Review M18: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages

[Moe]

Just got back from seeing the dub of the new movie, so spoiler alert if you're still waiting on seeing it...

I liked pretty much everything with Hoopa in confined form, I suppose it's the oddity of seeing supposedly extremely powerful Pokemon just having fun that I like seeing. All the Pikachu help explain to me why the Pikachu Movie episode got timed as it did, really amusing with the cosplay Pikachu there. I'm glad they didn't bother to use the stupid 'telepathy' excuse for why Hoopa could talk - especially in the scene where both mind-controlled Ash and shadow Hoopa talked simultaneously, and just let it go unexplained as the plot convenience it has always been.

However the battle with the 'shadow' Hoopa was just messy - way too many Pokemon being involved and it just resulted in a mess of light and explosions. Though the fact Ash managed to just casually command Mega Rayquaza in battle probably suggests he's a bit further on his way to being a Pokemon Mister Master than he seems. The generic red glowing eyes of being controlled showed logically how the shadow Hoopa was able to control all the legendaries into a rage, but there wasn't really a flip side explaining why the 'good' legendaries all fought so hard for confined Hoopa.

The backstory was quite good, unbound Hoopa seemed to have a natural progression towards the dark side. Coming out the other side however felt a bit rushed, the montage especially didn't link back Hoopa's memories from before it went too far, instead only having memories from it's life while the shadow was confined, I don't know how that was sufficient enough to break that spell.

Team Rocket's role in this movie seemed to be just about right to me - enough that they were actually in it, rather than never crossing paths with Ash - but not so much that they took away from the main plot. Meowth Unbound should totally be a thing. However, like so many anime episodes, it seemed like Serena, Bonnie and Clemont - and especially Serena - didn't do anything to advance the plot. I suppose Clemont got his invention in - it would be nice if Serena could have had a few minutes in the movie to do a performance routine with Hoopa, the rings would be amazing for that kind of thing - and perhaps a better way of establishing the inability for Hoopa to teleport itself through the rings.

It's great that the real hero of the movie was a random wild Hippopotas. Though you'd think that if someone basically lived their entire lives based on that mythology they'd have caught themselves a powerful set of water-fire-ground Pokemon for just that situation.

Not that the dub should have slotted it in when the Japanese version didn't, but it's a shame there's no full length version of the current intro theme. The dub replaced music - I think practically all of it - but very little of it stuck out, and the one piece that did, only did so because it was such a common track in the anime - the rest seemed to be movie specific. The ending theme was alright, but you're not going to be missing much when Cartoon Network cut it out of the US airing.

I didn't expect it, but it still is disappointing that even for a cinema screening they don't get the Pikachu short dubbed, which inevitably means it being not on the DVD release either.

Overall, the big battle scene was just too over the top and detracted from the movie - what I found to be an interesting plot just took too much time on a mess of a battle, which makes it hard for me to like the movie. That said, the big question out of the movie would be, were you surprised?

 

[UxieLover1994]

I had written down my comments on another page earlier, but said page has been deleted. I'm glad the writers have learned their lesson after M16, and included some call backs to earlier films. And it's nice to see that Ash recognized Lugia on the spot, though whether or not it's the same Lugia from M02 is ambitious. And we even got to see Arecus' Dimension at the end, implying this is the same Arceus from M12.

I think the film is an improvement, but still a letdown on the roles of Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont, especially when compared to M17. And at least they were not walking scenery like Iris and Cilan were in both versions of M14. While I didn't like the fact that the soundtrack was replaced, there were some tracks that sounded so lovely and suitable for these moments. However, the ending theme, currently untitled, cannot live up to the beauty of "The Power Of One", "Make A Wish", or "Open My Eyes".

So, I rank this film a 6/10. It's an improvement, and great to see a lot of Legendary Pokémon in a clash, but they could've done better with the script. My main criticism is the lack of an opening theme in both Japanese and English. But of course, can you really beat the one for M17? "Pokémon Theme (XY)", and the battle between Ash and Astrid, especially once Mega Absol is on the field, is difficult to topple. Also, the "World of Pokémon" was just too slow for me.

 

[Lord_Mewtwo]

Not that the dub should have slotted it in when the Japanese version didn't, but it's a shame there's no full length version of the current intro theme. The dub replaced music - I think practically all of it - but very little of it stuck out, and the one piece that did, only did so because it was such a common track in the anime - the rest seemed to be movie specific. The ending theme was alright, but you're not going to be missing much when Cartoon Network cut it out of the US airing.

