Detective Pikachu (movie)

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Detective Pikachu (also known as Pokémon Detective Pikachu) is a urban fantasy mystery film based on the video game of the same name for the Nintendo 3DS. The movie was first aired in Japan on May 3, 2019 before airing in most of the world including the United States on May 10. Unlike most other Pokémon movies, Detective Pikachu is actually a live action movie with CGI elements instead of being fully animated, and is produced by Hollywood studios. Detective Pikachu is one of the two Pokémon movies to release in the same year, alongside Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back-Evolution (both have a Mewtwo in the movie, the latter is animated).

The movie is also the first Pokémon movie to be handled by a non-Japanese studio and made primarily for an english speaking audience instead of a Japanese speaking one. The movie became the best reviewed live-action film adaptation of a video game upon release and as such is considered one of the first genuinely good movies of its genre, which has an history of getting a bad reception. A sequel to the movie was announced, but Smith later said he didn't think it was going to happen.

Plot[]

In the Pokémon universe, Tim Goodman is a 21-year-old insurance salesman who has given up Pokémon training due to the death of his mother and the absence of his father, Harry. He travels to Ryme City, a metropolis where humans and Pokémon live together as equals, to collect Harry's assets following his apparent death in a car crash. In his father's apartment, he encounters a Pikachu that can speak but can only be understood by Tim. The pair then escape from an attack by a party of Aipom. Pikachu tells Tim that he is an amnesiac detective who used to work with Harry before his disappearance. They look for Lucy Stevens, a fluff columnist and aspiring reporter suspicious of Harry's death, who Tim had previously encountered. She leads Tim and Pikachu to Ryme Wharf and, after interrogating a Mr. Mime there, are directed to an illegal Pokemon fighting arena owned by Sebastian. Sebastian wants a rematch with Pikachu who defeated his Charizard in a fight in the past. Sebastian cheats and use R-Gas to boost his Charizard, which attacks Pikachu. Sebastian then mishandle the Gas and accidently unleash Charizard on the crowd. Sebastian then tell Tim that he got the gas from "the doctor".

After confronting police lieutenant Hideo Yoshida about Harry's apparent death and the possibility of his survival, Tim and Pikachu are brought before Ryme City's benefactor Howard Clifford by his bodyguard Ms. Norman, who reveals to Tim that Harry indeed survived his car crash, which was caused by an attack from a recently escaped Mewtwo, which took him away and left Pikachu with amnesia. Howard warns them of his son, Roger, who he claims is in de facto control of his company and the city. Tim and Pikachu recruit Lucy and her Psyduck on an expedition to the lab facility Harry was investigating, where they learn Sebastian's "doctor" was a researcher aided by Harry, who had been experimenting on Mewtwo, recaptured after escaping 20 years earlier. They are then attacked by a bunch of Greninja who are fended off by Psyduck. They then run into a field of colossal Torterra that gravely injure Pikachu. Tim manages to communicate with a Bulbasaur and takes Pikachu to a clearing in the forest where they are greeted by Mewtwo, who heals Pikachu and restores some of his memories, which show that he was the one who released Mewtwo from the lab. Mewtwo attempts to reveal its intent, but is captured by Roger. Thinking that he betrayed Harry to a vengeful Mewtwo, Pikachu leaves Tim while the others return to Ryme City to warn Howard. Pikachu comes across the area where Harry's car crash occurred, and finds evidence that the Greninja attacked Harry, not Mewtwo.

Tim reaches Howard, but learns too late that he intends to transfer his consciousnesses into Mewtwo and use his powers to fuse Pokémon with their owners, with the assistance of the R gas. He also learns that "Roger" and Ms. Norman are both actually been a same shape-shifting Ditto, with the real Roger having been tied up and hidden. As Howard in Mewtwo's body starts fusing humans with Pokémon, Pikachu arrives and finally summons his electricity powers to battle Mewtwo, fending off Mewtwo long enough for Tim to free Mewtwo from Howard's control. Mewtwo restores everyone to normal while Howard is arrested by the police, and it reveals that Mewtwo had kept Harry's body and that he had in fact fused Harry's consciousness with Pikachu's in order to heal him; despite the fact they fuse their consciousnesses, just like Pikachu's memory, the fusion even erased Harry's just like while being within Pikachu. After Mewtwo unfuses them with the assistance of Tim, a fully revived Harry offers Tim the chance to return home, but Tim decides to stay in order to learn how to become a detective and spend time with him and Pikachu.

