VGFlicks: Pokémon Detective Pikachu (Part 1)

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

If I had a nickel for every Pokémon movie I’ve watched recently whose plot is kickstarted by the disappearance/presumed death of a dad... well, I’d have two nickels, but for the Pokémon franchise, it’s not so weird that it happened twice. The franchise has a weird history with fathers. Ash’s dad was mentioned but never seen – not even at the very end, when his 10 years old son became a Pokémon Master after 25 years of hard work. And Red’s dad? There are some theories, but not much else. I can't go through all of them, and there'd probably be a full analysis to be done on the topic, from Norman to Mohn passing by Ghetsis...

What I do know, is that today's film would fit right in within that essay.

Most of these look pretty good! But some just look bizarre
with the extra detail. Snorlax, in particular. The lack of
nose does it no favors.

The Pokémon Company has been toying with the idea of a live-action Pokémon movie for a long time. Before the actor’s untimely passing in 2014, there were even rumors and hopes of getting Robin Williams to star in such a film as Professor Oak, nothing less. The Pokémon franchise already had a massive presence in the worlds of gaming and anime. However, the last Pokémon movie to see a worldwide release in theaters was Pokémon 3, all the way back in 2001; the next two films only saw limited releases. But even then, going from anime to live-action is playing in an entirely different medium. And there was already a long history of live-action adaptations of games and anime failing to capture the spirit of what they adapt. I’ve heard anime fans speak of a certain live-action Dragon Ball movie with the same level of bile I spew when I talk about that dreadful 1993 Mario movie.

Ohmygawd they're so precious. (Screenshots
taken from the "Casting Detective Pikachu"
trailer.)

Therefore, expectations were VERY high when Pokémon Detective Pikachu, a live-action film, was announced. There was an interest in not screwing things up for the franchise’s grand return to the silver screens. Pokémon is already a highly marketable franchise, but extra steps were taken to ease the franchise’s transition to a wider audience; for one, focusing on Pikachu, the mascot. Next, a story that doesn’t focus as much on battles, since the franchise still sparks controversy every now and then from people who don’t understand that trainer battles are more like a regulated sport and Pokémon never stay hurt too long.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu, directed by Rob Letterman, was released in Japan on May 3rd, 2019 and everywhere else a week later. A video game also called Detective Pikachu came out in March 2018 for the Nintendo 3DS. That one is an action/adventure game focusing on a narrative. Since the game and film’s releases were only 13 months apart, both were in production at the same time for a while, so the game definitely inspired part of the film. Since the game takes about 10 to 12 hours to finish, the movie cuts the story down to the most important plot elements, while adding stuff of its own. Let's jump in!

As per usual: Spoiler alert. I’ll be covering the whole story.

VGFlicks: Pokémon 3: Spell of the Unown (Part 3)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Finishing this today.

Against Entei

Ash’s Charizard is ready to battle Entei, though when they headbutt each other, the pseudo-dragon is knocked back, hitting Ash, and almost sending his own trainer to fall to his doom again. Good thing he’s saved by Misty, Pikachu, Brock and Team Rocket, in their only true plot-relevant moment in the whole darn film.

This gang is like family! Yes, even Team Rocket. They're like
 the cousins nobody likes, who are only nice when the topic
of inheritance comes up. Also, lookit Pikachu, being all
"I'm helping!" as he tugs on Ash's leg.

Static screenshots just don't convey well the epicness of
some moments in this specific battle.

Ash again tries to tell Molly to drop the illusion, telling her that his friends and his Pokémon are like a family, and that she could have real Pokémon out there. But she’s still in denial, claiming her dream Pokémon from earlier were just as real. With that, the fight is on, with Entei defending its own belief of being Molly’s father. Charizard and Entei take the fight into the skies above the crystallized mansion, trading blows and fire breaths. The big fire cat has the field advantage, because Molly still clings on to the belief that it’s her papa, and therefore her Unown-powered wishes keep summoning crystal spikes for the illusory beast to land safely on... while also popping into Charizard’s path to hurt him. Ash is riding on his dragon’s back the whole time, so he’s risking death too. It’s one of the coolest battles in the whole franchise. You can tell that the stakes are high, and the deck is heavily stacked against our protagonists.

"Papa"'s about this close to going too far.

At the end of this brawl, a defeated Charizard lands on the floor by the group with a similarly weakened Ash, and Entei lands with its paw on the dragon’s neck, ready to deliver a killing blow. That’s what it took for Molly to realize that all this had gone too far, and she commands Entei to stop what it is doing. Seeing her in tears is enough to make the legendary beast let go. Brock and Misty encourage Molly on her skills and about how a good trainer knows when to stop; everyone offers kind words. When Delia extends a hand, the little girl takes it, and begs for things to be real again.

