Pokémon 3: Objectively the Best?

[RODAN]

So, as an avid movie buff I recently decided to rewatch all of the pkmn films - mostly for a sense of nostalgia. While doing this i came to a startling conclusion: Pokemon 3 is the best as a film. It is one of the only things the pokemon anime has ever done that fully fleshes out character other than generic angsty backstory. Molly is a character you honestly feel sorry for, and if you were in her situation you would act the same way. It also gives a viable reason for ash to actually be involved. The thing that shocked me the most was how personal the film was. there was no grandeur like in the 1st or 2nd. everything was very self contained and was driven purely by emotion rather than some prophecy.

These are my two cents. Do you agree? Disagree? post here if so.

 

[Yveltal]

Pokemon 3 was wonderful, but I'm more for Pokemon 4, since it was the first movie that started the trend of showing off the terrifying things humans can do with Pokemon when they push their limits. Yes, the nuances of interactions between the characters and backstory bewteen Oak and Ash were a bit strange, and even Celebi's nature gave it the feeling of being a feminine Lorax, but you're pleasantly shocked to see how the involved legendary Pokemon work to keep the peace as non-violently as possible, possibly because of their respect for the forest and the awesome powers that they'd much rather unleash elswhere. It was high octane without being grandiose, like the first three before it and the next two after it, as it felt more momentary and easier to enjoy for not throwing the whole plot into orbit around one particular character.

 

[Satisfaction]

Pokemon movie 3 was pretty controversial to me, on one hand that was probably Charizards best fight, on the other Charizard nearly died...fighting some unown

 

[Hulavuta]

I do think Spell of the Unown was the best, for all of those reasons that you stated (it making sense for Ash to be the hero, Molly as such a good character, and the scale was much lower). I thought the Entei in the film was very interesting as well. Even though he was basically created, and wants only to serve Molly, he has his own thoughts and opinions and still served as an interesting character. He didn't just serve Molly, he wanted to serve her.

Uh, one thing I disliked about the movie was the Unown. Even as a kid watching this movie, I never felt entirely satisfied, like they hadn't explained the Unown enough. Why and how did they do what they did? Why did they decide to help Molly? So many questions >_< Yes, they don't have to explain every single detail of the Unown, but to me they did not explain enough to satisfy. Although ironically, not knowing enough about the Unown just makes the movie more mysterious and therefore interesting to me. It's really ripe for theory.

Also, the battle between Charizard and Entei was like the greatest battle ever. Entei almost killed Charizard ffs. And it wasn't made up of a bunch of stupid stock footage attack clips like in the regular anime that only have like one Pokemon in the shot at a time like wtf anime I hate you so much you lazy bastards if I just wanted to see the same animation over and over again I'd just go play the games ugh okay I'm just rambling now okay I'm done bye

 

[nikka]

The first movie was by far the best too me. The whole concept of cloning was just too epic. For once it was actually more realistic this time around, bulbasaur squirtle, & pikachu werent fighting a legendary, they were gettin thier asses kicked by another bulbasaur, squirtle & pikachu. Plus it wasn't the normal one pokemon (charizard vs. legendary) just comes out fights wins/loses it's over. We got to see every mon be thrown into the mist and have a part.

Mewtwo sent out invitations like a boss to all the strongest trainers on some dragon ball z tournament type shit. The movie actually made you understand why mewtwo was wreaking havoc in his own twisted way and made it cool for a bad guy to be winning. Plus this movie is the reason why most anime fan-boy kids fell in love with Ash.

Also when i was a kid mew was always my favorite and just so mysterious to me, so finally seeing a storyline puttin some shine on it made me completely biased >:)

 

[Mekkah]

The movie looks appealing but every time I watch it again I think it's a piece of shit. The whole drama plot is caused by a little girl behaving like a little girl. Her bullshit almost gets people killed. The Charizard vs Entei fight would be more epic if Entei was showing any sign of vulnerability, but after about two exchanges it's pretty clear that it just can't be touched.

