Reviving an Old Topic: "Pokémon: The Motion Picture"

Glitchipedia

Glitchipedia

Good Bad Bug
Monster Mash Participant 2021
Joined
May 8, 2009
Messages
2,675
Reaction score
190
The thread "CGI Pokemon Movie" fell into disuse, so I figured I'd make a new thread for it.

Recent years have seen live-action/CGI film adaptations of such things as Dragon Ball Z, Speed Racer, Transformers, Tomb Raider, Doom, and even Super Mario Bros. (though that last one was a bit hokey). Forthcoming films will even include Halo and, yes, The Sims.

My question is this: will there be a live-action and/or CGI Pokémon movie? And, if so, how would you like it to play out?

Here's how I think it should work:
  • It should be based on the games, NOT the anime.
  • It should adhere to the timeline of the games—Generations I and III come first, and II and IV later.
  • The plot should only deviate where necessary—for example, removing the Net Center and giving the Ruby and Sapphire plates a different purpose, or the omission of interactions with Game Freak employees, as such would make little sense in a movie.
  • The plot may be compressed, but only where necessary—for example, omission of both Battle Frontiers.
  • For an ideal runtime, there should be at least three films—the first for Kanto and Hoenn (and possibly parts of Sevii), the second for Johto and Sinnoh, and the third for Kanto a second time. Two prequels could focus on the story of Orre.
  • All outdoor shots should be shot on-location. The last thing we need is another George Lucas falling back on CGI at every turn.
  • The above also means that Pokémon should be portrayed through costumes and puppetry when possible and ideal (as with Machoke), and through CGI only when nothing else would look right (as with Giratina).
  • To make it somewhat more interesting and less predictable, the film should also deal with more mature themes. This would require the player characters' ages in their respective debuts to be boosted from 11 to at least 14.
  • The above would provide incentive to focus more on the humans than on the Pokémon—which is fine, because the whole point isn't really to be the greatest trainer, it's to make real, human friends.
There's dozens more criteria I could list, but my brain just deflated.

How would you make a movie work?
 
I agree with you for the most part except for a few things.

- I don't think the story of Pokemon, especially if you're planning to incorporate all four generations (possibly more), can be compressed into three films. The story is epic and is all about the character's and the experience they earn in their travels therefore I'd think that the story needs to breathe a little. I can see film specials based spinning off from a live action/CGI show but that's it.

- This is just me but I have a hard time believing the generation I and III and II and IV take place simultaneously. There's no actual proof of this and was only done in order to make the earlier Pokemon available for future games. I know there's a lot of clues that points out to this but when I think about Pokemon Yellow and Crystal I just don't see how Pokemon such as Groudon, Kyogre, Dialga, and Palkia don't play a role like they do in the remakes.

I agree with pretty much everything else you said, especially it not being based on the anime and the characters age thus becoming more mature. I also like your point about it being about friendship more than Pokemon and puppetry sounds like a good idea for the most part. Check this out...

http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/showthread.php?t=33864
 
Versityle said:
I agree with you for the most part except for a few things.

- I don't think the story of Pokemon, especially if you're planning to incorporate all four generations (possibly more), can be compressed into three films. The story is epic and is all about the character's and the experience they earn in their travels therefore I'd think that the story needs to breathe a little. I can see film specials based spinning off from a live action/CGI show but that's it.
Click to expand...

Well, the thing about the anime and other forms of media is that they tend to linger in unneeded locations. The movies could easily skip a route or two, do away with unnecessary Legendary Pokémon (like the Regis and the Lati@s) and compress a gym battle or two, maybe even leave out any gym battles that aren't important. Skimming the Elite Four challenges would probably also be ideal.

Versityle said:
- This is just me but I have a hard time believing the generation I and III and II and IV take place simultaneously. There's no actual proof of this and was only done in order to make the earlier Pokemon available for future games. I know there's a lot of clues that points out to this but when I think about Pokemon Yellow and Crystal I just don't see how Pokemon such as Groudon, Kyogre, Dialga, and Palkia don't play a role like they do in the remakes.
Click to expand...

