Pokémon: The First Movie

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Pokémon: The First Movie

G

Released Nov 10, 1999

1h 35m

Kids & Family

Adventure

Anime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

17%

Tomatometer

90 Reviews

76%

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50,000+ Ratings

Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu face Mewtwo, a bioengineered Pokémon, and the super-Pokémon it has created. With short "Pikachu's Vacation."

Critics Consensus

Audiences other than children will find very little to entertain them.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

This film is humourless, boring, impenetrable and with animation of such staggeringly low quality that it constitutes an insult to cinemagoers of all ages.

Jan 15, 2019

Full Review

Paul Tatara

CNN.com

"Pokémon: The First Movie" is a dose of extremely low-budget "Japanimation" that -- were it only more proficiently executed -- would rival "Scooby Doo" as the most astounding work of art in the 20th century.

Jan 15, 2019

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Excruciating to endure.

Rated: 1/5

Dec 27, 2010

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Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

A fun little movie with cute characters and animation

Mar 29, 2021

Full Review

D.J. Rogers

Black Nerd Problems

It's simple, and that's not really bad, but doesn't add much for an adult viewer, either. Without the retrospect on it hard, I think this movie is a solid 7.9/10. I wouldn't mind watching it again, especially with my little one.

Feb 11, 2021

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

We know that the makers of this film are capable of something slightly more grand-scale than "video game commercial". They're just not interested in actually doing it.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jun 1, 2019

Full Review

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KEITH S

Fantastic movie with lost of nostalgia, watching it in 1999 when it first came out was a highlighted memory that sat deep in the back of my brain. Rewatching it with my daughter who showed the same energy and enthusiasm as I had brought such joy to my heart

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/26/25

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Austin R

An absolute classic Pokemon movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/18/25

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Alex O.

Amazing art, action, and story about life. Beautiful.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/13/25

Full Review

Josh C.

Saw this movie in theaters when I was a kid, got the commemorative cards too. Nostalgia outranks everything else when it comes to rating this one, this movie is perfect.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/11/25

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Daniel R

Note worthy movie with great themes.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/11/25

Full Review

Cam D

It may seem redundant to write a review for a 27ish year movie, but I feel it deserves it. This movie changed my life, and I don't mean it sarcastically. I first saw this movie as a kid as I was already a fan of Pokémon. As a grew up I assumed the good thoughts of the movie were all due to being nostalgia blinded. So, when I went back into it, I expected a mediocre movie at best but when I was done, I felt like I hadn't aged a day. The action, lessons, and even the emotions make me feel like the crushing weight of the world was released from me even if it was for a brief time. The art style, ash's sacrifice, and especially meowth's quote all affected the person I grew to be. (I mainly wrote this review to try and improve my writing skills as I felt such a unique reason would help me improve but I truly mean everything that I said. Number 1 movie for me and would recommend.)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/08/25

Full Review

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Michael Haigney

Director

Kunihiko Yuyama

Director

Kathleen McInerney

Ash Ketchum

Jay Goede

Narrator

Rachael Lillis

Misty

Eric Stuart

Brock

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Synopsis

Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu face Mewtwo, a bioengineered Pokémon, and the super-Pokémon it has created. With short "Pikachu's Vacation."

Director: Michael Haigney, Kunihiko Yuyama
Producer: Norman J. Grossfeld, Tomoyuki Igarashi, Takemoto Mori, Choji Yoshikawa
Screenwriter: Takeshi Shudo
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: 4 Kids Entertainment, Shogakukan, Pikachu Project '99, Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Rating: G
Genre: Kids & Family, Adventure, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 10, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 21, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $85.7M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Surround, DTS, SDDS, Dolby Digital

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