The trouble with anime tie-in movies is that they can be made with only the established audience and fan base in mind, leaving general audiences without a hook to join in the fun. While Pokemon the First Movie and Digimon the Movie both fall into this pit, Cardcaptors the Movie flies right over it by offering an original engaging and immense story for both parties without pandering to either.
Cardcaptors is the English language dub of the 1999 magical girl anime Cardcaptor Sakura, and while the dub is notorious among fans for the cultural changes (western names, altering character relationships), Cardcaptors is a decent dub that brings its own sense of charm to the material. The basic premise involves 10-year Sakura, a school girl who accidentally unleashes the magical Clow Cards upon the world and it is up to her and a small band of friends to capture them. That is established in the movie's opening scenes. Sakura also intermixes her everyday life with her Cardcapturing (not likely an actual verb) and keeps her loved ones out of harm's way. It is relatively light-hearted but still has enough drama to prevent the show from falling into dumb forgetful children's mush.
Anyway, the movie involves Sakura unexpectedly winning a holiday to Hong Kong, accompanied by her best friend Madison, big brother Tori, and her crush Julian, along with the Clow Cards' guarding Kero who is looks like a smart-mouthed plush toy. But things start going weird when Sakura experiences haunting dreams, and she and her friends are soon targeted by an imprisoned sorceress who has a grudge against Clow Reed, creator of the Clow Cards. Sakura will have to fight or fly against her when her loved ones are harmed.
Even if you are not an anime lover or like Cardcaptors, the movie is worth a watch. I enjoy the characterisations throughout the film, particularly Sakura's vulnerability at being outmatched by someone who is magically stronger than she is and the consequences of her fears. The villainess Su Yung is both fearsome but sympathetic, and Nicole Oliver does a great job bringing emotion and rage to the character. The visuals are spectacular and well detailed, particularly when the characters are exploring Hong Kong and all of the little details in the architecture and backgrounds are lovely. The scenes in the alternate dimensions are pretty cool as well. There is a constant theme of water in the movie, and the scenes with it are beautifully animated. The music fits well too, never feeling out of place or inappropriately used.
On the negative side, the supporting characters don't get much to do, and for some reason, the audio and voice work can sound muffled in certain parts of the movie, particularly at the start. But in conclusion, Cardcaptors the Movie is an enjoyable film with an engaging, emotional story and great visuals.
