Does the Pocket Monsters franchise really need annual movies?

[MizuTaipu]

As we inch closer to the release of the fifteenth Theatrical Edition Pocket Monsters movie, Kyurem VS The Sacred Swordsman Keldio, do you think it is necessary to have a Pocket Monsters movie released each year? Could the budget spent on these movies be used to improve the quality of the TV series (animation quality, music, etc.)? Do you think the movies benefit the franchise? Or are they a waste? Can the legendaries showcased in the movies be properly advertised in the series if the movies were dropped (the Kami trio and Meloetta being examples)? Please discuss!

Mods: Feel free to move/change/delete this thread as you see fit.

 

[Karamazov]

I don't like the movies, but I would bet they'd be good publicity for the show. Plus, how much money do these movies usually make? I assume they must make butt-loads.

 

[Cybersai]

Considering they ran out of ideas for the movies after the 8th one, I'd say yes.

Movies 9-14 are all pretty much repeat plots of the first 8 movies.

 

[Bluelatios]

...Is this even a question? No, they need biannual movies! Actually, one movie per year is fine, I like seeing high-definition animation, especially if they eventually decide to do more of them in American theaters! I don't want Pokemon to cut any more corners like they do sometimes, they should have better movies in the future in addition to improving the current anime (with Ash please!).

 

[Musashi]

The movies are great for the annual legendary giveaways. And considering how much they make off of those pre-order tickets alone, there's no need to stop them.

Heck, the Keldeo movie will probably open at #1 since there's no blockbuster American movie to compete with.

 

[Kazamatsuri]

You know the Naruto, One Piece and Detective Conan Animes also have annual movie releases. Whether or not Pocket Monsters needs a movie release each year isn't really relevant. It's standard tradition for continuous Japanese Anime to have annual movie releases.

 

[Yankees4life]

no, pointless, wasteful movies aren't worth watching except the first one

 

[SSJ_Jup81]

In all honesty, I would say "no", since, to me, the movies have never been particularly interesting (I gave up after movie 5, though), but with most series, it's the norm for it to get a movie every year. For example, Anpanman is going on its 24th movie. Comes out next month. Series has been on the air since about 1989. Detective Conan has 16 movies now. The animated series started in 1996. There's also Doraemon, Naruto, Crayon Shin-chan, etc. It's just the norm to have a theatrical release every year for ongoing series.

 

[Eitarou]

No. But they're awesome to see, so I don't really care.

Keep em' coming.

 

[Dogasu]

Could the budget spent on these movies be used to improve the quality of the TV series (animation quality, music, etc.)?

The money saved by *not* making movies each year would not translate into a larger budget for the TV series. That's just not how these kinds of things work.

 

[TaiChiChasers]

Movies are my favorite part of the series, beautiful animation and a charming story line. Plus, movies are released quicker onto DVD in North America than the actual series. So, yes. I do believe the franchise should make annual movies.

 

[Aestivate]

I kind of like them, even though the quality of them has deteriorated drastically since M10. The higher-budget artists for the ED themes and the stunning animation is always nice to see :U

 

[SammyW27]

Pros:
Great animation that gets prettier every year (Iris' weave had was just lovely in Movie 14!)
The Legendary Pokemon are usually pretty cool
Have an edge to them the Show usually lacks and could benefit from.

Cons:
The fact they're just winging it from start to finish of production. There's something amiss when things shown in promotional materials aren't in the actual film or are completely different...
Team Rocket and Ash's friends (often) having the smallest of roles. The situation sucks even worse for their Pokemon and Ash's that aren't Pikachu. :-(
Seeing Ash inexplicably going from dumbass to badass and put on a golden pedestal

That said, I'm going to say no. I'd rather they put more focus on the show (even without the extra money). Or that they'd make the movie their own worlds (Imagine if the Legend of Thunder or Mystery Dungeon specials had been feature lentgh and theatrical). To be honest, I like it better then Legendaries show up on the show where they (usually) have an actual purpose and do the same job just as well, if not better. And yes, I know most anime series have movies, but those are cash grabs too

 

[Cybersai]

I think the Movies went downhill after the first 8. Those 8 movies all had new ideas.

From 9 onward they just started rehashing plots from the older ones. Although admittedly I did like movie 10.

 

[BugMite]

^ I don't see how movies 4-7 were THAT original myself. *shrugs*

Anyway, it's kind of w/e at this point for me, since it's just one of those things that we've all come to expect. Of course that's not to say that I wouldn't mind if we had movies every couple of years or so, but that's not going to happen so I just don't dwell on that.

 

[Virtual-Z]

They're just a money grab. How can you say that we NEED them when there are so many fillers every season? They could be fit into 3 episodes.

 

[Almonds]

Don't care - as long as they're awesome as always.

 

[The Froakster]

I don't care about the movies so much because I almost never have acsess to them.

 

[SSJ_Jup81]

They're just a money grab. How can you say that we NEED them when there are so many fillers every season? They could be fit into 3 episodes.

I don't know why you're surprised. It's an ongoing anime series. It's normal to have a theaterical release every year. It's not the only ongoing series to get a movie every year. Anpanman is going on its 24th movie and, to my knowledge, that has pretty much the same plot every movie.

 

[Otika]

I am saying this with complete understanding that almost all the movies are the same tired and rehashed plot: I look forward to the Pokémon movies. I haven't watched all of them, but I really look forward to the chance to see them. When I went to see Movie 14 in theaters, it was one of my favorite experiences in a theater. I was stupidly excited, like a seven-year-old going to see the first movie in 1999.

So while I do wish they would put a little more thought into the writing than just rehashing the same plot, I would still line up to see the movie rather it was released annually, biannually, triannualy or what other -annualies exist. As for rather or not, they need them... well, no. They don't -need- them, but with the amount of money they rake in each year, no business could ever decline such an opportunity.