Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000)

In the town of Greenfield, a young, lonely girl's dreams and wishes are brought into reality by a collective of reality-warping Pokémon.

Directors:

Kunihiko Yuyama, Michael Haigney

Writers:

Norman J. Grossfeld (english version), Michael Haigney (english version)

Stars:

Veronica Taylor, Eric Stuart, Rica Matsumoto

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rica Matsumoto	...	Satoshi (voice)
Veronica Taylor	...	Ash Ketchum / Delia Ketchum (voice)
Rachael Lillis	...	Misty / Jessie / Goldeen / Vulpix (voice)
Ikue Ôtani	...	Pikachû (voice)
Eric Stuart	...	Brock / James (voice)
Madeleine Blaustein	...	Meowth (voice) (as Addie Blaustein)
Amy Birnbaum	...	Molly Hale (voice)
Dan Green	...	Professor Spencer Hale / Entei (voice)
Stuart Zagnit	...	Professor Oak (voice) (as Stan Hart)
Lisa Ortiz	...	Lisa (voice)
Kathy Pilon	...	Reporter (voice)
Peter R. Bird	...	David (voice)
Kayzie Rogers	...	Wobbuffet / Cyndaquil / Totodile / Mimey / Flaaffy (voice)
Ted Lewis	...	Tracey Sketchit / Schuyler (voice) (as Ed Paul)
Rodger Parsons	...	Narrator (voice) (as Ken Gates)

Storyline

Professor Shuri is a scientist looking for rare Pocket Monsters. He reads a storybook to his daughter Mi about the powerful Pokemon Entei. Shuri is currently searching for the heiroglyph Pokemon "Unknown". While searching through some ancient artifacts, Shuri awakens Unknown and is sucked into it. Mi next awakens Unknown while looking for her father. Unknown bonds with her and turns her mansion into a Crystal Tower. The crystallization begins to spread. Unknown lives to serve Mi and creates an Entei with the personality of her father to make her happy. When Mi next desires a mother, Entei kidnaps Satoshi's mother Hanako to give to Mi. Satoshi, Kasumi, Takeshi, and of course Pikachu set out to get her back.

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Plot Keywords:

backpack | black hair | orange hair | water | special attack | 

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Taglines:

This Spring The Unknown Spells Adventure

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 April 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Emperor of the Crystal Tower

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,240,752, 8 April 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,052,128

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$68,411,275

Company Credits

Production Co:

4 Kids Entertainment, Kids' WB, Nintendo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second version was streamed on Pokémon TV in 2015, which removed all company logos, retyped the opening and ending credits, and changed the copyright to 2015.

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Goofs

Lee Quick's name is listed in the credits even though Officer Jenny doesn't have any lines of dialogue.

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Quotes

Entei: You are... mama!

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Crazy Credits

As the credits roll, scenes are shown of Molly's new life with both of her parents.

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Alternate Versions

In the original Japanese version, Molly's (Mi's) mother's disappearance is not addressed on-screen. When the Japanese filmmakers were asked about this, they provided a detailed story about her and her absence. So Molly's mother is shown in the American version as a Pokémon researcher, like her husband, and her disappearance is explained early in the movie. The film's final credit sequence was re-edited so that the American audiences would be sure to see the return of Molly's mother and father, which is only shown in the Japanese version at the end of the final credits.

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Connections

Follows Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)

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Soundtracks

To Know the Unknown
Music by John Siegler & John Loeffler
Lyrics by Norman J. Grossfeld
Performed by Innosense
Produced by Dakari
Innosense appears courtesy of RCA Records & BMG Germany
Special thanks to Trans Continental Entertainment

User Reviews

Hey it's the best one yet (That might not be saying much for some)

Seeing how many adults despise Pokemon, my comments might strike those as the ramblings of a social oddball. But so what?

My child likes Pokemon and I happen to like the Pokemon show, it's not always great but it good to see a show that teaches kids to strive for a goal that is not reachable in half an hour. Name any other children's show where the characters take an entire season to reach a stated goal. In a funny way this show is more realistic then any other children's show on American TV. The program is very tolerant of people's differences and celebrates everyone's unique talents. And I like the different Pokemon creatures and my son and I enjoy playing the N64 Pokemon Stadium 2 game together. He really enjoys explaining the different Pokemon to me as we play. I have a friend who runs tours at a local science museum using the Pokemon as a way to get the kids into natural history and sciences. It really sparks some of the children into learning more.

That said, the movies have been a different story. The first was a very dark movie and the second, although better, still had a strange apocalyptic undercurrent more typical of Japanese animation for older audiences. I missed the light hearted nature of the TV show. The new one is different, the story is more suited to young audiences and it's mostly more coherent to adults who are with the young ones. (Although the kids will have to explain some plot elements to you if you haven't kept up with the show.) The film also has a much better story than the first two. There is still quite a bit of large scale fighting at the end but it's not the end of the world stuff of the first films.

Do I recommend the film to regular audiences? No, but I do suggest to parents that you don't make excuses to not take your child. This should not be the torture you may have experienced with the first two.