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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Popcornmeter

16%

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91 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

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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

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C-

Sep 7, 2011

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Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

A fun little movie with cute characters and animation

Mar 29, 2021

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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

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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

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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

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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

Celebrating RT25 with our Favorite Movies of 1998

Pokémon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution Is Classic Pokémon on CGI Steroids

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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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