By Jeremy Sheer
Since 1999, Pokémon movies have made fans storm the theaters and search for the adventures of Ash Ketchum and his friends on DVD.
The newest entry in the series, Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai made its world premiere on Cartoon Network February 24, at 7 p.m. EST after debuting in Japanese theaters on July 17, 2007.
As with previous Pokémon movies, one can expect lots of action, special FX, and good story and The Rise of Darkrai doesn’t disappoint. The story starts out with Ash, Brock, and Dawn continuing their adventures with their Pokémon. They travel to a place called Allamo Town, which is filled with wonder, peace, and many Pokémon battles. But our heroes find themselves in the middle of a Battle between three powerful new Pokémon. The mysterious Darkrai, Dialga, and Palkia These Pokémon make their animated debuts in this movie). When their fight within another dimension threatens the entire town, three new characters named Alberto, Tonio, and Alice, come to aid Ash and his friends help save the day.
Fans will be happy to see many Pokémon appear throughout the movie. Most of them appeared in the TV series, while others have not been seen in North America until now. This movie actually feels like the days when Warner Bros. brought Pokémon to the big screen with professionalism and great music. There is lots of CGI in this movie and good cinematography. This does not have the typical “Ash saves the world” theme used in previous Pokémon movies. The theme in this movie is redemption.
This film’s greatest strength is it’s musical score. There is a bell chime theme that breaks into a strong stringed orchestra. This is probably the best Pokémon movie score thus far, surpassing Pokémon: The Movie 2000’s score. The average viewer will not be turned off by this movie and will want to keep watching. The voice cast sounds better than they did in the TV series. The English movie theme song, however, like previous Pokémon films, may make some eyes roll with its cheesiness. Viewers will be surprised by an unexpected ending and will be left wanting more.
I give The Rise of Darkrai 3 ½ stars out of five, making this movie my second favorite entry in the series, surpassing Pokémon Heroes in 2003.
The movie will be released on DVD by Viz Media on May 27. I highly recommend this movie to any anime and/or Pokémon fan or anyone who wants to be introduced to the series.
