Pokemon Movie 23: Koko

Oh man, it occurred to me as I was watching this movie that a lot of kids these days have probably never seen the actual Tarzan. That's what they might as well have called this movie: Pokemon Tarzan. But I really don't mean that in a critical way at all. I'll admit I was judging it at first, but unoriginality isn't that big a deal to me, in the grand scheme of things. I do believe the same idea can be done well multiple times, in multiple ways, etc.

This movie is beautiful all around. I've seen anime where the fights are a central part of ... the story that aren't animated this fluidly. The story isn't any less moving for being centered around different characters and shoved into the shapes of a popular kids' show. The music was no Phil Collins, but it was catchy, not overly cheesy like it definitely could have been.

This is the first standalone Pokemon movie I've watched in a while, but it was a pleasant surprise. Like I said, it's nothing super original. If you've seen Tarzan, you're sure to recognize certain scenes that were recreated almost exactly. But I think they did a good job with the idea. I enjoyed this movie.

Behold, the final Pokemon movie! It's been a long road getting to the end and there's a tangible feeling of finality to this whole Pokemon thing here. The original anime is finished, Ash is done away with and the movies are, surprisingly, dead and buried. A revival is always possible, but after 24 movies, a living link to the franchise which followed many of us throughout life, is forever severed.

For better or worse, the quality of Koko settles right in the boring middle, an average not easy to write about. Production values follow the expected Pokemon standard without any ambition to amaze. Similarly, the plot ... plays out like a lesser copy of its greater predecesors - most notably, Tarzan.

For such a by-the-numbers production, it's a shame then, that specific Pokemon drama is written and acted out in an extremely clunky way. The dramatic elements simply don't work and many threads are naively resolved in a blink of an eye. There's a conscious attempt to forgo writing emotional character moments and the antagonist's uncomfortably straightforward and long monologues concentrate all the blame at one point. The whole production is moreso uninteresting than bad and a better fit as background noise than an active watch.

Ultimately, being the last Pokemon movie is the only outstanding quality on display here. If you're a Pokemon fan and have seen a dozen other ones, Koko won't hurt you. However, as a cap to the franchise, I'd rather recommend The Power of Us - probably the only good movie this movie franchise has given in its final thirteen years.

Lastly, I'm relieved to be able to write these words:
It's finally over.

I hate Ash. Blah, blah, blah. This alternate continuity is such a waste of potential. Blah, blah, blah. I was a fool to even humor myself with the thought that they might take the "human raised by Pokemon" thing in an interesting direction. Blah, blah, blah.

It's a mediocre kid's movie, no matter how you slice it. Just like the last two. They took a concept that (surprisingly) had never been done in Pokemon before and then slapped it together as a mash-up of, of all things, "Tarzan" and "Pokemon 4 Ever". Even the villain decides to give up all pretense of having a larger motive ... and just become a mad scientist with a CGI death machine halfway through.

Also, there was a moment in the middle where Ash told Pikachu to use Iron Tail and I was sucked right out of whatever was going on. Iron Tail? That move that Pikachu spent an entire arc of the anime perfecting, and it's just casually thrown in here? What the fuck was the point of making an alternate continuity Ash Ketchum for these recent movies if the movies are just going to pretend that this is Ash from the show, only as a blank slate who travels alone and is not allowed to learn any lessons? Infuriating.

The only good thing I have to say about it is that the background art is, as usual, quite pretty. But is that even praise when it comes to anime? That's literally the anime shtick: limited character animation made up for with wonderful backgrounds. (And, honestly, a lot of the time the background is just trees, and there's not much to be done during those stretches.)

There's got to be a better way to do a Pokemon movie than this reheated trash. I've heard almost nothing but praise for the Pokemon TV show for years. Why can't they translate the things that are working over there in the movies? Hell if I know.