Pokémon Heroes (2003)

Takes itself way too seriously

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

As you can guess, this movie was my childhood, in fact every Pokemon movie up until Lucario, was mine and my siblings childhood, these Pokemon movies were just so engaging, endearing and awesome, despite being corny ( come on its Pokemon), i always felt i would never be the same without these films. I love this movie and all the others so much, my siblings and i always try to watch them at least once year. But enough about my childhood, lets get on to the review. So this movie takes place in a city called altomare which is basically Venice in Pokemon world, but just as gorgeous, you could tell the animators took their time designing the city. There is a story, that legendary Pokemon called latios and latias, would protect the city from evil people with evil Pokemon, and that they had to flood the entire city, drowning the evil Pokemon ( yeah dark right), and there were only 2 survivors, a brother ( latios) and sister ( latias); from the get go this movie establishes some very interesting lore, and i only wish there was more of it. The movie starts off with ash and misty in a water Pokemon chariot race, with the master quest song playing ( This song and this moment is so awesome and memorable, i got into wake boarding just to try to replicate it), through the race you notice that latios and latias have the power of invisibility and watch over the city, latias is revealed to be able to look like a human girl. Ash and his friends then explore the city and visit the museum which has the fossils of the evil Pokemon, and a weapon that was used to protect the city using the soul of a latios ( very rich lore). Meanwhile we follow 2 sexy cat burglars who work for team rockets boss Giovanni, these 2 women are named Annie and Oakley; let me just say that these 2 became some of my favorite Pokemon villains, just their intro is awesome ( its a spy car that can turn into a jet!) their spy like style is very cool, they even have cool Pokemon; a espion and ariados who also become antagonists. Annie and Oakley's goal is to capture both legendary Pokemon, find the crystallized soul of a latios, and use the city's weapon for their own agenda. The 2 end up being very intimidating as they ruthlessly pursue latias through the city, ( they can even see through the Pokemon's invincibility, using spy glasses). The movie is very short, and cuts right to the final climax very quickly, Annie and Oakley use the weapon to control the city and resurrect the evil Pokemon, making ( gasp) ZOMBIE Pokemon!!! So... as always ash is the only one who can stop them, and there is a very impressive chase scene involving ash, latias and the zombie Pokemon. And just when you think the day is won, the weapon actually causes a tidal wave to occur, as it comes closer to destroying the city, latios give up his life to stop it ( yes an actual death in pokemon!) This leads to a bittersweet ending involving latias saying goodbye to ash, which unsettling leads to a kiss from latias to ash ( in human form, Brock was really jealous), the movie then ends with ash seeing the ghosts of latias's family in the sky. Also it shows Annie and Oakley in prison looking at a book with a picture of the collector from Pokemon 2000, establishing continuity between these movies. The story is simple but engaging almost whimsical in fact, but the music is awe inspiring, it haunts me, the end credits sequence doesn't have 1 but 5 different songs that are all very good songs. The animation looked good but nothing special, there was a lot of CGI used in this ( that wasn't very good), but as your traveling through the CGI halls of altomare, there's this beauty and atmosphere about it, i think this sort of CGI worked really well with this movie. i love this movie, and despite it having its flaws like being too short, i couldn't imagine living without it! May it touch your soul as it has touched mine.

This is a great movie, one of the movies I grew up with. It was excellently done, a decent story, and great characters. I love the bonds shown or developed throughout the movie, especially Latios and Latias. These two are the closest Pokemon duo I have seen, and they were quite well done. So you ask, why is it 9 stars if you enjoy the movie so much? Well, I have quite a few problems with the movie. First, I would like the clear up that this is the shortest Pokemon film released so far, and will probably stay that way as long as Pokemon is running. If you skipped directly to the race and watched to the part where 2 Latios and 1 Latias fly towards Alto Mare, it would be about 30 seconds under an hour. This leaves Pokemon fans hungering for more, and I myself wish this was a longer film.My second problem is that the English version should have had a more similar story to the Japanese version. The Japanese version was a very successful film, with a brilliant story. So why, just why, was this all changed up? This isn't a question I've seen many people ask, but I am wondering. Why was Latios's voice changed in the English dub. It helped distinguish Latios and Latias's differences better, which is one of the things I liked about the Japanese version.These are only three problems, but they are big enough to knock the movie down a star for me. But the movie is still kid-friendly and entertaining. I love it until this very day, and the movie itself was very emotional. Latias and Latios are adorable and cool at the same time, just the Pokemon I love the most. Latios's death set a new course for the Pokemon world, and it still affects some today. Annie and Oakley were funny and unusual villains. I like both of their characters, Oakley's desire for power, and Annie just the more girly of the two, wanting to steal pretty things and wear nice clothes. I wish they were given another role in the future.I am not denying that this was a great film, but it could have easily been better. But this movie is unique for its design focus. I like how Alto Mare is loosely based off of Venice, which is a gorgeous city. Latios and Latias will always have a special place in my heart, as well as this movie.

My second favourite Pokemon film. This film is set in the city Altomare, based on Venice. The city is guarded by Latios and Latias, two dragon and psychic Pokemon. They also protect the Soul Dew, a jewel said to contain the spirit of their father. However, two thieves come to steal the jewel in order to power the DMA (The Defence Mechanism of Altomare), although the reason why is never explained. Once again, coincidentally, Ash, Pikachu, Misty and Brock are visiting the city and get involved in the race to save the city. There also a wonderful bond between Ash, Latias and Latios, which seems to be the main support beam which prevents this movie from turning bad. As a nice point to Mario, the curator of the city's museum is dressed in his attire.

This Pokemon movie was not as good as the 4th one, but it's great. I liked the part where the "Pokemon Heroes" are about to save the city, Altima (?) and eventually, Latios had to give up his life to save the whole city. That ALMOST made me cry, however, so this movie wasn't as great as the 4th one. I just hope people like the next two movies, because they're great! I agree with others that the 5th Pokemon movie is good, but not great, because it has some flaws in it. Sorry, Pokemon! I feel sorry for you, but if you could just improve some things in this movie, I would give this movie an 8 or a 9. The music for the Pokemon movies are great, too. Although it sounded almost the same as the music that you hear in the Pokemon series, the music in the movies were a bit more "improvised," so I give all the Pokemon movies two thumbs WAY up for the music criteria.