Pokémon Detective Pikachu is the 314th episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell, Danielle Radford and Lon Harris. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 2019 urban fantasy mystery movie Pokémon Detective Pikachu. The video is 4 minutes 41 seconds long. It was published on September 24, 2019 shortly after the film's release on digital/Blu-ray. It has been viewed over 1.9 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Pokémon Detective Pikachu on YouTube
"The third best hard-boiled detective movie with cartoon animals." ~ Honest Trailers - Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Script []
You love Pokémon and Ryan Reynolds, you definitely hate video game movies, and you probably don’t have a hot take on film noir. Now, Legendary (Pictures) will mush it all together and hope something clicks in:
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Get ready, Poke-fans. After 21 animated movies, 22 seasons of TV, and countless video games, Pokemon is finally getting a live-action film based on the weird spinoff that no one bought outside Japan; but a mystery game for 6-year-olds was probably the right choice to adapt, since every other Poke-thing is a dogfighting simulator, pay to win card game, or a playable corpse finder.
Vern Tessio: “You guys wanna go see a dead body?”
Detective Pikachu: (spits coffee) “What?”
See all of your favorite Pokémon come to life on the big screen. Like Charizard, the uhhh... the tongue one [Lickitung], or.. Ah! What is that thing?! [shows Ditto in female human form] Ahhh!!! But, for those who don’t know or care, grab a hold of Ryan Reynolds Pikachu; a detective who’s wisecracking charm could carry a premise as dumb as... well, Detective Pikachu. Because, no matter how we feel about Pokémon, this is the closest we’ll get to a new Deadpool for a while. And, I mean, come on! Just look at the little guy! Look at his little hat! Aww! Wait. What was I saying? Oh, yeah. Movie’s alright. I mean, he’s a Pikachu who’s a detective. You get what you pay for.
When you need someone to act scared of an animated lizard, you call Justice Smith [shows this movie and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom back to back]. Unravel the mystery of his missing dad. Who *Spoiler Alert!* is the character who sounds exactly like his dad! Dopinder could have cracked this in like 5 seconds. But with the help of this girl from a completely different movie, they’ll uncover businessman secret plot to merge humans and Pokémon. Because, movie? I mean, I get why he would want a Pokébody, but why would he bother to make all of humanity... [shows Detective Pikachu again] Aww! There’s my fuwwy wittle guy! Who’s my Pika-Pika? You don’t have to make any sense at all, do you? No.
In a franchise known for fighting, get only the tiniest glimpse of it’s potential. Then, thrill at action set-pieces, where our heroes run away from a Pokémon, run away from a Pokémon, run away from a Pokémon, run way from this forest..that’s actually a Pokémon [Torterra], and... Run away. From. A.
Detective Pikachu: ”Enough of the games! Say it! Just say it!”
POKÉMON.
So, get ready for a film that was a bit too dark for kids, and a bit too cutesy for adults. But nonetheless, takes it’s rightful place as the third best hard-boiled detective story featuring cartoon animals ever [shows top picks - #1 Who Framed Roger Rabbit - #2 Zootopia - #3 Detective Pikachu - #4 Cool World]. Suck it, Cool World!
Starring: Justice For Smith! (Justice Smith as Tim Goodman); Little. Yellow. Different. (Ryan Reynolds as Harry Goodman/Detective Pikachu); April O’Neil (Kathryn Newton as Lucy Stevens); Coward the Duck (Psyduck); Trogdoooooor! (Charizard); Sad Lieutenant: Port of Call Ryme City (Ken Watanabe as Det. Hideo Yoshida); Honestly, This Cats Trailer Doesn’t Look So Bad (Mewtwo); Gassed Monkey, That Junkie Monkey (Aipom); (Krusty Laugh) (Mr. Mime); Joker Did It! (clips comparing the gas attack on Ryme City with the one on Gotham City); and When You Need A British Stage Actor To Class Up Disposable Pop Culture, You Call Bill Nighy (as Howard Clifford). [shows his appearances in this movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Underworld, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, And Doctor Who.]
The honest title for Pokémon Detective Pikachu was 'Who Framed Ryan Reynolds.' Titles designed by Robert Holtby.
Who Framed Ryan Reynolds
So, for the sequel, how are they gonna get Ryan Reynolds back inside the Pikachu? Or is it gonna be the other way around? Eugh.
Trivia[]
Honest Trailers Commentary - Pokémon Detective Pikachu
- The Alan raptor easter egg appears at 3:00, hiding behind a tree in the forest that is actually a giant pokemon.
- In the associated episode of Honest Trailers Commentary, the writers discussed why they didn't bring back actor Ryan Reynolds for a cameo appearance in this video. The writers didn't know how to have a strong take on how to work Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool into the video, so they didn't have time to ask him to appear.
- Writer/producer Joe Starr couldn't even finish watching Detective Pikachu in preparation for writing this Honest Trailer.
- There is another episode of Honest Trailers about Pokemon: The First Movie. In addition, there are several episodes of Honest Game Trailers about Pokemon games, including Detective Pikachu, Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Pokemon Sun & Moon, Pokemon X & Y, Pokemon Black & White, Pokken Tournament and Pokémon Go. See list of Honest Game Trailers for more.
Watch the full Honest Trailers Commentary on YouTube
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Pokémon Detective Pikachu has a 98.1% approval rating from YouTube viewers. In their review of the Honest Trailer, Sam Stone of CBR.com wrote "With its signature wit, the video lampoons the absurd premise and villainous plot that fails to hold up under increased scrutiny, while admitting that the eponymous crime-solving Pokemon is irresistibly cute whenever he appears on-screen. One plot thread that the Honest Trailer spotlights is the film's final twist of the protagonist Tim's missing father being merged with Pikachu, which he fails to recognize despite the two characters possessing Ryan Reynolds' recognizable voice throughout the entire movie." Joey Paur of Geek Tyrant commented "The honest trailer also amusingly points out that this is the closest we’ll get to a new Deadpool for awhile."
Production credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
Epic Voice Guy: Jon Bailey
Title Design by Robert Holtby
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell, Danielle Radford & Lon Harris
Produced by Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, Joe Starr & Max Dionne
Edited by Kevin Williamsen
External links []
- ‘Detective Pikachu’ Honest Trailer: The Third Best Hard-Boiled Detective Movie with Cartoon Animals - SlashFilm article
- Detective Pikachu Honest Trailer Dunks on the Ryan Reynolds Twist - CBR.com article
- Pokemon’s Detective Pikachu Gets an Honest Trailer - EpicStream article
- DETECTIVE PIKACHU Is Renamed "Who Framed Ryan Reynolds" In The Newest Honest Trailer Video - Toonado article
- POKÉMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU: The Video Game Movie Is The Focus Of The Newest Honest Trailer - Game Fragger article
- Get Ready Poka Fans! The Honest Trailer for DETECTIVE PIKACHU Is Here - Geek Tyrant article