This is the timeline that makes the most sense. The remakes seem to effectively override the originals now, due to compatibility issues. Besides, just the Team Rocket plots by themselves don't really have much umph in them. They need to be supplemented by something else—in this case, the first movie's evil bad guy supplement comes from Hoenn's evil enviromentalists, while the second movie gets its dose of evildoers through Team Galactic.

Though, Team Rocket may be a bit overpowered if Alan Rickman is cast as Giovanni...

Versityle said:
I agree with pretty much everything else you said, especially it not being based on the anime and the characters age thus becoming more mature. I also like your point about it being about friendship more than Pokemon and puppetry sounds like a good idea for the most part.
Click to expand...

Glad to know I'm actually getting somewhere. Thanks.
 
My question is: Do you actually think its profitable?

They don't even show Pokemon movies in theaters in North America, and in Japan, they can't even have a movie without having an event to lure people more people out.

As for the plot, I don't think the movies should be based on the games as much as it should be based on the anime, and it should definitely take out the Gym Leader premise. They aren't going to be able to properly compress a single region into a 2 1/2 hour movie, and it would just slow down the plot.

Think about it, the Pokemon world is a big place that can be interpreted a multitude of ways. They can easily have its own plot, and it would be successful. I mean all the animated Pokemon movies carry their own plot. The only thing that ties them to the anime is Ash, and his role could have easily just gone to an original character. They should just try to narrate another story in the Pokemon world rather than trying to go with plots we've played through in the games.

I really don't think that they should focus more on humans than on Pokemon either. What's the point of having a Pokemon movie if the humans are going to usurp the spot light? The movie should focus on the relationship between humans and Pokemon.

Of course, I'd rather see this applied to an animated movie that didn't star Ash since I still think a Live Action Pokemon movie is a terrible idea. Seriously, video game to movie adaptations rarely end up well. And think about it, even though the anime takes forever in a single region, there really isn't enough plot points to make an interesting movie out of the main series.

Honestly, why do you want to watch a movie of something you've played? I'd rather they just made an original plot for a movie.
 
Last edited:
Outrage said:
My question is: Do you actually think its profitable?

They don't even show Pokemon movies in theaters in North America, and in Japan, they can't even have a movie without having an event to lure people more people out.

As for the plot, I don't think the movies should be based on the games as much as it should be based on the anime, and it should definitely take out the Gym Leader premise. They aren't going to be able to properly compress a single region into a 2 1/2 hour movie, and it would just slow down the plot.

Think about it, the Pokemon world is a big place that can be interpreted a multitude of ways. They can easily have its own plot, and it would be successful. I mean all the animated Pokemon movies carry their own plot. The only thing that ties them to the anime is Ash, and his role could have easily just gone to an original character. They should just try to narrate another story in the Pokemon world rather than trying to go with plots we've played through in the games.

I really don't think that they should focus more on humans than on Pokemon either. What's the point of having a Pokemon movie if the humans are going to usurp the spot light? The movie should focus on the relationship between humans and Pokemon.

Of course, I'd rather see this applied to an animated movie that didn't star Ash since I still think a Live Action Pokemon movie is a terrible idea. Seriously, video game to movie adaptations rarely end up well. And think about it, even though the anime takes forever in a single region, there really isn't enough plot points to make an interesting movie out of the main series.

Honestly, why do you want to watch a movie of something you've played? I'd rather they just made an original plot for a movie.
Click to expand...

The games are all about the action. A movie would be more about the story.

And wouldn't you rather that the movie be true to the source material rather than re-imagining the plot like some other movies have done?

I can easily see some idiot writer totally redoing the plot to take place in Japan and have all Trainers as the bad guys with Pokémon as genetically designed war machines. Say bye-bye to everything you know about Pokémon, folks...

All the adaptations thus far have strayed way too far from the source material as it is. I personally would like to see a faithful adaptation.

Why go to see a movie based on a book you've already read (i.e. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)? The concept here is exactly the same, only with a video game instead of a book.

But I don't have much influence on what they do and therefore shouldn't really care. If it has a plot that has nothing to do with the games, I'd probably go to see it anyway just to see what it does have.
 
When I said a re-imagining, I meant a separate plot that still takes place in the Pokemon world, you know, expand their universe rather than showing us what we've played through.
 
I'm of the opinion that any sort of live action Pokémon movie would be a complete disaster in the box office. Even if it had production values similar to the Lord of the Rings movies.

Following the games to the letter is not only completely impossible, but it's just not made to be replicated for a movie experiences. Practically all the ideas listed only seem to appeal to a very narrow group of people: Pokémon fans. Non-fans don't give a shit about what stuff from the games are incorparated. They only care about the story or the people involved in production.

It would crash and burn no matter what. Simply because Pokémon wasn't made to be live action in the first place. Also because Videogame movies suck.

The only viable way I could ever see Pokémon being live action would be if Nintendo decided to work with Jim Henson productions (whoever owns the company now) and have Pokémon Muppets in a movie that has a plot similar to the mystery dungeon games.

We don't need to deal with human actor bullshit or having to replicate the Pokémon games via live action (because it's impossible to do without it being complete shit).
 
I like the idea of a CGI movie, as long as it was done well. I don't think it has to be based completely on the games though, they can fill in some of the gaps. I don't think they should do all four regions over three movies though, how would the plot connect if it were based off of the games? KanJohto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh don't really share anything. I think it would work better if it was just about the Kanto arc, or the Kanto and Johto games, since they both share the same plots, areas, and villians. Team Rocket could be used in both regions to connect the plot.

Also, the mature themes should be kept to a minimum. I mean, Pokemon is for everyone, it needs to be subtle enough where kids could watch it, but so that other people wouldn't get bored. Perhahps some romance (PG romance), with some criminal activities from TR, and some tiny things about death or something. I dunno, just as long as it's not corny or too dark.

And since this idea is a pokemon movie, they would need to pick the pokemon carefully. Pikachu is a must, but they should try for some others. Maybe an eevee that can't decide what to evolve into or something. I dunno.
 
No. Just no. Just forget you even thought about it and walk away.

What you want is your own fan fantasy with not one, but multiple films that cater to hardcore fans.

As PDL said, these movies would:

1) Completely bomb at the box office

2) Suck immensely

3) Are impossible to produce

I mean the battle frontier? You even mention the ruby and sapphire plates...you want them to follow the games to a tee. And considering the games have virtually no plot I don't know what you want. It's about a Pokemon trainer collecting 8 badges to go to the Pokemon League, mixed in with an evil crime organization. At what point does this movie sound good? And I don't even want to get into how they would work within the time restraint.

I just don't understand where the plot is coming from. You say you want them to be based on the games....8 badges, elite four, team rocket...150 minutes, max. I'm really seeing how that's working out. That's pretty much a movie of rushed, consectutive battles with basically nothing happening in between. Unless you do some kind of training montage of the trainer earning badg- OH WAIT then there's no plot.

We would be lowering ours heads in shame for years to come. And sequels? Sevii Islands? A PREQUEL to focus on Orre? You have to be kidding me. I can just imagine the horrible acting, horrible special effects, and horrible, cheesy dumbed down plot for kids.

Pokemon should never, ever come within proximity of a live action film.
 
Wigglytuff said:
No. Just no. Just forget you even thought about it and walk away.

What you want is your own fan fantasy with not one, but multiple films that cater to hardcore fans.

As PDL said, these movies would:

1) Completely bomb at the box office

2) Suck immensely

3) Are impossible to produce

I mean the battle frontier? You even mention the ruby and sapphire plates...you want them to follow the games to a tee. And considering the games have virtually no plot I don't know what you want. It's about a Pokemon trainer collecting 8 badges to go to the Pokemon League, mixed in with an evil crime organization. At what point does this movie sound good? And I don't even want to get into how they would work within the time restraint.

