Preston Smith
Today – November 24, 2018 – saw the theatrical release of Pokemon: The Power of Us. Riffing its title off of the second Pokemon film, The Power of One, this twenty-first film in the series’ archive saw Ash Ketchum arriving in Fula City for their annual Wind Festival. Before getting into our review, you can view the official trailer for the film here:
Ash’s journey allows him to meet a wide array of characters. An official blurb for the film states:
In Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, Ash and Pikachu journey to a seaside city filled with a delightful cast of characters, including a young athlete, a compulsive liar, a shy researcher, a bitter old woman, and a little girl with a big secret. They’re sure to encounter unique challenges and plenty of thrilling Pokémon battles while learning the value of teamwork and putting aside their differences.
Honestly, the trailer for this film doesn’t do it justice. The one thing that is blatantly clear from the trailer, though, is how stunning the animation is. Above all else, the film is beautiful and resilient, which simply adds to the fun ambience of viewing the film.
What the trailer doesn’t make explicitly obvious is the character development in the film. Where last year’s film, I Choose You!, failed to develop its cast, The Power of Us managed to completely excel in its character development of a significantly larger cast. Between flashbacks and present day drama, each character is developed personally, in their relation to other human characters, and/or in relation to Pokemon themselves. We can honestly say we left the film with warm hearts and with a strong sense of camaraderie. And this isn’t to say that the film was all smiles, because the threats in the film – a raging forest fire, an enraged Zeraora, and mass amounts of poisonous clouds – were very real and dangerous.
All of the characters add to the lore of Fula City, which itself is well-developed in the film. Pokemon Lugia and Zeraora play significant roles in the lore, with Lugia being a callback to the second film and Zeraora connecting the film to the current generation. In this way, this film transcends time to bring a well-developed city and cast of characters to the silver screen.
Overall, The Power of Us has its cheesy moments, but in comparison to I Choose You!, it excels in every regard. Choosing to focus on a city and characters as a solid basis from which to grow was a brilliant decision on the creators’ part, and after this we cannot wait to see next year’s film.
Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us will continue its limited theatrical release in the U.S. on November 26, November 28, and December 1 in select theaters.
Are you excited for this brand new Pokemon adventure? Comment below and tweet us @Fuzzable with all of your love for this film!
