Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006) (V)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Kunihiko Yuyama

Writer:

Hideki Sonoda (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 April 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Our heroes must protect the Prince of the Sea, Manaphy, from the evil pirate Phantom, and return the young Pokémon to the Sea Temple with the help of the the People of the Water and Jackie the Pokémon Ranger. |

Plot Keywords:

Anime

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 22

11:00 AM

TOON

Cast

Sarah Natochenny	...	Ash Ketchum / Clamperl (voice: English version)
Ikue Ootani	...	Pikachu (voice)
Michele Knotz	...	May / Manaphy / Jessie / Gorebyss / Medicham (voice: English version)
Kayzie Rogers	...	Max / Wobbuffet / Mime Jr. / Corsola (voice: English version) (as Jamie Peackock)
Bill Rogers	...	Brock / Sceptile / Corphish / Shipmate #3 (voice: English version)
Eric Schussler	...	The Phantom (voice: English version)
Rich McNanna	...	Jack Walker (voice: English version)
Jimmy Zoppi	...	James / Meowth / Swellow / Munchlax (voice: English version) (as Billy Beach)
Ken Gates	...	Narrator / Shipmate #2 (voice: English version) (as Roger Parsons)
Sean Elias-Reyes	...	Chatot (voice: English version)
Rhonda Krempa	...	Judy - Ranger HQ Personel (voice: English version)
Emily Williams	...	Lizabeth (voice: English version)
Craig Blair	...	Kyle / Galen (voice: English version)
Annie Silver	...	Meredith (voice: English version)
Simcha Whitehill	...	Shep / Shipmate #1 (voice: English version)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Australia:G

Company:

Shogakukan Production

Quotes:

Meowth: Hey guys, the old treasure meter's going off the charts!
James: It won't be long now. We'll clean up in more ways than one.
Jessie: That old, crusty crab thinks he's so smart, when we're the ones poised to pocket those diamonds and pearls.
Meowth: Hey, that sounds like a good name for a game!
Wobbuffet: Wobbuffet!
[Jessie, James, and Meowth jump to silence Wobbuffet, then snicker]

Movie Connections:

Alternate language version of Gekijô-ban poketto monsutâ: Adobansu jenerêshon pokemon renjâ to umi no ôji manafi (2006)

The Pokemon movies just keep getting better

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea", the 9th movie for the Pokemon franchise, is a rather fun ride. As the movie series progresses, they keep using more and more computer animation, which gets better looking each year. And part nine doesn't disappoint, with gorgeous locales, cool looking vehicles, and even displays of Pokemon powers being displayed in well done CGI.

It doesn't hurt that this is one of the more epic stories the movies have seen: a pirate is after a legendary Pokemon called Manaphy in order to use it to find an undersea temple and the treasure in it. But the egg Manaphy's in is stolen by a "Pokemon Ranger" named Jack Walker. Jack ends up joining forces with Ash and Co., as well as a performance troupe descended from the People of the Water who made that temple, and they go on a journey to return Manaphy to where it comes from while eluding the pirate and his crew.

Like the other Pokemon movies, this one has its moments. There's a scene involving large floating balls of water and those performers that would put would put Cirque de Soliel to shame. There's a chase scene with helicopters chasing our heroes as they ride in a vehicle that looks like a big boat on wheels. And from the moment they arrive at the temple on end, it's one wild ride.

Unfortunately, this entry suffers from the same problems as its predecessors. The voice acting from the new voice cast is a little better than the 4Kids crew, but it's still doesn't make you feel for the characters and their situations like you're supposed to. There's also the problem of Team Rocket; most of the time, they follow our heroes around and talk about what they're going to do while making bad puns, but don't really have a role in the story. The good news is that they're a little more involved this time around, but the bad news is they're still annoying. And once again there's a use of DEUS EX MACHINA towards the end (I won't say what. And the resulting scene is so fun a lot of viewers might not mind)

Overall, definitely one the best Pokemon movies. Bring on part 10!