VGFlicks: Pokémon 3: Spell of the Unown (Part 2)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Holy Hell there's so many. *readies Pokéballs*

Continuing from Part 1...

Hale Mansion Down

Team Rocket, as much as I like them and think they're
hilarious, are like a franchise tumor: Even when there's no
reason for them to be in the plot, they have to be jammed
in anyway, because they're always around.

Ash, Pikachu, Misty and Brock make their way towards the crystallized Hale Mansion. Far above them, Team Rocket observes, and instantly assumes that if the twerps are heading towards that dangerous-looking place, then there’s riches and rare Pokémon to be found. Well, they’re not entirely wrong. Still,  damn if the movie’s not grasping at straws to include them. They’re barely here, have one plot-relevant scene, and just spend the rest of their time snarking at the situation or at each other, borderline MST3K’ing the movie they star in. They come close, but their banter is interrupted by Entei appearing at the top of a tower and blowing up their hot air balloon, sending it crashing down. Thankfully, Team Rocket is as durable as roaches, so they’re unscathed; just trapped within the place. They're comic relief, which is fine since the film is otherwise light on comedy. Shout-out to what James says when they find the floating Unown: “I haven’t seen this many strange letters since the last time I placed a personal ad!”

"Ash, get down from there this second!
....Wait, where am I?"

Away from the mansion, the news crew is still reporting on the crystals, with Molly watching them on the computer, Delia and Entei by her side. Molly is made aware of Ash’s team trying to break into the mansion, seeing the trainers use their Pokémon to climb up a waterfall. Noctowl is seen taking Bulbasaur and Chikorita up, and then the two grass-types use Vine Whip to let their trainer climb up. The whole thing is caught on camera, even the moment where Ash nearly falls. Doesn’t seem like much, but it was enough to snap Delia out of hypnosis just so she could scream at her son. ...Hey, I can think of worse ways to get someone out of a trance. At least, Delia is clever enough to keep up the act around Molly, knowing that something’s not right. Molly, though, is overjoyed at seeing a trainer and his Pokémon.

Once the whole team has reached the top, they get called by Professor Oak from the PokéGear given to them by Lisa. Oak is mad that Ash took such a huge risk. Then again, it’s not exactly the first time this kid gets into adventures way beyond what a child should deal with; the climate catastrophe in “The Power of One” wasn't that long ago! At least, this call allows Oak to explain about the threat at hand: The Unown can read the minds of other beings, including humans’, and have the ability in large numbers to reshape reality and create dream worlds. The exact reason why they decided to become Molly Hale’s personal genie is unknown (...heh), or debatable, but it's crystal clear that what’s happening is the result of the little girl’s wishes.

VGFlicks: Pokémon 3: Spell of the Unown (Part 1)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Starting the new year (and the reviews proper) with a Pokémon double feature! I’m not reviewing any Pokémon games this year, but I was dead-set on finally covering these movies, so I figured, screw it, I’mma do it anyway.

A collection of the most nostalgia-inducing
Pokémon movies.

What can I say of the Pokémon movies that hasn’t been said, really? (...No, wait! Don’t go away! Come back!) Several of us older Pokémon fans have grown up with them. Today’s movie came out in theaters in North America on April 6th, 2001. I was 8. As I mentioned before, I grew up with the first four animated films – I recall films from the Hoenn era airing on cartoon channels here, but my memories of those is spotty at best, so I’ll stick to the ones I know.

As I discussed in my reviews of the previous Pokémon movies, I love a theory that posits that the first three movies each deconstruct an aspect of the franchise. The first deconstructs these creatures as fighters, with its depictions of Pokémon used for wanton crimes, destruction, and in fights to the death. The second deconstructs them as collectibles, with one particularly terrible person’s quest to “catch them all” endangering the whole damn world. Today’s movie is “Pokémon 3: The Movie”, also known as “Spell of the Unown”, also known as “Pocket Monsters the Movie: Lord of the UNKNOWN Tower ENTEI”, and it was written by Takeshi Shudō and Hideki Sonoda. According to the theory, this movie deconstructs Pokémon as companions.

How about we see whether it’s accurate?

A void

Oh Arceus, this movie's gonna kick me right in the feels,
isn't it.