Thanks for letting me know this. Guess I'm waiting until the subbed version comes out.

 

[UxieLover1994]

Here is what was in my older post before it was archived. I'd like to thank Playerking for helping me retreave them, and telling me about page archives.

I've just returned from seeing M18 at Tea Tree Plaza. There are a few things I should point out (I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum).

Spoiler

* Hoopa's voice does sound cute at times, but it's screaming in it's Confined Forme is undoubtly narmy, even for the dub.
* Indeed, the music has been replaced in the English dub, but some tracks are surprisingly beautiful and match the theme. Remember that "inferior" doesn't always have to mean "bad".
** A track from M17 (the one in the shopping scene) appears early on, while Ash and Bonnie are swimming. (I'm not 100% sure if that same track is in the main anime, since I only saw a few episodes).
* This is probably the first time Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket are not in the "World of Pokémon" intro. Instead, the intro shows the Legendary Pokémon that will be featured in the film.
* It's implied that the Lugia here is the same one from M02, since Ash recognizes it. This might be the same for Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Arecus, and Kyurem.
** If so, then it means the past scenes of M12 are set less than 100 years before the present, unless the Plates are copies (I theorize that Marcus made copies in an attempt to create another Jewel of Life, but then gave up and performed a Heel-Face Turn). But then again, the events of M12 have Ash and co. alter history, making it possible for Arecus to give three of it's plates to help seal Hoopa Unbound long after helping Damos. It's never said at the end of M12 if Arecus had been sleeping all the way to the present in the rewritten timeline.
** The Pokémon that Hoopa Unbounded summoned are under it's control, justifying why they didn't recognize Ash. In Ash's case, him reuniting with the Legendary Pokémon would be the last thing on his mind.
** Latias and Latios cannot be the same ones from M05, since in that film, Latios died. Latias also didn't recognize Ash.
* Like with Diancie in M17, Latias, Latios, and Rayquaza all Mega-Evolved without needing Mega Stones or Key Stones.
* With the exception of Regigigas, all the cries of the Legendary Pokémon are the same from the earlier movies.
* Also, they all just fly away at the end, with no view of Dialga and Palkia returning to their dimensions, or Giratina returning to the Reverse World. We do get to see Arceus in it's dimension in the ending credits, however.
* Being a fan of Kingdom Hearts I gotta ask this: Does Hoopa Unbound, after being set free, remind anyone of Vanitas?

Of these Pokémon, I think besides Hoopa, we should give articles to Latias and Latios, and to the Shiny Rayquaza. I don't know about Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Arceus, or Kyurem. It's not 100% confirmed that they are the same ones from the DP trilogy and M15, respectively, though the credits imply Arceus is the same one from M12.

You can point out anything wrong with my data, but please be nice about it. I never intended to offended anyone.

 

[Dogasu]

Did Mary and Balza keep their names?

 

[P_S_B]

Did Mary and Balza keep their names?

Mary had her name changed to Meurae (pronounced Me-yur-ray, I'm not sure of the spelling) and Balza was named Baraz. Ghris didn't get a name. Désert City was Dahara City and Arche Valley was Arche Valley (pronounced Ar-kay).

 

[Dogasu]

Haha, wow. I wish I was surprised but in all honesty I figured they'd do something like that.

 

[Johtohfiller]

I think the film is an improvement, but still a letdown on the roles of Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont, especially when compared to M17.

This is disappointing to hear. My favorite thing about M17 is that it isn't The Ash and Legendaries Show like so many of the movies are.

 

[technickal]

Catch the voice cast list in the credits, by any chance? No problem if you haven't, as it's blink-and-you-miss-it and you shouldn't be expected to memorize it.

 

[kantoskies]

Did Mary and Balza keep their names?

Mary had her name changed to Meurae (pronounced Me-yur-ray, I'm not sure of the spelling) and Balza was named Baraz. Ghris didn't get a name. Désert City was Dahara City and Arche Valley was Arche Valley (pronounced Ar-kay).

Names like "Satoshi" and "Musashi" are too difficult for American kids to relate to/understand but "Meurae" is perfectly fine???

 

[P_S_B]

Catch the voice cast list in the credits, by any chance? No problem if you haven't, as it's blink-and-you-miss-it and you shouldn't be expected to memorize it.

I caught the list of English voice actors, but unfortunately I don't remember any names I didn't already know (Haven Paschall, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld etc.), and they didn't say which characters they played, so there was no character list.

