorn family fun and should be considered nothing more, nothing less. This film has some high marks of intensity and interest, especially around the climax/ending, as do all the installments, and the characters, while a bit more lackluster than the previous three, I thought, are still likable and humorous. This films is the lowest rated and most criticized of the four feature length adaptions, and it doesn't deserve that.