Ash Makes Appearance at Pokemon Showing

OK, so maybe it wasn't the Ash Ketchum.... I guess I'm a pretty poor substitute for the real thing. With Pikachu and a camera-toting lady friend, I went to see Pokemon: The First Movie. With the intention of avoiding the after-school rush, I went to the 2:20pm showing. After grabbing our tickets and our Electabuzz and Mewtwo cards, we went inside.

While one can't really get the full-on Pokemon movie experience without being surrounded by throngs of rabid Pokemon fans, I did my best to heighten the experience by dressing as Ash Ketchum and bringing Pikachu with me. While I wasn't surprised that no one else was dressed for the occasion, I was surprised that more kids didn't bring toys with them. And while a few kids were impressed by my regalia, all of them were mesmerized by my imported Pikachu 1/1 plush toy.

I entered the theater, Pikachu in hand, midway through the preview for Dreamworks' new animated feature Eldorado. After sitting through a few more previews, the moment I'd been waiting for came. A hush came over the largely prepubescent audience, save for a few who felt the need to yell out or gasp in awe at the 3D Nintendo logo that appeared.

Pikachu's Vacation, the 20-odd-minute short starring Pikachu and several new Pokemon, was somewhat entertaining but possibly too sweet for even this Pokemaniac. Narrated by Dexter, the Pokedex's AI, Pikachu's Vacation was a series of Pokemon antics rather than an actual story. Interspersed between the events were a series of psychedelic Pokemon transitions similar to Laugh-In or Austin Powers. Rather than entertaining or serving to transition, they merely added time to the short and broke up what would've otherwise been a continuous thought.

After Pikachu's Vacation, the trio of Kids WB, Nintendo, and 4Kids Entertainment logos ran once again, prompting the real feature - Mewtwo Strikes Back. With a much darker story than the average episode and a comparative dearth of wacky antics, the feature felt more epic and movie-like than just an extended episode. The only lull in the experience was the sudden ultrapreachiness that infected the last 15 or so minutes, tackling everything from cloning and ending war to racial harmony. After the climax, Mewtwo conveniently erases everyone's memory so that the writers never have to deal with the movie's subject matter in the course of the series.

Pokemon: The First Movie was an entertaining romp through the world of Pokemon and should please any fan of the series. While I can't promise those fans' parents will be similarly thrilled, I don't think they'll be repulsed either.