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Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life is the third Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl movie and the twelfth Pokémon movie overall. It was premiered in Japan on July 18, 2009, which was the 11th anniversary of the premiere of Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back. The movie's first international screening was on Cartoon Network Australia on November 6, in the United States on Cartoon Network on November 20, 2009, and in Canada on YTV on November 28, 2009. It was released on DVD in Australia on June 2, 2010 and on Blu-ray in Australia on June 1, 2011.
It is the last movie in the trilogy that started with The Rise of Darkrai and continued with Giratina and the Sky Warrior. The following film is a stand alone movie of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
Plot[]
Ash Ketchum and friends have traveled to Michina Town, an ancient area surrounded by many legends—and unsurprisingly, many Legendary Pokémon as well. The fighting between Dialga and Giratina begins again, but Sheena, a young woman who guards Michina Town's shrine, stops it and brings peace between Dialga, Giratina and Palkia. The true reason for the fighting between the three Legendary Pokémon is revealed when Arceus emerges, seeking revenge for its betrayal by humanity at the hands of Sheena's ancestor Damos. With even the Pokémon of Myth unable to stand against the Pokémon said to have created all worlds, Ash, his friends and Sheena must embark on a trip back in time in a desperate bid to undo what went wrong and prevent Arceus's rampage from ever taking place.
Cast[]
| Character | Japanese voice actor | English voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Ash Ketchum | Rica Matsumoto | Sarah Natochenny |
| Pikachu | Ikue Otani | |
| Brock | Yuji Ueda | Bill Rogers |
| Dawn | Megumi Toyoguchi | Emily Jenness |
| Jessie | Megumi Hayashibara | Michele Knotz |
| James | Shin-ichiro Miki | James Carter Cathcart |
| Meowth | Inuko Inuyama | James Carter Cathcart |
| Narrator | Unsho Ishizuka | Rodger Parsons |
| Arceus | Akihiro Miwa | Tom Wayland |
| Damos | Masahiro Takashima | Dan Green |
| Sheena | Kii Kitano | Carrie Keranen |
| Kevin | Yuji Kishi | Wayne Grayson |
| Marcus | Kōichi Yamadera | Jason Griffith |
| Tapp | Yuzuru Fujimoto | Bill Tost |
| Kato | Motoko Kumai | Tom Wayland |
| Kiko | Kei Shindo | Erica Schroeder |
| Heatran | Kenta Miyake | Tom Wayland |
| Spiky-Eared Pichu | Shoko Nakagawa | Kayzie Rogers |
Production[]
The film's director, Kunihiko Yuyama, stated that in the film Arceus was depicted as being nature, the Jewel of Life as being the Sun, with the end goal of making people contemplate how the natural world is essential for the survival of all life. In Japan, the movie was distributed by Toho, best known for creating Godzilla. The movie's fictitious setting is based on the Acropolis, Mycenae, Delphi, and the Metéora in Greece, which the director and producers visited in August 2008.
Events[]
Shiny Pichu were distributed to those who pre-ordered their movie tickets in Japan. These Pichu were later made available in GameStop stores in America, as well as over Wi-Fi for international games. These Pichu allow players to obtain the Spiky-eared Pichu when they take the Shiny Pichu to Ilex Forest.
Arceus knowing Roar of Time, Spacial Rend, and Shadow Force, the signature moves of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, respectively, as well as Judgment, its own signature move, were distributed in theaters in Japan and Toys "R" Us stores in America. Most notably, these Arceus allow players to obtain a level 1 Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina at the Sinjoh Ruins when transferred to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Gallery[]
| Main article: Arceus and the Jewel of Life/gallery |
Reception[]
Carl Kimlinger, writing for Anime News Network, gave the film an overall grade of B−. He noted the film's similarity to previous Pokémon films, saying: "It is totally inoffensive, reliably entertaining, and completely forgettable. In short, the exact same thing Pokémon movies have been", and added: "Whether that sounds like a promise or a threat to you will determine whether this is something you want to watch." He praised the film's special effects, saying: "The sheer beauty of the film will come as a surprise to even the healthiest, best-watched Pokémon fan out there", but criticized the character designs as "bargain-basement", saying: "the contrast between the television series' two-dimensional designs, with their simple eyes and spiky cliché-hair, and the film's fully-realized three-dimensional world is jarring." Kimlinger concluded: "It's harmless, so long as you discount the gotta-catch-'em-all commercialism and occasional weird polytheistic undercurrent, and has some laudable things to say about the power of the human will to better the world", and recommended Kiki's Delivery Service as a better alternative.
Box office[]
The film was released in Japanese theaters on July 18, 2009, opening at #4 in its first weekend, behind the Japanese release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#2) and Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker (#1). It became the ninth highest grossing animated film of that year.
Trivia[]
- The movie marked the anime debut of Palmer, the leader of the Battle Tower in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and their remakes, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Frontier Brain in Pokémon Platinum. He briefly appeared at the film's opening where he battled Cynthia. He made his main series debut in Historical Mystery Tour!
- The longest solar eclipse in the 21st century was visible from Japan just days after the premiere of this movie, which uses the astronomical event as a herald of Arceus's approach.
- Though it has happened to Ash's friends before, this is the first time Ash himself travels through time.
- Characters from The Rise of Darkrai and Giratina and the Sky Warrior appeared in the film's credits.
- According to ADR director Tom Wayland, Arceus was originally going to be voiced by actor Vincent D'Onofrio of Full Metal Jacket and Men in Black fame. However, before his recording session, there were difficulties with D'Onofrio's agent and he was unable to record for the movie. After re-auditioning, Tom Wayland himself was chosen to voice Arceus instead.
- As of this movie, every single Pokémon in for the first four generations has appeared in either an anime episode or a movie, except for Porygon's evolved forms (Porygon2 and Porygon-Z), which wouldn't appear until three years later in Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice.
- The scene in the credits where Team Rocket is trying to steal watermelons and coming across a disguised Voltorb is reminiscent to a scene in What You Seed is What You Get, where they were blasted off by Voltorb's evolution, Electrode.
- Apart from its brief appearances in the prologue and end credits, Giratina only appears in its Altered Form throughout the movie. However, its Origin Form was seen briefly before it transformed to fight Dialga.
- To date, this is the Pokémon movie with the longest distance between its United States premiere date and its DVD release date. It premiered in the United States on November 20, 2009, and was released on DVD on February 1, 2011, fourteen and a half months later.
- The Japanese title card refers to the movie as (Japanese: 劇場版ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド＆パール・プラチナ アルセウス 超克の時空へ Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl Platinum the Movie - Arceus: To a Conquering Spacetime).
See also[]
- Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles (special/TV movie featuring Arceus, aired on Netflix worldwide)
External links[]
- M12 at Bulbapedia, the Pokémon wiki.
- Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life at the Internet Movie Database
- Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life at the Anime News Network