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Pokémon Heroes

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Pokémon Heroes
Japanese theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji劇場版ポケットモンスター 水の都の護神 ラティアスとラティオス
Literal meaningPocket Monsters the Movie: Guardians of the Water City Latias and Latios
Directed byKunihiko Yuyama
Screenplay byHideki Sonoda
Based onPokémon
by Satoshi Tajiri
Produced by
  • Choji Yoshikawa
  • Yukako Matsusako
  • Takemoto Mori
Starringsee below
CinematographyHisao Shirai
Edited byToshio Henmi
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • July 13, 2002 (2002-07-13) (Japan)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office$27.7 million (Japan)
$746,381 (US)

Pokémon Heroes[a] (also known as Pokémon Heroes: The Movie) is a 2002 Japanese animated film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and written by Hideki Sonoda. Produced by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Toho, it is the fifth film in the Pokémon series. The film stars the regular television cast of Rica Matsumoto, Yuji Ueda, Mayumi Iizuka, Megumi Hayashibara, Shin-ichiro Miki and Ikue Ōtani. In Pokémon Heroes, Ash Ketchum, Misty and Brock travel to the city of Alto Mare and face off against the mysterious spies Annie and Oakley, who seek to use the guardian Pokémon Latias and Latios to power a superweapon. The film takes place during the fifth season of the Pokémon anime.[1]

Alto Mare, the main setting of the film, is based on the real-world city of Venice, Italy, with Yuyama choosing the location as a basis in order to communicate the feeling of entering a mysterious world. The film's title was revealed on January 30, 2002, in Japan. The film debuted alongside a short episode, titled "Camp Pikachu." The film's English adaptation was produced by 4Kids Entertainment and distributed by Miramax Films.

The film premiered in Japan on July 13, 2002. An English adaptation produced by 4Kids Entertainment was distributed in the United States by Miramax Films on May 16, 2003.[2] This version stars the regular television cast of Veronica Taylor, Eric Stuart, Rachael Lillis and Maddie Blaustein. The film grossed US$27 million in Japan and $756,381 in the United States, becoming the lowest-grossing film in the Pokémon franchise. The film was met with primarily negative reviews, though retrospective reviews have been more positive.

Plot

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The city of Alto Mare is protected by the dragon siblings Latias and Latios. Their father, also a Latios, once saved the city from an evil Pokémon Trainer and their Pokémon, transforming its streets into canals. The father Latios died protecting the city, leaving behind the Soul Dew containing his own soul. The citizens built the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare (D.M.A.) to protect the city if necessary, using the Soul Dew as a power source, which was hidden away to prevent its usage.

In the present, Ash Ketchum, Misty, and Brock tour the city. During a local water race, Ash and Misty briefly see an invisible Latias. Two Team Rocket spies, Annie and Oakley, attempt to capture Latias, disguised as a human girl named Bianca, so they can gain access to the defense mechanism. Ash and Pikachu guide Latias to safety, but she disappears soon after.

At a local museum, the trio learn from its curator and the real Bianca's grandfather Lorenzo about Alto Mare's history, the defense mechanism, and the evil trainer's fossilized Pokémon on display. Ash encounters Bianca and chases her across the city into a hidden garden where Latias and Latios live. As Pikachu plays with the Pokémon, Lorenzo shows Ash the Soul Dew, unaware that Annie and Oakley's drone has infiltrated the sanctuary.

Annie and Oakley later capture Latios and the Soul Dew to power the D.M.A., but Latias escapes and seeks Ash's help. Using the defense mechanism, Oakley locks down the city and revives the evil trainer's Pokémon from the dead. Ash, Pikachu, and Latias escape the lockdown and travel to the museum to rescue Latios and disable the defense mechanism. The Soul Dew shatters from its use in the device, causing the city's water to become a tidal wave. Latias and Latios combine their powers to stop the wave, but Latios dies in the process.

In the aftermath, Ash and his friends are about to depart Alto Mare when "a girl resembling Bianca" gives Ash a sketch of him and Pikachu, and kisses him before she silently leaves. As Ash, Misty, and Brock leave the city, Annie and Oakley are sent to jail.

