For those of you who may be unaware, Detective Pikachu is a point and click adventure game for the 3DS that was released in 2016. I never played it, so I don't know much about the game or its story, but Wikipedia tells me that the story follows a hyper intelligent Pikachu who is a self-proclaimed detective. Detective Pikachu meets a boy named Tim Goodman who can somehow actually understand what he is saying, and the two team up to solve mysteries and look for Tim's missing father.
So, obviously, this isn't a normal Pokemon story we're working with. And Detective Pikachu the film is really leaning into that sense of familiar but different. The movie takes place in Rime City, a western-inspired city that looks more like New York or Las Vegas than any location from the Pokemon games or movies. But there are a lot of background references throughout the trailer that reference actual canon Pokemon locations (if you look at the poster above, you'll see a sign referencing Johto), so it looks like instead of presenting a new canon to Pokemon, the Detective Pikachu film is positioning itself as a side story to the Pokemon games and anime. Which, frankly, is a perfect way to make a Pokemon film.
But enough waffling, let's get right into the thick of it. The Pokemon look weird. They're all fuzzy and scaly and it overall looks like those creepy realistic Pokemon fanart posts. I didn't like the look of the Pokemon at first when I saw still images and such. Realistic Pokemon lack the streamlined look of the anime and games, and they creep me out. But when I actually watched the trailer and saw them in motion and interacting with the human actors, everything fell into place, and the CG Pokemon actually look better than most other CG characters in modern film. And compared to what Hollywood did to the Ninja Turtles, that is goddamn miraculous.
Focusing a little more on Detective Pikachu himself, he is voiced by Ryan Reynolds. And he's....okay. There's nothing particularly wrong with his performance, but his voice just sounds average. The Detective Pikachu in the games has a gruff voice that sounds like a hardboiled noir detective. Is it weird to hear that voice come out of a Pikachu? Yes, but that's part of the joke. But just hearing Ryan Reynolds's normal voice sounds underwhelming. But questionable casting aside, Reynolds is a good actor and does a good job with his performance.
But let's talk about our other lead. Tim Goodman is being played by Justice Smith. Smith is a relatively new actor, with only 10 credits on IMDB, but he was awesome in the trailer. Tim is reimagined as a young 20-something who gave up on his dreams of being a Pokemon trainer and now seems to be working in a call center. And I really like what I see of this character so far. He's snarky but clearly overwhelmed by the situation. The chance to see a Pokemon story that doesn't follow a career Pokemon trainer excites me, as it means we're going to be looking at the world of Pokemon from another perspective. Which, again, I think is a smart move. By doing a separate story so far removed from the traditional Pokemon narrative, Warner Bros. is effectively forcing audiences to adjust their expectations and come into the film with an open mind. And best of all, Smith seems to have good chemistry with Reynolds, and the scene at the end of the trailer with the two of them interrogating Mr. Mime is legitimately funny and is what pushed me over the edge to choose to watch this.
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| I'd complain about how creepy Mr. Mime looks, but he looks that creepy in the games too, so I'm okay with this. |
But other than the two main characters and the actual effects for the Pokemon, there isn't too much to talk about. There are a lot of Pokemon from all the different generations that can be seen in the trailer, along with a plethora of background references, but aside from Greninja, all the prominently shown Pokemon are from the first generation. I'm a little disappointed that there isn't more variety, but it's clear that they're focusing on the most popular Pokemon in featured roles (and also Mr. Mime, for some reason). I mean, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Charizard, and Greninja are all playable characters in Super Smash Bros, and Bulbasaur and Psyduck had prominent roles in the first season of the Pokemon anime. And it honestly makes sense: if you're making a Pokemon story with slightly darker undertones, it's only natural to try to market it to the adults who grew up with Pokemon's first generation, especially with the recent rise of Pokemon Go. But as someone who never stopped playing Pokemon, I would love to see a more even representation of Pokemon from all seven generations.
And if I'm being totally honest, no matter how positive I'm feeling about the trailer, my hopes aren't super high for Detective Pikachu as a whole. Regardless of how good this trailer looks (and it looks pretty damn good), I am still very skeptical about Detective Pikachu as a concept. I'd be more accepting if we saw a different Pokemon as a detective (Detective Watchog, anyone?), but overall, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. Especially since there seems to be genuine effort being put in by the cast and crew. Throughout the whole trailer, once the initial "what the hell" feeling has subsided, there's a genuine sense of love for Pokemon, and it doesn't look like anyone is just there for a paycheck. And that gut feeling, above anything else, is why I am excited to watch the Detective Pikachu film. And when I do, I will be reviewing it for this blog. So, look forward to that, I guess.
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| But let's be real, Psyduck is a major character. This is gonna be Best Picture material from that alone. |
Any and all Mr Mimes automatically make me think of Ash's mom's Mr Mime. Maybe that counts as him/her/it being in a "popular" role in the movie. I agree with you on the part about Van Wylder voicing Detv. Pikachu. I mean, my brain had trouble transitioning from Van's human voice to the Pika-Pika we've all had stamped into our memory. It does look interesting, though. I will be watching it as well, so expect me to have some kind of opinion afterwards :p
ReplyDeleteAnd psyduck..... I know he's your favorite, but in that screenshot, him and Pikachu look creepier than Mimey .