| Pokémon the Movie 2000 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 劇場版ポケットモンスター 幻のポケモン ルギア爆誕 | ||||
| Literal meaning | Pocket Monsters the Movie: The Phantom Pokémon – Lugia's Explosive Birth[1] | ||||
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| Directed by | Kunihiko Yuyama[1] | ||||
| Screenplay by | Takeshi Shudo | ||||
| Based on | Pokémon bySatoshi Tajiri | ||||
| Produced by |
| ||||
| Starring | |||||
| Cinematography | Hisao Shirai | ||||
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Shinji Miyazaki[1] | ||||
Production company | |||||
| Distributed by | Toho[1] | ||||
Release date |
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Running time | 82 minutes[1] | ||||
| Country | Japan | ||||
| Language | Japanese | ||||
| Budget | $30 million[2] | ||||
| Box office | $133.9 million[2] | ||||
Pokémon the Movie 2000[a] is a 1999 Japanese animatedfantasyadventure film directed byKunihiko Yuyama. It is the second installment of thesecond film of thePokémon animefilm series.[1]
The events of the film take place duringPokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, where Ash, Misty and Tracey enter Shamouti Island. While there, they discover the three legendary bird Pokémon,Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Meanwhile, a collector named Lawrence III attempts to steal the three Pokémon to awaken Lugia, which proves dangerous for the legendary Pokémon, Lugia, and Ash himself.
Pokémon the Movie 2000 was released in Japanese theaters on July 17, 1999, byToho. The English-language adaptation was released in the United States on July 21, 2000, byWarner Bros. Pictures. The film earned less at the box office than its predecessor,Pokémon: The First Movie, but was still a financial success and received better (albeit still negative) reviews upon release.
An ancient prophecy predicts that a conflict between "the Titans of Fire, Ice, and Lightning" will only be quelled by the "Water's Great Guardian" with the help of a "Chosen One". Lawrence III, a Pokémon collector, plans to capture the legendary birdsArticuno, Zapdos, and Moltres and sets out in his flying fortress to the Orange Islands, where he locates and captures Moltres. Meanwhile,Ash Ketchum and his companions,Pikachu,Misty, andTracey Sketchit, are crossing the Orange archipelago when they are caught in a storm and washed ashore on Shamouti Island. The inhabitants are celebrating their annual festival and select Ash as their "Chosen One", who, festival maiden Melody explains, must retrieve three crystal balls from each of the legendary birds' islands and bring them to Shamouti's shrine.
Moltres' capture upsets the balance of power the birds have over the world's climate and storms start to erupt worldwide. In Pallet Town,Professor Oak notices a change in Pokémon behavior and he and Ash's mother,Delia Ketchum, fly to the Orange Islands after receiving word of what is happening there byProfessor Ivy. As the weather starts to change, Ash and Pikachu are brought by boat to Fire Island, where they find Moltres' treasure, but they are interrupted byTeam Rocket. Zapdos attempts to claim the empty island, but is then captured by Lawrence, alongside Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket. The group discover Lawrence's plan and, while he attempts to capture Articuno, Ash's Pokémon free Moltres, who in turn frees Zapdos, and the two begin fighting, which causes the fortress to crash on Lightning Island.
Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos begin battling one another while Ash retrieves Zapdos' Treasure; the group are transported to Shamouti's shrine, guarded by a talkingSlowking. The water's great guardian, the legendary PokémonLugia, emerges from the sea and attempts to stop Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos' fighting, but is defeated. With the prophecy seemingly coming true, the group realize Ash is the actual Chosen One, and Lugia - revived when Melody plays the festival song on herconch - explains telepathically only Ash can restore harmony to the world by retrieving Articuno's Treasure. Ash heads to Ice Island, navigating through the legendary birds' battle with help from Team Rocket, wanting to save the world to continue their villainy. Ash retrieves Articuno's Treasure and Lugia starts to fly them back to Shamouti; Team Rocket sacrifice themselves to help in the process. Lawrence attempts to capture Lugia, who uses a powerful Aeroblast to destroy the remains of Lawrence's airship; severely weakened, Lugia and Ash collapse into the sea.