The movie wows from its very first seconds as we pan up from a field of sunflowers, onto a pretty view of a mansion. Pokémon researcher Spencer Hale (voiced by none other than Dan Green – I’ll try avoid the easy Yu-Gi-Oh jokes...) is spending time with his young daughter Molly (voiced by Amy Birnbaum), telling her about legendary Pokémon using a picture book. They flip to a page showing a group of Unown and Molly notes that this is the one her daddy is looking for. The next page shows Entei, and after Molly compares the two, Spencer plays along and pretends to be the legendary feline. They play for a bit, but they're interrupted by a video mail from Spencer’s assistant Schuyler. Since a new hidden chamber with clues about the Unown has been found, he must go and check it out.

Spencer puts his daughter to bed, asks her to keep him in her dreams, and leaves for work. Next we see him and Schuyler in a tomb, studying the engravings on the wall. The professor finds a tile on the floor showing an Unown and, picking it up, the- Aaagh! What the Heck! The Unown just appeared next to him! And it looks... otherworldly.

These things are an entire dimension above everything else.

My Needlejuice Mystery Box 2022, Ranked

NEEDLEJUICE RECORDS

Mystery Boxes: 2022 – 2023 (Part 1) – 2023 (Part 2)

NBW Special

Other album recommendations

I wanted to do something very different, a surprise article for once, something that would allow me to showcase some stuff I enjoy. This is an article about music, not gaming – and it’s an easy one to do while I work on the reviews proper.

What’s "Needlejuice" in the title? It’s an independent record label that formed in September 2017 and operates from Nashville, Tennessee. It has both a website, a Discord server and a Bandcamp page, and features a lot of (but not exclusively) artists from the LGBTQ+ community. It favors indie bands and musicians and covers a very wide variety of tones and genres, from the comedic to the serious, from pop to rock, from psychedelic to prog passing by vaporwave. The label is dedicated to production of physical media: CDs, of course, but also cassettes, vinyl records and more. This short description doesn’t do them justice; I’ll simply close on saying they deserve to be more known. Maybe your new musical obsession is waiting for you somewhere in their large catalog.

My 2022 box also included a shirt!

Since 2021, the label has been offering mystery boxes on their site at the end of the year. The boxes include albums in three formats – the Tier 1 box had one CD, one cassette and one vinyl, Tier 2 had two of each, and Tier 3 had three of each, plus a vinyl test pressing and extra goodies. The first such box I purchased was in 2022. (Why did it take me till 2024 to write this? ...Hell if I know.) When making a mystery box, the label considers the buyer's purchase history, ruling out what they already own, and will include albums both old and new. The box I ordered in 2023 had stock fresh from the year as well as albums that date all the way back to 2008.

I figured I would help with their visibility in my own way, by listing down the albums I obtained in that first box from the one I enjoyed the most to the one I enjoyed the least. This is all subjective, and that I didn’t like a band or artist doesn’t mean they’re bad – merely that their stuff didn’t click with me or fit my personal preferences. Even with the ones I didn’t like, I’ll do my best to be positive. In summer of 2023, thanks to Spotify, I did a deeper dive into all these bands’ larger discographies, so my adoration for the bands may not match the position they’ve been given here - I’m ranking the albums themselves. I’ll also include an embed to my favorite track off each album.

If anyone from Needlejuice reads this and notices some facts that are incorrect, tell me and I'll correct them!

Starting with...

Nuclear Bubble Wrap – Problem Attic

I’ve been following Nuclear Bubble Wrap (whose frontman Jace McLain is also one of the founders of Needlejuice Records; shortened "NBW") since roughly 2010, when I discovered the band through a forum dedicated to "Weird Al" Yankovic. Back then, the band did both parodies and original comedy music, but evolved in the following years to ditch parodies and focus on a psychedelic sound, albeit retaining a comedic and often geeky edge. They appear a few times on this list.

Problem Attic (geddit?) has been described by McLain as the last album of a trilogy, and whereas their previous two albums discussed anxiety and depression, this one covers the sources of both in modern society for the younger generations. The first half is more comical in tone, with tracks about murderous AI, late-stage capitalism, and conspiracy nuts. Side B is where the facade breaks, with songs about sexist legislators, climate change, police brutality and the growing dread towards the future. The title track is a brutal takedown of the older generations who allowed, if not encouraged, things to get this bad for their personal benefit, their children be damned.

It is, as far as I can tell, their most socially charged album, and will probably remain such. It’s a bleak but sobering listen with biting satire and only a few alleviating moments, like a song about how the Mars rovers are awesome or another about T. Rexes being perfect creatures because they can’t jerk it. Yes, you’ve read that right.

Jace McLain and the second singer, Kyle Thorne, offer great performances. I cannot recommend this album enough, it’s a great display of their skill. I’m so hyped for their next full-length release.

Favorite track: