Pokemon 4Ever: Celebi-Voice of the Forest

Deep in the forests of the Johto Region, a young Pokemon trainer from 40 years in the past is spirited to the future by a mysterious Pokemon called Celebi.  Here he meets Ash, Pikachu, Misty and Brock and soon they all become embroiled in a battle to save Celebi and the Forest from a rogue member of Team Rocket.  Two generations of Pokemon trainer must combine their talents and hearts to defeat a new breed of Dark Pokemon and ensure peace returns to the forest.

I’ll say this about the Pokemon movies: they may involve saving the world in some way but overall, so far, they’ve all been pretty unique adventures.  Evil clones, Legendary Birds, even a psychedelic wish castle, no one movie has been the same.  They do try to stand out from each other and Pokemon 4Ever continues that trend.  Here we get a battle for nature that feels right at home with the likes of Ferngully and Princess Mononoke.  It might not do things as poignant or extravagant as those examples but there’s still a bit of fun to be had, even if it never comes close to matching the awesomeness of Pokemon 3.
 
Of all the things I expect to see in the Pokemon universe from clones to supernatural powers…I think I might draw the line at time travel.  Well ok, a time travel story might work if done right but Pokemon 4Ever barely makes any good use of it.  Sure there are hints of who Sam really is here and there and it’s cool seeing a 40 year old Poke Ball being used.  But honestly, the time travel element did not need to be in this film at all.  It could have all been set in the present and feature another random character of the week teaming up with Ash and becoming besties while protecting Celebi.  Why not have Ash somehow end up in the past with Sam and Celebi during the finale and having the final battle there?  Seriously, time travel is only used in the beginning and end of this film and althroughout, it’s easy to forget that Sam’s even from the past because of how little it matters in the grand scheme of things.
 
The Pokemon movies have made decent usage of their rare type creatures and Celebi is no exception here.  It’s an adorable little ball of power you’d do anything to protect right after meeting it.  Now that I think about it, Celebi might be the first rare type Pokemon who isnt a super serious character.  It throws down when it needs to protect its forest and the Pokemon living there.  But a good chunk of Celebi’s screentime sees it bonding with Ash, Sam and Pikachu by flying them around the forest with its powers.  It’s kind of refreshing to see such a happier tone in these movies which can sometimes take things more seriously than they should.  That said, the final act with a corrupted Celebi tries to go for the same emotional rollercoaster of Mewtwo Strikes Back and will dare the tears to come back in force.  Also I might draw the line at giant CG wooden Kaiju monsters but I’ll come back to that. 
 
Where Pokemon 4Ever does manage to match Pokemon 3 is with its action scenes.  Again, someone other than Ash and Movie Guest Character is allowed to battle (plus Brock doesn’t get to kick nearly as much ass as he should in these movies).  Ash and Sam’s 2v2 against Iron Mask’s Pokemon is probably the highlight of the film.  Iron Mask himself feels like a step backwards from the threat posed by the Unown in Pokemon 3.  We don’t get to know much about him or his motivations until late into the film, leaving him as just another typical Villain of the Week in need of stopping.  Even his gimmick of having Pokemon corrupted by his Dark Poke Balls doesn’t live up to its potential.  Then there’s the climax with Celebi basically driving a Kaiju made of wood and other materials from the forest.  The CG in Pokemon films has always been a mixed bag from the so-so 2D/3D integrations of Mewtwo Strikes Back to how effectively creepy the Unown look in Pokemon 3.  Ash and Pikachu battle a Kaiju that’s controlled by a corrupted Pokemon but isnt a Pokemon itself is…just kind of meh because of how out of place the monster itself looks.
 
As has become common place with these Pokemon Movie reviews, I’ve gotta give my shoutouts to Ash, who continues to be a pretty good hero.  There’s not a challenge or threat to the planet he wont throw himself into especially if it’s to save a friend.  Pokemon 4Ever might just have his most bad ass moment ever when he takes on Iron Mask in the finale.  I have enormous new respect for the Future Pokemon Master from Pallet Town after this one.  Conversly, there’s Team Rocket.  You’d think Jessie, James and Meowth would have more to do considering the main villain is a rogue member of their organization.  But now, Jessie accidentally gets captured at some point but that’s about all.  Heck this might be the first time in the movies so far where the trio are back to being adversaries against Ash and the gang properly and nothing is done with it. 
 
Pokemon 4Ever: Celebi-Voice of the Forest can be a fun little Pokemon adventure with good action and some nice character beats for Ash and Sam.  But the Villain underwhelms, the bombastic finale is distracting and the addition of Time Travel to the Pokemon universe is barely talked about or even discussed really (they should be making a really big deal about meeting a Pokemon trainer from almost half a century ago).  It’s many steps down from Pokemon 3 but do I like it better than the first two films?  Ehhhh, I might rank it evenly alongside them.  Save for Pokemon 3, ever other film has had it’s equal ups and downs which feels about average for these movies.  But I’ve seen an above average Pokemon movie so I know this series can do better, especially if you can do a Pokemon Back to the Future adventure with Ash and Pikachu and you don’t do anything with it.
 
6.5/10
 
So, have we reached the end of our Pokemon 30^th Anniversary Movie Marathon?  Not quite.  There’s still one more Pokemon Movie that was released theatrically that I’m going to take a look at on Friday.  Will Pokemon Heroes: Latios and Latias surpass the bulk of it’s fellow movies or at least match the highs of Pokemon 3?  Find out when we look at it This Friday over at the Gundam Anime Corner.