Misty and Tracey rescue Ash and Pikachu and return them to Shamouti, where Ash places the final treasure and Melody plays the festival's song, which causes the storms to subside, bring harmony to the legendary birds, the currents causing disruption to the world's climates to dissipate, and reviving Lugia. Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos return to their respective islands, and Lugia thanks Ash for his efforts as he returns to the sea. Ash is reunited with his mother who tells him to be more careful, Lawrence contemplates restarting his collection, and Team Rocket are told by Slowking that theaudience saw their heroics and they debate whether they should now change their ways.
| Character | Japanese voice actor | English voice actor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese name | English name | ||
| Satoshi | Ash Ketchum | Rica Matsumoto | Veronica Taylor |
| Pikachu | Ikue Ōtani | ||
| Kasumi | Misty | Mayumi Iizuka | Rachael Lillis |
| Togepi | Satomi Kōrogi | ||
| Kenji | Tracey Sketchit | Tomokazu Seki | Ted Lewis |
| Musashi | Jessie | Megumi Hayashibara | Rachael Lillis |
| Kojirō | James | Shin-ichiro Miki | Eric Stuart |
| Nyarth | Meowth | Inuko Inuyama | Maddie Blaustein |
| Hanako | Delia Ketchum | Masami Toyoshima | Veronica Taylor |
| Dr. Yukinari Ōkido | Professor Samuel Oak | Unshō Ishizuka | Stuart Zagnit |
| Dr. Uchikido | Professor Felina Ivy | Keiko Han | Megan Hollingshead |
| Koduck | Psyduck | Rikako Aikawa | Michael J. Haigney |
| Mariru | Marill | Mika Kanai | Kayzie Rogers |
| Barrierd | Mr. Mime | Yūji Ueda | |
| Lugia | Koichi Yamadera | Eric Rath | |
| Fire | Moltres | Rikako Aikawa | |
| Freezer | Articuno | Yumi Tōma | |
| Thunder | Zapdos | Katsuyuki Konishi | |
| Fleura | Melody | Akiko Hiramatsu | Amy Birnbaum |
| Yadoking | Slowking | Masatoshi Hamada | Nathan Price |
| Gelardan | Lawrence III | Takeshi Kaga | Neil Stewart[3] |
| Data Computer | Emi Shinohara | Emily Niebo[4] | |
| Yodel | Carol | Aya Hisakawa | Michelle Goguen[5] |
| Earthia Island Elder | Tobias (Shamouti Island Elder) | Chikao Ohtsuka | Norman Altman |
| Michiko | Maren | Kotono Mitsuishi | Tara Jayne |
| Narrator | Unshō Ishizuka | Rodger Parsons | |
| Character | Japanese voice actor | English voice actor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese name | English name | ||
| Erekiddo | Elekid | Masako Nozawa | |
| Narrator | Tamao Satō | N/a | |
The Power of One was released in Japan on July 17, 1999.[1]
On March 2, 2000,Warner Bros. Pictures announced they had acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film outside Asia from4Kids Entertainment, following the success the two companies had withPokémon: The First Movie.[6] The film was released under theirKids' WB/Warner Bros. Family Entertainment labels on July 21, 2000, in the United States, with a July 15, 2000, premiere atMann's Village Theatre.[7][1]
Pokémon The Movie 2000 was released on VHS and DVD on November 14, 2000.[8][9]
As of 2015, the film is the88th highest-grossing film in Japan, with¥6.4 billion.[10] The film made $133,949,270 worldwide at the end of its box office run.[2]
The film was financially successful in the United States. It earned $9,250,000 on opening day,[11] which was only less than $1 million behind the opening day of its predecessor.[12] It reached third place for its opening weekend, grossing $19,575,608. On its second weekend it declined 68.3% to $6.2 million and descended to sixth place.[13] It made $43,758,684 at the U.S. box office,[2] barely over half of the first film's U.S. total.[14]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the North American adaptation of the film has an approval rating of 20% based on 69 reviews, with the website's critical consensus reading: "Despite being somewhat more exciting than the previous film, this kiddy flick still lacks any real adventure or excitement. What it does contain is choppy animation and poor voice acting. Doesn't match up to virtually anything out there."[15] OnMetacritic the film has a weighted average score of 28 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[16] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[17]
Plugged In said that "the plot is as tiresome as it was in the first movie. But the violence is tamed somewhat, so the positive messages shine a bit more brightly".[18]
A more positive review was given by Gene Seymour of theLos Angeles Times. Seymour believed that the film "charms without talking down to its audience". He also compared it favorably to the first movie, stating, "...unlike its predecessor, 'Pokémon 2000' doesn't assume that everyone who sees it will know how to tell Togepi from Bulbasaur or Squirtle from Pikachu. Sure, I know now, but I'm not telling because I don't have to".[19]
