| Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution | |||||
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 Japanese theatrical release poster | |||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | ミュウツーの逆襲 EVOLUTION | ||||
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| Directed by |
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| Written by | Takeshi Shudo | ||||
| Based on | Pokémon bySatoshi Tajiri | ||||
| Produced by |
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| Starring | seebelow | ||||
| Edited by | Ayako Miura | ||||
| Music by | Shinji Miyazaki | ||||
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Toho | ||||
Release dates |
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Running time | 98 minutes | ||||
| Country | Japan | ||||
| Language | Japanese | ||||
| Box office | ¥2.98 billion ($27 million)[1] | ||||
Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution[a] is a 2019 Japanese animatedfantasy film directed byKunihiko Yuyama and Motonori Sakakibara. The film is the twenty-second installment in thePokémon film series and a CGIremake ofPokémon: The First Movie (1998) and the third and final film in the Sun & Moon series. The film was animated byOLM, Inc., OLM Digital, andSprite Animation Studios.[2] At the same time, the events of the CGI remake film take place during the first season ofPokémon: Indigo League.
It was released in Japan on July 12, 2019, and onNetflix worldwide on February 27, 2020.
Scientist Dr. Fuji is hired by Giovanni, leader ofTeam Rocket, to utilize his expertise incloning in order to create aliving weapon based on an eyelash fromMythical PokémonMew. Soon after the weapon is created, it gains sentience and is namedMewtwo.
Several years later, Mewtwo has fully awakened from a long slumber in a laboratory on New Island and learns of his origin as Mew's clone from Dr. Fuji. Infuriated that Fuji and his colleagues see him as nothing more than an experiment, he unleashes hispsychic powers and destroys the laboratory, killing Fuji and the rest of the scientists. Giovanni, witnessing the carnage afar, approaches and convinces Mewtwo to work with him to hone his powers. However, after Mewtwo learns of his purpose to be a weapon for Giovanni's benefit, he escapes back to New Island, where he plots his revenge against humanity.
After Mewtwo rebuilds the laboratory and establishes a base there, he invites several trainers with hologram messages to battle the greatest Pokémon Master in the world at New Island. Ash Ketchum, Misty, and Brock receive a message and accept the invitation, but when they arrive at the port city, Old Shore Wharf, Mewtwo creates a storm, causing the boats on the wharf to be closed off for safety. As a result, Ash's group is picked up byTeam Rocket disguised as captains on a Lapras-shaped sailboat. After the storm sinks their vessel in the middle of the ocean, Ash and his friends use their Pokémon instead to reach New Island.
Escorted into the island's palace by the woman who appeared on the hologram, Ash and the other trainers who were able to reach the island encounter Mewtwo. The woman is revealed to be a brainwashedNurse Joy after she is released from Mewtwo's mind control. Mewtwo challenges the trainers using cloned Pokémon. Meanwhile, Team Rocket also reaches New Island and explores its inner sanctum with a Mew innocuously following them. After Mewtwo's clones effortlessly defeat the challengers' Pokémon, he confiscates them and expands his clone army. Ash chases after his captured Pikachu down the cloning lab, where Team Rocket'sMeowth is also cloned. Ash destroys the cloning machine, freeding the captured Pokémon and leads them to confront Mewtwo and his clones. Mew then reveals itself and Mewtwo challenges it in order to prove his superiority that the original and the clone is the strongest in the world.
All of the Pokémon originals battle their clones save for a defiant Pikachu and Meowth, who makes peace with his own clone after realizing the senselessness of their fighting. Horrified at the pain and anguish felt on both sides of the battle, Ash puts himself in between a psychic blast caused by Mewtwo and Mew's fighting, turning Ash to stone. Pikachu tries to revive Ash with his electricity but fails. However, the tears of the Pokémon are able to heal and revive Ash. Moved by Ash's sacrifice, Mewtwo realizes that he should not have to be judged by his origins but rather his choices in life. Departing with Mew and the clones, Mewtwo turns back time to just before the trainers leave Old Shore Wharf and erase everyone's memories of the event.
Back in Old Shore Wharf, the now-restored Nurse Joy has returned to reopen the Pokémon Center to shelter the trainers. The storm outside clears up, Ash spots Mew flying through the clouds and tells his friends how he saw anotherLegendary Pokémon the day he left Pallet Town. Meanwhile, Team Rocket find themselves stranded on New Island but enjoy their time there.