I just don't understand where the plot is coming from. You say you want them to be based on the games....8 badges, elite four, team rocket...150 minutes, max. I'm really seeing how that's working out. That's pretty much a movie of rushed, consectutive battles with basically nothing happening in between. Unless you do some kind of training montage of the trainer earning badg- OH WAIT then there's no plot.

We would be lowering ours heads in shame for years to come. And sequels? Sevii Islands? A PREQUEL to focus on Orre? You have to be kidding me. I can just imagine the horrible acting, horrible special effects, and horrible, cheesy dumbed down plot for kids.

Pokemon should never, ever come within proximity of a live action film.
Click to expand...

qft.

i agree with this wholeheartedly
 
The "game" of Pokemon is all about strategic thinking.
The "story" of Pokemon is all about a Grand Adventure.

You've seen Grand Adventures, "Star Wars", "Lord of the Rings", "Indiana Jones". It's about findings and discoveries, traveling the world, uncovering old myths, legends, and prophecies. Why do you think we like Pokemon so much?

Years ago I thought any concept of a live action Pokemon movie or series would be a disgrace to the motion picture, and in someways I still do. The concept is bland, the characters underdeveloped, the logistics of the world are completely unauthentic and who the hell would be into such a ridiculous story about kiddy monsters battling one another? The franchise really is more valuable as a game for it's gameplay qualities. Even the anime, the manga, TCG and spin-off games aren't that much to rave about because they tend to get a little ridiculous. I won't get into details about that but I'm sure you know what I mean.

But on the other hand I thought what if we were able to fix all of the problems I listed above. More complex idea, well developed three-dimensional characters, believable logistics, and more of a mature yet age appropriate experience. It surely wouldn't be easy to accomplish but is it worth a try? The anime and manga try to isolate the story from the game and whether they do a good job on it or not is debatable. But it's obvious that many do appreciate the story especially when you go beyond the 8 badges and elite four.

I know I get a chill when I encounter Team Rocket, Aqua, Magma, or Galactic for the first time. Or when Groudon and Kyogre are awakened and you need to find Rayquaza to quell their fighting. And even traveling through the Distortion World and be exciting. Learning about the Unown, spelunking in the undergrounds, Team Rocket taking over the Radio Tower and Silph Co, the Red Gyarados, the mystery behind the Original One, the list is endless. It's that essence of travel, the essence of adventure and the essence of achievement and progression that make Pokemon so creditable.

But why make a movie on all this???

It's about telling a story not about adapting your favorite pass-time. Maybe Pokemon will end one day, and all the kids who played it, watched it, absorbed it would have moved on. Maybe they got married, have kids, busy schedules, or the games of the future suck or whatever. If a film or show were to be produced about this "grand, and epic adventure" of bright, young children trekking across regions and learning all they can about the world and each other, it's a type of story that can appeal to people who have never even heard of Pokemon while at the same time give those who are familiar a sense of nostalgia. Nothing wrong with that.

The production value, logistics and overall quality is a different topic all together. Maybe it could be done, maybe it can't but I don't think there's any harm in thinking what it might be like. I personally don't think a movie would cut it because the scale is so large but that's just me.
 
Even the animated movies stopped being profitable outside of Japan. This movie would bomb and probably suck. The only way to make any live action movie based on Pokémon be any good is to do away with any existing story and make an entirely original storyline with new characters made specifically for the movie. Nothing else would translate right.
 
Yep, new characters are a must. And it would have to big a huge high-budget blockbuster, with all the pokemon rendered beautifully in some crazy CGI like the Nazgul's dragons in LotR. To all the naysayers, are you serious? You wouldn't be stoked if you saw awesome epic preview with amazingly realistic looking CGI pokemon and explosions and all around badassery?
 
Please note: The thread is from 16 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom