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Pokémon the First Movie - Mewtwo vs. Mew

Critics Consensus

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

Movie Info

Pokémon, the lovable little characters who have become favorites in video games, TV cartoons, comic books, and toys, comes to the big screen with this animated feature film. In a fantastic alternate universe, there are 151 different varieties of the creatures called Pokemon, each with its own unique talents. Many humans attempt to capture the Pokemon and train them; the top trainers can teach the critters how to capture and train other Pokemon, making them Pokemon Masters. Ash Ketchum is one of the leading Pokemon Masters, and with his friends Misty, Brock, and Pikachu (a Pokemon with electrical powers), he discovers Mewtwo, a super-powered Pokemon created through biological engineering. Mewtwo has powers of which a mere Pokemon can only dream, and when he uses his skills to create even more super-Pokemon, Ash and his Pokemon friends must join forces to battle for survival. A major box-office success when released in Japan in 1998, Pokemon the First Movie was accompanied for its 1999 U.S. release by a 22-minute short subject, Pikachu's Vacation. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating:

G
Genre:

Action & Adventure, Animation
Directed By:

Michael Haigney, Kunihiko Yuyama
Written By:

John Touhey, Michael Haigney, Norman J. Grossfeld, Takeshi Shudo
In Theaters:

Nov 6, 1999 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Mar 21, 2000
Runtime:

96 minutes
Studio:

Warner Bros. Pictures

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Cast

Veronica Taylor
as Ash Ketchum

Satomi Koorogi

Rachael Lillis
as Misty Williams/Jessie

Rica Matsumoto

Eric Stuart
as Brock Harrison/James

Ikue Otani
as Pikachu

Philip Bartlett
as Mewtwo

Addie Blaustein
as Meowth

Ted Lewis
as Giovanni

Lee Quick
as Officer Jenny

Michael Haigney
as Psyduck/Venusaur/Nidoqueen/Blastoise

Mayumi Iizuka

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Critic Reviews for Pokémon the First Movie - Mewtwo vs. Mew

All Critics (89) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (76)

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 14, 2019 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
Top Critic
"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 14, 2019 | Full Review…

Paul Tatara
CNN.com
Top Critic
The story is a humourless retread of a Bond-style world domination yarn with a Frankenstein theme.

Aug 16, 2007 | Full Review…

Wally Hammond
Time Out
Top Critic
The repetitive plot is essentially a string of excuses for fantastical combat sequences, but somehow several characters' insistence that violence is bad doesn't come off as hypocritical.

Feb 28, 2007 | Full Review…

Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
The wisdom of putting bad experiences behind us never rang more true than after viewing this movie. Avoiding it though, may be impossible, so be prepared.

Apr 5, 2002 | Rating: 0/4

Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic
Disney's wild, creative but beautifully-controlled set-pieces, eccentric memorable characters, and sheer rush of colour tower over anything on offer here.

Apr 17, 2001 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Michael Thomson
BBC.com
Top Critic
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.

May 31, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
The climactic battle is long, repetitious and boring, while the film's anti-violence message is crassly expressed.

Jan 15, 2019 | Rating: 1/5 | Full Review…

David McGillivray
Radio Times
Inspiring message, uninspired movie.

Jan 15, 2019 | Full Review…

Leah Rozen
People Magazine
Yes, parents, you poor things, "Pokemon" (derived from "Pocket Monsters") has morphed into yet another money-milking form, and it is going to cost you.

Jan 15, 2019 | Rating: 1.5/5 | Full Review…

Deborah Hornblow
Hartford Courant
The story is trite and the cartooning is cut-rate, but youngsters will enjoy seeing their TV heroes in a movie-length adventure. Shown with a 20-minute short called "Pikachu's Vacation," so sloppily made that it's barely coherent.

Jan 15, 2019 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

CSM Staff
Christian Science Monitor
[I]t's pretty hard to sit through this feature-length expansion of the wildly popular kids cartoon series without having dire thoughts about late 20th century capitalism's apparently boundless ability to make people buy utter crap.

Jan 14, 2019 | Rating: 1/5 | Full Review…

Steve Simels
TV Guide

View All Critic Reviews (89)

Audience Reviews for Pokémon the First Movie - Mewtwo vs. Mew

May 31, 2012

This movie came out when I was 8 and I loved it then and I love it now. Yes, I was a huge fan of the pokemon tv show and that may have skewed my opinion on it. BUT I recently watched it with a date. I haven't seen it in years and my date hasn't seen it EVER. We both fell in love with the characters and enjoyed the story. Mewtwo is probably to perfect villain. He had a great background story and had a reason to his mayhem. But he also learned a lesson in the end and can really be a lesson everyone can relate to. There's one scene in the film, without giving any spoilers, where I cry every time I watch it and, if you watched the tv show, you would too. I can understand why someone who isn't into the show could just tune out of this movie, but I believe this film deserves a higher score on this website. Atlease for the great story and great script. To the critics who gave this film a rotten score, please give this movie another watch, I think if you watch it with an open mind you can respect and may even enjoy this film... also the short film before it is freakin adorable.

Joshua W Super Reviewer
Feb 29, 2012

Unless you are a fan of the show or a child, this movie is not going to do anything to broaden your horizons about the Pokemon TV show. The plot is essentially an extended episode with bland characters, cheesy dialogue (complete with cringe-worthy humor), and an ending that essentially turns the whole affair into a shaggy dog story. Even as a kid I forgot about this movie in a matter of two weeks, the only aspect of the film that stuck with me was the villain Mewtwo, and that is only because he looks cool. In the U.S. release of the film, the distributors try to instill a"fighting is wrong" message that is almost hilariously squeezed into the film's climax. The message is ironic coming from a show in which humans force monsters fight each other in every episode. Not only that, but the movie essentially hits the reset button in the end, erasing the characters recollection of the film's events. The Japanese version of the movie is no better, except they develop Mewtwo's character more in a prologue that was deleted in U.S. theatrical release. The prologue traces Mewtwo's origins, and it is actually a pretty interesting film-within-a-film that only exemplifies Mewtwo's wasted potential. Overall, an incredibly bland animated feature that only existed to sell products.

Christopher H Super Reviewer
Dec 02, 2011

Pokemon: The First Movie will always hold a place in my childhood.

Bradley W Super Reviewer
Nov 01, 2011

I had big expectations for the batlle between these two characters as im a fan of the games. But the film is terrible. It suffers from bad animation, bad dialogue, little tension and no heart. This im sure would be the reaction to fans of the games and filmgoers in general.

Directors C Super Reviewer