After the credits, a brief scene shows Mewtwo, Mew, and the clones flying towardsMount Quena.
| Character (Japanese) | Japanese voice actor | English voice actor |
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| Ash Ketchum (Satoshi) | Rica Matsumoto | Sarah Natochenny |
| Misty (Kasumi) | Mayumi Iizuka | Michele Knotz |
| Brock (Takeshi) | Yuji Ueda | Bill Rogers |
| Pikachu | ||
| Togepi | ||
| Jessie (Musashi) | Megumi Hayashibara | Michele Knotz |
| James (Kojirō) | Shin-ichiro Miki | James Carter Cathcart |
| Meowth (Nyarth) | Inuko Inuyama | |
| Narrator | Unshō Ishizuka | Rodger Parsons |
| Giovanni (Sakaki) | Kenta Miyake | Ted Lewis |
| Dr. Fuji | Minoru Inaba | Billy Bob Thompson |
| Mew | ||
| Mewtwo | Masachika Ichimura | Dan Green |
| Miranda (Voyager) | Sachiko Kobayashi | Lisa Ortiz |
| Corey (Sorao) | Hiroshi Kamiya | Ted Lewis |
| Neesha (Sweet) | Ayane Sakura | Lisa Ortiz |
| Fergus (Umio) | Hiroyuki Yoshino | James Carter Cathcart |
| Pirate (Raymond) | Raymond Johnson | Aaron Phillips |
| Nurse Joy (Joy) | Chika Fujimura | Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld |
Since the film is a nearshot-for-shot remake ofthe firstPokémon film, with minimal changes in the script,The Pokémon Company had to obtain the rights to that script from the estate ofTakeshi Shudo (died in 2010), who had written the screenplay for the original film.[3] According to film director Kunihiko Yuyama, the production staff chose to animate the film using 3D graphics to portray a "different dimension of the Pokémon world" that would normally be difficult to carry out through other methods of animation.[4] Though the film was primarily based on theKanzenban or "Complete" version of the original film, a scene featuring a young Mewtwo growing up with clone companions that eventually died was not adapted for the remake but acknowledged during the film's marketing cycle.[5][6]
The film was publicly announced on December 14, 2018.[7] DespiteUnshō Ishizuka's death fromcolon infection in August 2018, the staff confirmed that his narration work was featured in the film.
For the film's end credits, the English song, "Keep Evolving", is performed by Haven Paschall (who voiced Serena in thePokémon XY andXYZ series as well as Risa inPokémon the Movie: The Power of Us) and the Sad Truth and composed and produced by Ed Goldfarb, who composed the score for the international version of the anime series; for the opening, a remake of theBilly Crawford version of the English theme song from the first film, itself a remix of the original theme song from thePokémon: Indigo League season originally composed byJohn Loeffler and John Siegler and originally performed on vocals byJason Paige, titled "Pokémon Theme (Mewtwo Mix)", is performed by Ben Dixon and the Sad Truth and arranged by Ed Goldfarb.
In the Japanese version, the opening and ending themes are the same as those from the first film, "Mezase Pokémon Master '98" (めざせポケモンマスター'98; lit. "Aim to Be a Pokémon Master '98") and "Kaze to Issho ni" (風といっしょに; lit. "Together with the Wind") respectively, with the former being a 2019 remaster of the original and the latter being a new arrangement.
The film was released on July 12, 2019, byToho in Japan. A special Mewtwo (for use only inPokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! andLet's Go, Eevee!) was distributed in Japan from April 12 to September 30 for purchasers of premium advance tickets.[2] The film had its world premiere at Anime Expo 2019 at theLos Angeles Convention Center.
The film was released onDVD andBlu-ray in Japan on December 18, 2019, and in North America on November 17, 2020.[8][9]
On January 21, 2020, The Pokémon Company International announced that the film would be released worldwide (except forSouth Korea) as aNetflix Original Movie on Pokémon Day – February 27, 2020.[10][11] This is the firstPokémon film to premiere on astreaming platform rather than premiere in theatres or on television.
The film was the most-watched anime title on Netflix in 2020.[12]
The film holds an approval rating of 44% onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 6/10.[13]
Writing for theLos Angeles Times, Charles Solomon criticized the film's animation, saying: "Ash and his friends Brock and Misty have the disturbing, plastic look of badly rendered skin", and added: "the cartoony characters look out of place amid the hyper-real water, lightning, explosions and other special effects." He concluded that the film "feels like poké-business as usual."[14]
Paul Asay ofPlugged In wrote: "For some,Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution will feel extraordinarily nostalgic. Others (read: non-fan parents) will likely be thinking... Meh."[15] Brian Costello ofCommon Sense Media gave the film a score of 3 out of 5 stars, saying: "Whether or not viewers, and Pokémon fans in particular, enjoy this movie is inevitably dependent on how much they like the change to 3D computer animation."[16]
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