Honest Trailers - Pokemon: The First Movie is the 293rd 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 1998 Japanese anime movie Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back. The video is 4 minutes 22 seconds long. It was published on April 30, 2019, to coincide with the theatrical release of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. It has been viewed over 1.3 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Pokemon: The First Movie on YouTube
"A film that used to delight your inner child, and now will just embarrass your outer adult." ~ Honest Trailers - Pokemon: The First Movie
Script []
Before you pay to see Detective Pikachu, revisit the first time he Quick Attacked your wallet, for a film that used to delight your inner child, and now will just embarrass your outer adult.
Raymond: OHH, NOO!!
Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo... Strikes... Back. Any more titles there, movie? Wanna throw an "Electric Boogaloo" in for good measure?
Pikachu: (while shaking his head) Pikachu.
No? Mmkay.
You got swept up in the Pokémania of the late 90's, and if you didn't, this probably ain't for you, Chief, because they're not wasting any time explaining what this place is, who these people are, or why that cat has a Brooklyn accent.
Meowth: --the last time you cooked, you wiped out eight of my nine lives.
To be fair, not even the super-fans are sure about that one. So if you need a crash course on all things Poké, it's about child runaways who make their animal slaves beat each other unconscious, but don't worry; they like it, allegedly!
Psyducks: Psyduck...
Meet Ash, an idiot who's constantly on the verge of death (montage of Ash being put in mortal peril); Misty, an idiot who's constantly nagging...
Misty: Oh, Ash. You haven't done a thing all day. / Are you sure this boat's safe? / Can't Charizard move any quicker?
...and Brock, an idiot who's constantly horny.
Brock: Mmm. She's cute. / They just keep getting more beautiful every time I see 'em. / She's really small, but really pretty.
Together with an adorable merchandising opportunity...
Pikachu: Pikachu!
...this not-so-Elite Four will bumble into a secret fighting tournament/world domination plot, that will make everyone say, "Huh?" (montage of characters saying "Huh?")
But nothing can prepare them for Mewtwo, a psychic clone who's weak to Bug types and existential crises.
Mewtwo: Who am I?
He's got a plan to liberate Pokémon from their human masters, that... sounds pretty reasonable, actually, until he starts killing everyone. (shows Mewtwo destroying Dr. Fuji's lab) Want to keep kids from siding with the villain who's in the right? (singing) Gotta kill 'em all! (shows Helmut Zemo torturing Bucky Barnes's old handler in Captain America: Civil War, Magneto killing some police officers after his daughter dies in X-Men: Apocalypse, and Killmonger shooting Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther)
Try not to hurt yourself in the confusion, because the franchise all about Pokémon fights comes out hard against Pokémon fights. Because when they're beating each other up to see who's the strongest, it's fine, but when they're beating each other up to settle who's the strongest once and for all, it's... suddenly not fine?
Nurse Joy: Pokémon aren't meant to fight... Not like this.
James: Now I can see how horrible fighting really is.
I've got one word for you, movie. (another montage of characters saying "Huh?")
So buckle up for yet another crappy video game movie, based on a great video game franchise, that may not be the best introduction to Pokémon, anime (Dragon Ball Z), or even Pokémon anime (Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us), but the soundtrack is a perfect crash course in early 2000s pop music. (shows the Wikipedia page for the film's English dub soundtrack) Britney, Christina, NSYNC, and 98 Degrees? Wow, I should really just watch Spirited Away instead!
Meowth: --it wouldn't be such a bad idea...
Starring: Ash, Cash or Rapidash, No One Rides for Free (Rica Matsumoto/Veronica Taylor as Satoshi/Ash Ketchum); I Like Jorts! They're Tiny and Difficult to Wear! (Mayumi Iizuka/Rachael Lillis as Kasumi/Misty); Brock Hard (Yūji Ueda/Eric Stuart as Takeshi/Brock); Meow-colm X (Masachika Ichimura/Philip Bartlett as Mewtwo); Garfield and Friends (Team Rocket [Megumi Hayashibara/Rachael Lillis as Musashi/Jessie, Shin'ichirō Miki/Eric Stuart as Kojirō/James, and Inuka Inuyama/Maddie Blaustein as Nyarth/Meowth]); and Jordan Peele's Us (Ikue Ōtani as Pikachu) (shows the clone of Pikachu hitting the original Pikachu as he begins to cry).
Pokémon: The First Movie... You Saw When You Were Eight
The honest title for Pokémon: The First Movie was 'Pokémon: The First Movie... You Saw When You Were Eight'. Titles designed by Robert Holtby.
I wonder if the subbed version makes more sense?
I-two/Ambertwo: (as her consciousness fades away) Arigatō. (Thank you.)
Mewtwo: ...?
I-two/Ambertwo: Arigatō anata o namida. (Thank you for your tears.)
Nope.
Trivia[]
Honest Trailers Commentary - Pokemon- The First Movie
- Head writer/producer Spencer Gilbert loved Pokémon as a child, but writer/producer Joe Starr had virtually no knowledge of the IP. Both felt that the movie felt a lot like a few episodes of the TV show stitched together, but understood why it was so beloved by children at the time of its release.
- There is also an Honest Trailer about the Detective Pikachu movie. In addition, there are Honest Game Trailers for several Pokémon games, including Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Go, and Detective Pikachu. See list of Honest Game Trailers for more.
- In addition, Screen Junkies have produced multiple episodes of Honest Trailers Anime including Naruto, Tokyo Ghoul, Fairy Tail, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Bleach, Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, One-Punch Man, and Hunter x Hunter.
- Screen Junkies have also produced many Honest Trailers for some Western adaptations of Japanese IP including Alita: Battle Angel, Dragonball Evolution and Ghost in the Shell. See list of Honest Trailers for more.
Watch the full Honest Trailer Commentary on YouTube
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Pokemon: the First Movie has a 96.4% approval rating from YouTube viewers. The Malay Mail wrote that "Screen Junkies have once again done a great job" and the video was filled with many "hilarious takeaways from the movie." The site highlighted the Honest Trailer for pointing out "how the premise for the film sort of contradicts itself and the fact that the main human characters are all essentially idiots." EpicStream wrote "the trailer has a lot of points when it comes to the silliness of the film, especially with the film saying Pokemon shouldn't fight when the anime is literally about all the Pokemon fighting. It's also funny how they pointed out that a lot of the characters go 'huh' in the film—now it's something you can't unsee."
Production Credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Pokemon: The First Movie
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
Title Design: 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 []
- Pokemon: The First Movie Gets an Honest Trailer - EpicStream article
- Honest Trailers Chooses POKEMON The First Movie! - Hipster Zombie Joint article
- Here’s the Honest Trailer for ‘Pokemon: The First Movie’ (VIDEO) - Malay Mail article
- Pokémon: The First Movie Gets Honest Trailer Ahead Of Detective Pikachu - ScreenRant article
- ‘Pokémon: The First Movie’ Honest Trailer: It’s Somehow Against Pokémon Fighting - SlashFilm article