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

Planning to get this movie on DVD when it comes out. It would be my first time watching it and I like the idea of multiple legendaries in the movies.

 

[P_S_B]

Now that part of the dub is on Youtube I have had the chance to hear Mary's English name again. Now I believe it is Miray. That's what it sounds like when she introduces herself, and upon Googling the name I have found that it is a common name in parts of North Africa and the Middle East. It is apparently of Ancient Egyptian origin, and along with Dahara City it appears that they were taking names from that general area.

 

[Legacy]

So there was no opening theme/battle to start the movie? Disappointing. That's my favorite part of the movies.

 

[Target]

I recorded the movie and it's special.

 

[Dogasu]

Names like "Satoshi" and "Musashi" are too difficult for American kids to relate to/understand but "Meurae" is perfectly fine???

It's not that but more the fact that they're taking one Western-sounding name and changing it to a different Western-sounding name because...reasons?

 

[UxieLover1994]

This is disappointing to hear. My favorite thing about M17 is that it isn't The Ash and Legendaries Show like so many of the movies are.

But at least they did have roles in the pre-climax, where they help rebuild the Prison Bottle. Compare that with both versions of M14, where Iris and Cilan are just walking scenery. But is M14, as you put it, "The Ash and Legendaries Show"? It mostly focused on Damon and Ash, with Pokémon as an afterthought. Makes me think that this could be the plot of San Fransokyo in Kingdom Hearts III, with Sora taking Ash's place, and Baymax taking the place of the dragon that allies with Ash (and Dark Baymax taking the place of the dragon that allies with Damon).

So there was no opening theme/battle to start the movie? Disappointing. That's my favorite part of the movies.

Obviously, the writers knew that the opening theme of M17 (especially the English version) cannot be beaten (Mega Absol, anyone?). So, this year, they didn't even bother. But at least this is the first time the "World of Pokémon" didn't include a scene with Ash and Pikachu at all (M13, M14, and M15 all focused more on Ash than on other Pokémon, which makes M17's intro great to watch).

 

[Target]

I posted the English ending theme "Every Side Of You" on YouTube.

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9WU9ciM5B8


It's sung by Dani Marcus, who is also a TPCI voice actor. They voiced characters like Marley, Emmy, and Penelope.

 

[DS0308]

I've been able to watch the movie now, it feels like it suffered from being too short. They seemed to jump around a fair bit, like when they were doing the Arche Valley backstory great-grandfather thing they just started changing locations when they cut to the present. Not to mention how he managed to talk into the night, lolwut. That being said maybe it was too short because they took too long on other things? Like the super Legendary... uhh... Clash of Ages, although I felt that wasn't really too much of a problem.

I don't know, the movie was reasonable in my eyes. The voice acting wasn't too bad, although Baraz was a bit flat sometimes, however. Didn't quite pay attention to the BGM, not that I really knew what the original was anyway so I couldn't make comparisons even if I wanted to. Obviously there was good moments, such as when Ash and Hoopa first met.

 

[KojiroKing]

I thought this film sucked really, really badly. It started out okay, and Hoopa was kind of cute at first, but then things quickly slid downhill into a mess- Lugia and Latios just literally popped up to help Ash, I mean, what was that about? It was also too short, didn't really leave an impact on me- heck, I thought the Diancie Movie was better, and I didn't even like that one [haven't liked the Movies post-Manaphy, though].

As for the English dub? I thought it was awful in terms of voice acting- Rica, Megumi, Inuko, etc. are far better actors: the good parts are I think Bonnie's voice actor has a decent voice and everything, but her delivery and acting are too forced, and that Hoopa's dub voice was much better than in the trailer, but still got a little annoying. Barza had a decent voice, as did the traveler, though.

A majority of the dub voices suck, though- Unbound Hoopa sounded too stupid, Clemont sounds too old, same goes for Serena, Ash just sounds like a woman who has a frog stuck in her throat, James sounds like an old man on life support, Meowth sounds too gravelly as well as rough, and to round off Jessie sounds like a ditzy farm girl.

The replacement dub BGM was terribly composed, and I'm not just saying that because I prefer Miyazaki's OST either: it completely shifts tones from happy moments to sad, and it's even placed terribly at times. Even 4Kids did a better job placing and composing their own dub music when they did the dub, if you ask me.

Finally, Team Rocket's TPCi dialogue continues to blow, 'nuff said, who thought that, "Slick, that should do the trick" was a good line?