Pokémon Heroes (2003)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Fresh and Exciting

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This film has some nostalgic value for me. In the summer of 2007, my parents and I flew to Los Angeles to visit Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Glen. One day while we were there, we watched this movie. Rewatching it brings back memories from those years ago, but judging it on its own, I still think this is a stellar Pokémon movie.This, in my humble opinion, is one of the top 3 Pokémon movies. It does everything right. It's not quite as big in scope as some of the others, but yet it's a more engaging movie. It has everything you could want in a Pokémon movie and much more.The story is very interesting. Team Rocket members Annie and Oakley are after the jewel that protects the city of Altomare and it's up to the guardians Latios and Latias and Ash and the gang to save the day. Annie and Oakley, while a little ditsy at times, are above-average as far as Pokémon villains go.Latios and Latias are wondrous Pokémon, and the bond Ash grew with Latias is one of the best the series has to offer. I thought Lorenzo and Bianca were really nice supporting characters (although I would have liked for them to be a little more developed).The animation still today is breathtaking. There is wonderful scenery in Altomare. It gives you a sense of wonder, and even at times feels like a Miyazaki film. It also has some of the best music and one of the best soundtracks in a Pokémon movie, which also adds to the movie's feel.There is plenty of action and excitement, from the opening race scene to the climax. The ending where Latios sacrifices himself to save Altomare is genuinely heart-wrenching and has the kind of emotion rarely seen in a Pokémon movie. Along with "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew," this is my favorite Pokémon film. This is an essential viewing for anyone remotely interested in Pokémon.RATING: A

I honestly don't get the critic bash for this movie. This is not the next critically acclaimed highly anticipated blockbuster from Christopher Nolan. This is not a interesting concept that has the potential to redefine cinema. This is Pokémon.Pokemon Heroes takes place in a city of Altomare obviously inspired by Venice where the trio of Ash, Misty and Brock goes into a plot to destroy the city in the world of the iconic little cute monsters: Pokemon. The characterization fit the bill finely. The characters and the legendary Pokémon: Latias and Latios are given reasonable background information to build you familiarity into understanding Altomare's secret. Latias and Latios are a beautiful combination of tender love and charming style. Many people don't like the sounds they make but I personally reckon they're the cutest and most endearing sounds you'd wish your puppy makes more. Many of the ways this film is presented has implausibility and childish overtones but then again this is aimed at children before they go to high school. Animation and background art is superb and only a few steps behind Studio Ghbli. However the CGI is quite a nono, they stand out and do not look all that natural at all. In my opinion this story has great style. It presents action that does not feel too forced and an emotional drama that did hit me when I was a little boy. Just the other day I suddenly thought of Pokémon and having a watch, the nostalgia sounds wonderful sensations throughout your body. The soundtrack also fits well to this film's environment and gives it a great natural wonder. For dedicated Pokémon fans, this film is actually slightly more disappointing due to the lack of Pokémon action. Ash doesn't use his Pokémon and gets magically saved by the Pokémon of Brock and Misty as they just so happen to find Ash in trouble in a city that spans a thousand streets and creeks. However Pokémon is a fun film for kids. It gives them that wonder that makes them wish to escape into an alternate universe and the voice acting and characterization does a fine job in conveying a story. Although the mums and daddies would snore before this film hits its first quarter, Pokemon Heroes does its job and that's exactly what it should do.

My second favourite Pokemon film. This film is set in the city Altomare, based on Venice. The city is guarded by Latios and Latias, two dragon and psychic Pokemon. They also protect the Soul Dew, a jewel said to contain the spirit of their father. However, two thieves come to steal the jewel in order to power the DMA (The Defence Mechanism of Altomare), although the reason why is never explained. Once again, coincidentally, Ash, Pikachu, Misty and Brock are visiting the city and get involved in the race to save the city. There also a wonderful bond between Ash, Latias and Latios, which seems to be the main support beam which prevents this movie from turning bad. As a nice point to Mario, the curator of the city's museum is dressed in his attire.

Pokemon: Heroes is a great movie, now that I finally had time to see it. I had been anticipating it even before the original Japanese version ("Guardians of the Water Capital") came out because back then I was a die-hard Pokémon fan. Now about four years later I have matured and I still loved this movie as much as I would have four years ago.Pokemon is a well done series, I mean it has to be popular if more movies, TV series and merchandise are cranked out all of the time. If you are not a Pokémon fan, anime fan or someone who is a fan of Japanese pop culture you will probably have a hard time enjoying this movie and there are some reasons why that I do agree with.First of all, the introduction of the "climax characters", Latias and Latios came a little too early. One of my favorite parts of the movies is building the anticipation of seeing the special Pokémon later on in the movie. I believe the concept of Pokémon being able to adapt human forms is a cool concept and one that could have been very well expanded upon for this particular movie which would somewhat take care of the problem I found with the movie, it's length. There is a lot of interesting work and content that would have made the movie longer and even more enjoyable.But on the other hand there were a lot of things about the movie I enjoyed. First of all, I know that Jesse and James are starting to become irrelevant at this point but they do help provide comic relief and they are characters recognizable to all Pokémon fans. I enjoyed the CGI work done in the movie; it was not top notch but it added a nice feel to the movie and it made the city of Alto Mare look quite nice. The storyline was only somewhat unique but the fact that it was being used in a Pokémon setting gave it a breath of fresh air.If your a Pokémon fan I recommend this movie for sure. If your a Pokémon hater, I'm sorry but if you don't know much about the series (which is sort of hard to believe unless your a parent maybe) I would at least watch it to try and understand why your kids enjoy Pokémon and so you can be almost knowledgeable on the subject of Pokémon yourself.