Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (English-language review)
I’ve finally dared to put the English-language version of the eighth Pokémon movie in my DVD player. In all honesty, it wasn’t quite as bad as I had feared. It was a disappointment, as the Japanese version is in 2.35:1 widescreen letterbox format to suit its cinematic presentation in Japan. The English version, conversely, was designed as a direct-to-DVD release and thus was presented in the standard TV presentation of 4:3. As I have a widescreen TV, the result is that the Annoying Yellow Rat looks even more obese!
I’ve made some comments on this in my review on the Japanese movie. Again, we see Meowth caring for Pikachu, but “I guess you’d radda be wit’ your twoipy pal.” And again, while Ash the Twerp thanks Lucario for leading him to Pikachu, Meowth chimes in that he was the one who took care of Pikachu. Only to be ignored.
Topics: Gary Was Right, Ash Is a Loser!, Lost in Translation, Reviews—Movies | No Comments »
ポケモンレンジャーと蒼海の王子マナフィ (Pokémon Ranger and the Prince of the Sea, Manafi)
The English copy of this arrived over the weekend. Man, what a disappointment! I know that movies, particularly Pokémon movies, are supposed to be bad in multiples of 3 (Entei/Unown and Jirachi), but this was just woeful. In fact, this movie saw a reversal of roles between Max and May from movie #6, as May was placed in the role of the newly-hatched Manafi’s surrogate mother (like Max and Jirachi) . Hmmm… haven’t we seen this before? Misty and Togepi… And Manafi’s incessant crying even makes it sound like Togepi.
And then there’s Jack Walker, Pokémon Ranger Self-Righteous Twat. He’s managed to put me off the idea of Pokémon Ranger. Not much more to say on him, really.
At least TR finally play baddies throughout and don’t suddenly turn into pseudo-goodies, like they do in nearly all of the other movies. And of course, Meowth always gets the best lines. “…diamonds and pearls”. “Sounds like a good name for a game.” (Some free advertising here perhaps?)
However the absolute worst thing about the movie, and I guess it’s plagued the TV series as well, is the new post-4Kids voiceovers. Jari-boy has to be the worst one, with his voice now sounding like a cross between Raphael and Michaelangelo from the original TMNT cartoon. Sarah Natochenny was perhaps not the best choice of voice actors to replace Veronica Taylor. Sadly the criticism of the decision will rest with the Pokémon Company, and not where it truly lies, at the feet of the gouging 4Kids. At least we’ve managed to regain Ken Gates as the narrator. Nothing against his replacement Mike Pollock, but the change in voice just makes it sound somehow “wrong”. Most of the other changes aren’t quite so bad.
Topics: Reviews—Movies | No Comments »