 

[Codraroll]

I've always liked Destiny Deoxys (movie 7) the best. It's good if viewed as a story about how a prideful Rayquaza gets insulted by a Deoxys, defeats it in a furious fight, then seeks it out again when it learns Deoxys has been resurrected. Still hurt by Deoxys' rude behaviour (one does not just near-collide with the king of the ozone layer like that), it heads for LaRousse City. However, it starts do doubt when fighting Deoxys again. It doesn't seem like Deoxys intended to fight, and their battle causes a lot of collateral damage. In the end, Rayquaza realizes how selfish and boastful it has been, and evens things out with Deoxys. The two depart as friends, hoping one day to have a friendly battle in some isolated area when they hurt nobody.

The parts with Ash & co. are kinda stupid, though.

 

[Jerrytt]

Imagine, if the pokemon that came from space wasnt a super powered legendary deoxys, but just a clefable. MURDER IN THE ARCTIC!!

 

[Darknesscrusher]

First one is just awesome,

A. It's Mewtwo (without a lati@s on his head)
B. Cloning Pokémon is cool
C. Bad ass castle.

 

[NastyJames]

As a movie, I certainly agree, even as a kid I saw that this was special. I was sad for half of the movie, and never before did Pokemon make me feel like that (except Ash turning to stone... but never mind that). I want to point out though, that unown is probably my least favorite poke, and it's a shame that they were so prominent in this.

 

[Gokuzbu]

I love Pokemon 2000 I watched it everyday as a kid.

 

[faint]

Is this the Unown and Entei movie? If so it scares me shitless.

Also I am quite fond of PKMN 2K.

 

[LumaSoul]

The 3rd movie...oh man.

I consider that movie probably the darkest Pokemon movie out there, as you find out more about the kind of thing that goes on inside young Molly's mind.

I like The Power of One best, as Lawrence III makes a great villain (inspired by a freaking trading card...), and, well, it's Lugia's first appearance. Also Slowking.

 

[Majestic Electric]

Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is my personal favorite. I admit that I cried after Lucario sacrificed himself at the end of the film. However, I can totally agree with Pokemon 3 being a good film. It holds a special place with me because it was the first Pokemon film I saw. Also Dan Green played Entei, enough said!

 

[nJoyUrAIDs]

Personally I like Pokemon 2000 the most because I thought the fights between the legendary Pokemon were amazing and there was a scene with Lugia and Ash that touched me a lot when I was younger.

 

[Focus]

Man, I really gotta rewatch Movie 3. I've seen it exactly once, when my parents rented it from a local video store like ten years ago! What happened to the years? I (re)watched most of the movies a few months back, and wow were they all loads of shit. But just my kind of shit! :) Just from an enjoyment standpoint, I gotta put Destiny Deoxys at the top of the list because I found myself laughing hysterically most of the way through. Just how did that abysmal cgi make it into a movie? It makes even Pokemon 2000's effects look good...

More objectively, I found Lucario and the Mystery of Mew to be the "best" of the ones I saw (i.e. all of them except movies 3, 11, 13, and 14). There are just so many interesting things put forward that make me want to learn more such as the Pokémon war, what the deal is with the Tree of Beginning and the Regis, and basically everything involving the Aura. It was well-paced and pretty engaging overall. I also sort of liked how they tried to to justify Team Rocket being in one of these movies this time, being put in the same position as Ash and all. On second thought, who am I kidding? There doesn't need to be a reason for Team Rocket! But still.

 

[inanimate blob]

The one with Latios and Latias was one of the best ones, I think. I always found the odd CGI of the Unown kinda off putting, and the whole story was kinda eh. I didn't watch it until recently, and I know it came out before it, but I couldn't stop thinking of Inception for some reason. I found the Unown to be a bit selfish, too, and kinda thrown in there considering their effect in the games.

 

[ScarfGren]

I loved movie 3! I love rewatching it along with the mystery of mew and destiny deoxys :D Personally, ive always loved the pokemon movies a lot, but for some reason i really didnt like the one movie with Jirachi and the fake groudon. It just didnt satisfy me. The 1st movie will forever remain as the most... philosophical and nostalgic one to me, i remember quite clearly two dialogues of the movie:

​

Mewtwo: I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.

