By 2020, the Pokemon anime has made it an annual event to release a new film starring Ash Ketchum. 2020 Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle was the last film of its kind to be released, leading to this unprecedented drought of Pokemon films that make some fans like me wonder about the anime.
Starting in July 1998 with the release of Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back In Japan, it would become an annual tradition for the franchise to release a new film, often starring never-before-seen Pokémon such as Mew and Lugia. These releases were important events for the franchise, often resulting in special distributions of said Pokémon to game players, new TCG cards, and new waves of toys to be released. While the movies weren't always released at the same time every year, they were still remarkably consistent releases and it seemed like there was never a time when a Pokémon movie wasn't in production.
Pokémon movies can be a mixed bag
Not every Pokémon movie is a great watch
Of course, producing films at this consistent pace means that sometimes the film doesn't have enough development time before being released, resulting in a weak story that simply isn't adequately compelling. Although the first films were written by the anime's creator, Takeshi Shudo, later films would have different writers and would generally be less tied to what was happening in the main anime series. This often made the films feel somewhat disconnected from the story being told in the anime, making them stand-alone stories that needed to stand on their own merits.
As a result, the Pokemon anime films can be of highly variable quality. The films were never very well received by critics, who often derided them as just a way to sell more toys and lacking substance or depth, which is a rather harsh assessment of the series. Pokemon Films gradually moved from theatrical releases in the United States to TV premieres and were no longer regularly reviewed. It's fair to say that the films have a bit of a learning curve, as they will only appeal to people who know a little about Pokémon.
For those familiar Pokemonhowever, movies are often a way to see powerful Pokémon unleashed in epic battle sequences, and often showcase the full power of so-called Legendary Pokémon. As a general rule, films tend to be quite superficial in their character development, but even this has exceptions; Mewtwo in the first film, for example, is a surprisingly well-developed villain. For Ash and his companions, however, the films never had much growth for their characters.
Why did the Pokémon movies disappear?
Covid-19 and the end of the era of Ash
With the last film, Secrets of the Jungle, having been released at the end of 2020 in Japan, it is known that production was impacted by Covid-19, causing the release to be postponed. With the uncertainty of that period in full swing, it is likely that the film production team was held back, because if there are no cinemas to release the film, there is no point in making the film. Fans weren't too surprised when no film was released in 2021 or 2022, but it's been four years and there's still no indication of one Pokemon film in progress.
The last three Pokemon The films were set in an alternate continuity known as I choose you! continuity, so they were not necessarily impacted by the events of Pokémon Journeys and Ash's victory in the world championship. Even so, when the decision to retire Ash came, they also ended this alternative continuity, with the special “Distant Blue Sky”. Not long after that, Pokémon Horizons began airing, testing out a new cast of characters who weren't ready to act as the stars of a film.
It is known, thanks to Game Freak “Teraleak”, that a new Pokemon The film was in development as of 2022, but the project got caught in development hell and ended up never going anywhere. This film would have a new cast replacing Ash, but it wouldn't be the Horizons gang; instead, the films would begin another continuity supposedly aimed at older female audiences. What is clear from this is that the desire to Pokemon movies haven't completely died; they still want to do Pokemon films, but the situation has been very unstable in recent years.
Pokémon Horizons deserves movie treatment
Liko and his gang need a chance in theaters
With Pokémon Horizons already lasting over a year and a half, the characters are finally well-developed enough to act as the stars of a film. After all, the series has more than 75 episodes, and Ash's first film came out between episodes 54 and 55 of the original series. Liko and Roy are established and have well-defined personalities and goals. The Rising Volt Tacklers are also an excellent supporting cast for a film, providing a degree of reliability that Ash never had. Although such a film would be a distraction from the plot of Horizonsthere's nothing wrong with a film framed as a side story.
With the world and the anime series on a more stable footing, 2025 feels like it should be the year that Pokemon resumes film releases. As each of the previous 23 films starred Ash, a new film is sure to be a breath of fresh air, whether it stars Liko and Roy or an original cast of characters. New characters also give films a chance to do something new with their plot, rather than returning to some of the more common plot structures seen in previous films.
The time has come to return Pokemon films. They don't necessarily need to revert to annual releases, but the film format offers unique opportunities to Pokemon telling stories that it is simply a waste not to take advantage of it.