Cast[]

Development[]

The film was officially announced in July 2016, although Legendary Pictures were reported to be in talks as early as April of that year. The Pokémon Company and Letterman wanted to adapt Detective Pikachu because of their interest in making a film that focused on another character besides Ash Ketchum, the protagonist of the Pokémon the Series. On the premise, Letterman stated, "The Pokémon Company, they've already made many, many movies of Ash, and they came to Legendary with this idea of using a new character. So when I came onboard, I was pitched this character of Detective Pikachu, and I fell in love with the story behind it." The idea of talking Pokémon originated from an early concept for the 1990s TV series, but was scrapped when the original game developer, Game Freak, was unsatisfied with the concept. The idea was revived for the 2016 Detective Pikachu spin-off game. Letterman said that they "spent a year designing all the characters ahead of shooting so that we could get it all right".

On November 30, 2016, Rob Letterman was hired to direct the film, and the studio fast-tracked production to start in 2017. On August 16, 2016, Nicole Perlman and Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch were in negotiations with Legendary to write the screenplay. Later revisions were provided by Eric Pearson, Thomas McCarthy, Derek Connolly, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit and Letterman. Ultimately, Hernandez, Samit, Letterman, and Connolly received screenplay credit, and with Hernandez, Samit and Perlman receiving "story by" billing.

Music[]

The film's original score was done by Henry Jackman, who had previous experience in composing video game-inspired films and actual games. His score was conducted by Gavin Greenway.

Release[]

The film was released in theaters on May 3, 2019 in Japan, and later in North America on May 10. Toho released the film in Japan, while Warner Bros. Pictures distributed the film internationally. It was also released in 3D and other premium formats.

It eventually released on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital formats on July 23 later that year.^[1]

The film was originally going to be distributed by Universal Pictures, as part of its partnership with Legendary Pictures. It was later shifted to Warner Bros. in 2018, as Universal decided not to renew its deal with Legendary before the film's release.^[2]

In the United States, the film was rated PG for “action/peril, some rude and suggestive humor, and thematic elements” by the MPAA.^[3]

Reception[]

The film received mostly mixed-to-positive reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 68% "Fresh" rating based on 315 reviews.^[4] On Metacritic, it has a score of "53" based on 48 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[5]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

• In addition to being the first live-action film, Detective Pikachu is also the first in the Pokémon franchise to be produced and financed by a major Hollywood studio.
  • It is also the first live-action Nintendo film since the infamous 1993 Super Mario Bros., 26 years ago.
  • It is also the first film since Pokémon 3: The Movie: Spell of the Unown: Entei to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures.
    • Universal Pictures was originally the distributor, but was switched to Warner Bros. after the deal with Legendary Pictures wasn't renewed. Universal released the The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023.
• The film was produced by The Pokémon Company, and not Nintendo.
• Director Rob Letterman also directed films such as Goosebumps and Monsters vs. Aliens.
• The Jigglypuff shown in the coffee shop wielding a microphone/marker is a reference to the Jigglypuff in the Pokémon anime.
  • The film also marked the final voice acting and credited Nintendo role of Rachael Lillis before she passed away in 2024.
• The Greninja use water swords just like the one in Super Smash Bros. does.

References[]

External link[]

• Detetcive Pikachu at Bulbapedia, the Pokémon wiki.
• Detective Pikachu at the Internet Movie Database
• Detective Pikachu at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Detective Pikachu on Warner Bros.
• Detective Pikachu on Legendary