At the 2000Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film was nominated for "Worst Achievement in Animation" and "The Remake or Sequel Nobody Was Clamoring For". However, it lost "Worst Achievement in Animation" toDigimon: The Movie.[20]
In Japan,J-pop artistNamie Amuro sang the ending song "toi et moi".[citation needed] A soundtrack containingShinji Miyazaki's original score for the film was released on September 9, 1999, along with two original songs sung byRica Matsumoto andAkiko Hiramatsu.[citation needed]
| Pokémon 2000: The Power of One - Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | ||||
| Released | July 18, 2000 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Various | |||
| Various artists chronology | ||||
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The North American soundtrack was released alongside the film in 2000 by WB's then-sister companyAtlantic Records oncompact disc andcompact cassette and includes many songs by popular artists, many of which do not appear in the film. In the English dub,Donna Summer sings the closing song in the film, "The Power of One". The melody of has been noted as having a close resemblance toRick Wakeman's theme for the filmThe Burning, with the two opening bars being identical.[21] The song was released as a single and was remixed by Jonathan Peters and Tommy Musto. The song drew new attention in 2011 due toRepublican candidateHerman Cain quoting the lyrics as part ofhis campaign forPresident of the United States.[22]
"Weird Al" Yankovic provided an original song, "Polkamon", which is played during the ending credits. The last song played during the credits was "Flying Without Wings" byWestlife.Italian singerLaura Pausini sings the ballad "The Extra Mile", written, among others, byAustralian singerTina Arena.The B-52s also recorded the song "The Chosen One" for the movie.[23]
In the United States, the soundtrack had sold 150,000 copies by April 2001.[24]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performed by | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Power of One" | Mark Chait,John Loeffler,Ralph Schuckett,Mervyn Warren | Donna Summer | 3:49 |
| 2. | "Dreams" | LaShawn Daniels,Fred Jerkins III, Lee Jerkins,Rodney Jerkins, Mischke, Robert Smith | Alysha | 4:04 |
| 3. | "They Don't Understand (Pokemon Version)[b]" | Cole Diamond,Steve Diamond,Robbie Nevil, Rex Rideout | Dream Street | 2:58 |
| 4. | "Wonderland" | Matt Rowe, Pamela Sheyne | Angela Vía | 3:52 |
| 5. | "With All Your Heart" | Kasia Livingston, Phil Sillas | Plus One | 3:40 |
| 6. | "The Extra Mile" | Tina Arena, Andrew Frampton, Pamela Sheyne | Laura Pausini | 4:05 |
| 7. | "Flying Without Wings" | Wayne Hector,Steve Mac | Westlife | 3:35 |
| 8. | "Pokémon World (Movie Version)" | John Loeffler, John Siegler | Youngstown featuringNobody's Angel | 3:48 |
| 9. | "Blah, Blah, Blah" | Jörgen Elofsson, Steve Mac | Devotion 2 Music | 2:34 |
| 10. | "Polkamon" | "Weird Al" Yankovic | "Weird Al" Yankovic | 2:03 |
| 11. | "The Chosen One" | Norman J. Grossfeld,Michael Haigney,John Loeffler, John Petersen | The B-52s | 3:24 |
| 12. | "One Heart" | Wayne Hector, Steve Mac | O-Town | 3:59 |
| 13. | "One" | Matt Rowe, Pamela Sheyne | Denisse Lara | 4:13 |
| 14. | "Comin' to the Rescue" | Louis Cortelezzi,Norman J. Grossfeld,John Loeffler, John Siegler | O-Town | 1:45 |
| 15. | "Pikachu's Rescue Adventure: Dance of the Bellossom" | John Lissauer,John Loeffler | Various | 1:05 |
| 16. | "The Power of One: The Legend Comes to Life" | John Loeffler,Ralph Schuckett | Various | 4:16 |
| Chart (2000–2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] | 51 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] | 89 |
| USBillboard 200[29] | 85 |
Pokémon the Movie 2000 Original Motion Picture Score is the orchestralsoundtrack to the movie. The CD was originally released in some European countries in 2000. In 2004, it became available for download worldwide oniTunes.
| Pokémon the Movie 2000 Original Motion Picture Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by Ralph Schuckett | ||||
| Released | July 18, 2000 | |||
| Genre | Orchestral | |||
| Label | Koch Records | |||
| Producer | Ralph Schuckett | |||
| Ralph Schuckett chronology | ||||
| ||||
All music is composed by Ralph Schuckett.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Harmony Disturbed" | |
| 2. | "The Beast of the Sea Stirs" | |
| 3. | "To the Rescue" | |
| 4. | "Breakout Mayhem" | |
| 5. | "If Only They Could Help" | |
| 6. | "The World Turns to Ash" | |
| 7. | "To the Third Treasure" | |
| 8. | "Return to the Shrine" | |
| 9. | "The Guardian's Song" | |
| 10. | "Goodbye Lugia" | |
| 11. | "The Adventure Begins" | |
| 12. | "Windy" | |
| 13. | "Teamwork" | |
| 14. | "Pokémon World" |
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