Cast

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Character Japanese voice English voice
Ash Ketchum Rica Matsumoto Veronica Taylor
Misty Mayumi Iizuka Rachael Lillis
Brock Yūji Ueda Eric Stuart
Pikachu Ikue Ōtani
Togepi Satomi Kōrogi
Latias Megumi Hayashibara
Latios Masashi Ebara Megumi Hayashibara
Jessie Megumi Hayashibara Rachael Lillis
James Shin-ichiro Miki Eric Stuart
Meowth Inuko Inuyama Maddie Blaustein
Wobbuffet Yuji Ueda Kayzie Rogers
Zanner (ザンナー, Zannā) Uno Kanda[3] Annie
Megan Hollingshead
Rion (リオン) Yumiko Shaku[3] Oakley
Lisa Ortiz
Rossi (ロッシ, Rosshi) Kōichi Yamadera Ross
Michael Sinterniklaas
Vongole (ボンゴレ, Bongore) Gucci Yuzo[3] Lorenzo
Wayne Grayson
Kanon (カノン) Fumiko Orikasa Bianca
Tara Sands[4]
Narrator Unshō Ishizuka Rodger Parsons

Production

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During a production presentation held at a hotel January 30, 2002, in Japan, the film's title was officially announced alongside the announcement of video game Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire's release date.[5][3] Several members of the film's Japanese voice cast were revealed at the presentation, with the cast members explaining their roles in the film.[3] The presentation was stated to go on a "road show" following this initial reveal at the hotel.[5]

Venice was a major inspiration for the film's main setting of Alto Mare.

The city of Alto Mare, the film's main location, is based around the city of Venice, Italy, and many Italian words are used in the film's dialogue as a result.[1] The film's director, Kunihiko Yuyama, chose Venice as an inspiration for the film to convey the feeling of entering a mysterious world.[6] Yuyama scouted out locations in Venice to use as inspiration for various locations in Alto Mare.[5]

Pokémon Heroes is the fifth film in the Pokémon film franchise, following the release of the 2001 film Pokémon 4Ever and a pattern of a yearly release schedule.[3] Though the films maintained a degree of popularity,[5] by the time of its predecessor's release, the hype surrounding the Pokémon franchise was beginning to die down, resulting in 4Ever doing poorly at the box office.[7] While Miramax continued to distribute the film series following 4Ever, Heroes received an even more limited theatrical release than prior films in the series did.[1]

The movie was aired alongside the short episode "Camp Pikachu," which introduced the Pokémon Wynaut to the franchise.[3] Yuka narrated the short episode.[3] A prologue at the beginning of the film, which describes the history of Alto Mare and its guardians, was cut in the film's international releases.[1]

Box office and release

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The first three Pokémon films, Pokémon: The First Movie, Pokémon: The Movie 2000, and Pokémon 3: The Movie, were released outside of Japan by Warner Bros., but the distribution rights for Pokémon 4Ever and Pokémon Heroes were given to Miramax on April 2, 2002, by The Pokémon Company. Miramax was rumored to have bought the rights for $1 million and by giving up 75% of the profits. Harvey Weinstein stated that Miramax could "reinvigorate the franchise".[8]

The film opened on July 13, 2002,[1] at the same time as Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones in Japan (where it had opened at number one), and failed to out-gross it. It later fell to ninth place at the Japanese box office behind Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Stuart Little 2. The film grossed US$27 million in Japan.[9] In North America, the film had a limited run in theaters, only opening in 196 theaters.[10] The film was released in theaters on May 16, 2003,[1] and grossed $756,381, resulting in the film becoming the lowest grossing in the series.[10] Heroes would be the last film in the series to receive a major theatrical release until the 2017 film Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!.[11]

The film was later released on VHS and DVD on January 20, 2004,[1] and later made available on Amazon Prime Video in 2022.[12] The film was later re-released in theaters from August 11 to August 18 in 2022 in order to celebrate the 25th Anniversary Pokémon Film Festival.[13]

Reception

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Contemporaneous

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Pokémon Heroes received primarily negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 19% of 42 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "This series isn't getting any better."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 27 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[15] Desson Howe of The Washington Post stated that "This one's for kids and no one else",[16] with The Austin Chronicle's Marc Savlov also giving the film a negative review.[17] Robert Koehler, writing for Variety, highlighted the fun atmosphere and visuals of the film, as well as its music, but criticized how these aspects faltered after Annie and Oakley's plot-line commences. He additionally criticized the visual designs and sound effects of Latias and Latios and the rendering of 3-D models found in the film.[18] Dave Kehr of The New York Times highlighted the film's 3-D effects, but criticized the film's plot and characters, calling it "a tedious, unimaginative affair."[19] Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club found the film to be boring for both adults and children, stating that the film lacked substance for viewers.[20]

Retrospective

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Retrospective reviews have been more positive. Pedro Hernandez of Nintendo World Report stated that while the film's animation was not the greatest the series' movies had, he found it to be a visually impressive film, additionally highlighting the design of the film's main location of Alto Mare.[1] TheGamer's Eric Switzer found the film's plot to be confusing, though felt it was better executed than the series' prior film, Pokémon 4Ever. Though he disliked the sound effects used to verbally represent Latias and Latios's speech, he stated he "was still pleasantly surprised by how much personality and charm these otherwise forgettable Legendaries had," additionally highlighting Latios's death scene.[10] Callum May of Anime News Network highlighted the film's "iconic" opening, additionally praising the relationship between Ash and Latias and the overall character work in the film.[21] Witney Seibold, writing for /Film, highlighted the film's relaxing atmosphere, and stated that despite the film's waning popularity, it helped emphasize that the film franchise did not need exclusively action in order to function.[22] The identity of who kissed Ash at the end of the film became a highly debated topic among fans of the series, with debate persisting long past the film's release.[23]

Legacy

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The film's environment and characters were referenced in later Pokémon media. The anime season Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series featured cameo appearances from Bianca and Alto Mare, marking one of the few times the franchise's films were referenced in the main anime series.[24][25] In 2017, The Pokémon Company hosted a fan poll to celebrate the release of the 2017 film Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! in order to determine fans' favorite film, with Heroes ranking in first place on the poll.[26] As part of a celebration of the Pokémon anime's 25th anniversary, selected movies were voted on by fans to be shown in theaters as part of the "25th Anniversary Pokémon Film Festival." The films that were selected in theaters were decided by a poll of 200,000 votes, with Heroes being among the three films selected.[13][27] A Pikachu, based on Ash's, was distributed in the games Pokémon Sword and Shield alongside showings of the film.[13] A Latias was also distributed to celebrate the film's re-release. This Latias had a special attack named "Lovely Kiss," a reference to the film's ending.[23]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Originally released in Japan as Pocket Monsters the Movie: Guardians of the Water City Latias and Latios (劇場版ポケットモンスター 水の都の護神 ラティアスとラティオス, Gekijōban Poketto Monsutā Mizu no Miyako no Mamorigami Ratiasu to Ratiosu)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Hernandez, Pedro (May 16, 2011). "Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias - Feature". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h ASCII. "ポケモン映画最新作、今夏公開――ゲスト声優陣もシリーズ最強". ASCII.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  4. ^ Sands, Tara Jayne [@TaraSandsLA] (August 6, 2014). "@DanielManning__ Pretty sure I did!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 28, 2017 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ a b c d "この夏上映の『ポケモン』映画制作発表会で、ゲスト声優陣公開!!　GBA版の情報も！ - 電撃オンライン". Dengeki Online (in Japanese). January 30, 2002. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "ポケモン映画第5弾「水の都の護神 ラティアスとラティオス」 第4四半期に、350種類以上のポケモンが登場するGBA版を発売へ". Game Watch. April 26, 2009. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "Pokémon 4ever: Celebi-Voice of the Forest - Feature". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  8. ^ Eller, Claudia (April 4, 2002). "Miramax Acquires Rights to Two 'Pokemon' Sequels". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  9. ^ Macias, Patrick (2003). Japan's Movie House Masterpieces. DH Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 9780972312448. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Switzer, Eric (September 19, 2021). "In Pokemon Heroes, Ash Smooches Latias And Becomes A Dad". TheGamer. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  11. ^ Frank, Allegra (2017-07-31). "Pokémon returns to theaters this fall with nostalgia fest I Choose You". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  12. ^ "「ミュウツーの逆襲」から「ポケットモンスター ココ」まで！ポケモン映画32作品がAmazon Prime Videoで一挙配信". Inside Games (in Japanese). January 31, 2022. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "『ポケモン映画祭』上映3作品決定 ラティアスとラティオス、ジラーチ…入場者プレゼントも実施". Oricon News. June 25, 2024. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  14. ^ "Pokémon Heroes". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 6, 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  15. ^ "Pokémon Heroes". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  16. ^ Howe, Desson (May 9, 2003). "Action Heroes Reloaded". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Savlov, Marc (May 16, 2003). "Movie Review: Pokémon Heroes". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  18. ^ Koehler, Robert (May 13, 2003). "Pokemon Heroes: Latios & Latias". Variety. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  19. ^ Kehr, Dave (May 16, 2003). "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Pokémon Heroes'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  20. ^ Robinson, Tasha (May 20, 2003). "Pokémon Heroes". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  21. ^ May, Callum (August 19, 2024). "The Best and Worst Pokemon Movies Of All Time". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Seibold, Witney (2022-08-27). "All 24 Pokémon Movies Ranked Worst To Best". SlashFilm. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  23. ^ a b "『ポケモン』映画イベントで「サトシのキスシーン論争」がついに決着！？お相手はカノンかラティアスか…". Inside Games (in Japanese). August 20, 2022. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  24. ^ Coulson, Josh (March 22, 2023). "Ash's Final Season Brings Back Alto Mare From Pokemon Heroes Movie". TheGamer. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  25. ^ Peters, Megan (March 20, 2023). "Pokemon: Ash's Final Season Drops a Major Movie Throwback". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  26. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (August 19, 2024). "Pokémon Heroes - Latias & Latios Tops Fan Poll of Favorite Franchise Film". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  27. ^ "【25周年ポケモン映画祭】投票結果を発表。再上映されるのは『水の都の護神』『七夜の願い星』『ディアルガVSパルキアVSダークライ』 | ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). July 16, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
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