Meowth: (looks at his claws) Eh, what am I doing?
Clone Meowth: (looks at his claws also then sits down lazily) Meow.
Meowth: Let's get something straight, copycat! You-owth ain't going to push Meowth around!
Clone Meowth: (scratches itself) Meow ow.
Meowth: You mean...we don't have to fight each other? But how can I trust you? You was born different.
Clone Meowth: (points to Meowth's claws) Meow ow.
Meowth: (looks at his claws) I almost made a clawful mistake. But how do I know you're not going to pull a fast one on me?
Clone Meowth: (looks up to the moon) Meow meow meow.
Meowth: Huh? (looks up at the moon also) You're right. We do have a lot in common. The same Earth, the same air, the same sky.
Clone Meowth: Meow.
Meowth: Maybe if we started looking at what's the same, instead of always looking at what's different... well, who knows?
Clone Meowth: Meow.

 

[ShinyShaymin]

Spell of the Unown is one of my favorite Pokemon movie. The emotional attraction and story were awesome. The battle between Charizard and Entei is second only to the clone battle of the first movie. I believe the movie shows an excellent portrayal of the Unown's actually abilities.
My favorite pokemon movie is Pokemon 4 ever. The expression of human greed and need for power in this movie is actually overwelming. It also shows how those traits can be dangerous and lead to destruction. A message that I strongly believe in.

 

[BattleStar]

Lucario and the mystery of Mew I think is the best pokemon movie. I love almost everything they did. The backstory and the plot was very interesting. The focused pokemon were great and not annoying unlike many of the other movies. Plus the Regis were awesome in this movie. For some reason the transition from Hoenn to Sinnoh produces IMO the best work pokemon has ever done in anime and movies.

 

[Stone RG]

My personal favorite is Mewtwo strikes back, the cloning and mewtwo forcing the clones to battle their original counterparts really touchs me every time i watched the movie, exactly thrice. Also, now looking back i realize how traumatized mustve been mewtwo to just see himself, and other pokemon, as a weapon of destruction, something he got from giovanni, the guy he hated the most. The scene where Ash is turned to stone, like any of you didnt feel touched by that moment. Of course now i see how much of an idiot he was.

Spell of the Unknown is prolly the darkest and best written plot tho, i accept that, and its second in my list only to Movie 1, when you get to see how screwed up Molly is, and even more Entei to follow all her wishes, it does seem interesting.

Eh, aside those 2, i loved all the Advanced Generation Movies (yes, including Jirachi Wish Maker), Pokemon Ranger Sea Temple had quite some potential, but as usual it was just an excuse for a future event. All the others sucked imo, the start of Dialga vs Palkia vs Darkrai was cool but it seemed forced to me as the movie went on, Giratina and the Sky Warrior had the same problem with the exception there isnt 2 big legends about to destroy the basements of the universe every 5 minutes, so no cool fights, and Movie 12 is supposed to be epic? All i saw was Ash solving a problem with the help of a legend, as usual. Ranting aside, DP movies were mostly action with a really cool plot they didnt bother to get into deeper, all the others are just plain dissapointments to me, with the exception of Victini and Zekrom, i actually liked that movie, sorta.

 

[Focus]

Okay. I watched Movie 3 this morning, and it is indeed great. It's definitely dark compared to the other Pokémon movies, to its benefit. I can see why it didn't appreciate it enough the last time I watched it. It is a mature movie with mature themes that treats its source material with a lot of respect. It tells a compelling story while at the same time taking a fresh look at the Pokémon franchise. It is unquestionably a huge step up from the first two movies. I especially like how it celebrates the greatness of the games that made them so popular, rather than attempting to subvert them. The battling are framed in a positive and (more) realistic light, the characters have real motivations, scenes carry appropriate emotional weight, the setup and plot progression are organic and delve into heavy psychological issues related to losing a loved one... There's soooo much to love!

Movie 3 is probably the movie that a non-Pokémon fan would get the most out of and be entertained by, so yeah, I'd say in that sense it really is the "best". I still like Destiny Deoxys more though.