This Week in Anime

What? Mewtwo is Evolving!

Nowadays you can catch your favorite anime film in limited screenings across the country. Heck, sometimes those screenings even crack into the U.S.'s top five at the box office. When it comes to Pokemon though, that was ground broken over 20 years ago. When Pokemon: The First Movie was released in the U.S. it pulled in US$10 million on it's opening day; a WEDNESDAY, if you can believe it, setting animated film records for Warner Bros. It ultimately ended its North American theatrical run with over $85 million in its pocket. So what happens when an anime giant gets a new, updated coat of paint? Is merely recreating the beats of its predecessor enough to guarantee equal success?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.

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Steve
Nick, we've gathered today to talk about Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution, a film which helpfully does my job for me and asks the most pressing questions about its existence all by itself!

Okay, actually I'm glad you've brought that up, because this is NOT the lyric right? It's "to train them is my cause!" right? Tell me I haven't been living in a parallel universe for the past 20 years.

And unfortunately I think comparing it to its original is the main way most folks over the age of 10 are going to approach Evolution now that it's out on Netflix. Maybe that's unfair but being an almost shot-for-shot remake is gonna invite that type of engagement, y'know?

Yeah, it kind of occupies a weird spot now that you mention it. It's remaking a 20-year-old movie that's part of a still-running franchise that moved passed anything it would have been marketing 15+ years ago. Nowadays kids on either side of the Pacific are gonna know Ash and Pikachu but who the hell are these nobodies? Where's Lillie and Mallow?

Oh for sure. My heart will always belong to that original 4Kids cast. But I think the new voices are just fine. I wish I could say the same about these character models, though, which range from "doesn't look right" to "AHHHHHHH GET IT AWAY FROM ME"

Brock looking like freaking Uboa over here.

CG character models are tough, and there's always a delicate balance to be found between cartoonishness and realism that I don't at all pretend to know how to achieve. But here I come down on the side where we probably don't need to be able to distinguish each individual eyebrow hair on Ash's face.

I'm also not a big fan of how plastic and toy-like they look. Like, this poster of Nurse Joy is indistinguishable from an advertisement for a scale figure.

It's not like I'm not open to new looks for Pokemon either. I loved the art change for Sun & Moon, and the recent movies have each had distinct new looks for Ash/Satoshi that I can get behind. But something about the faces on this just feel...off.

I guess I just want to get it out there ahead of time that when I complain about something it's not just because it's different from how it was when I was 6. So when I say Evolution feels like a fundamentally lesser version of it's original it's based solely on its merits as a movie.
Though I will say: bring back the Minnesota Vikings you cowards.

Agreed, but Meowth in aviators is a very powerful image.

So let it be said that Evolution isn't wholly without merit.

True, but those flourishes seem to come at the cost of overall scene composition. Take, for instance, the scene where Mewtwo wakes up in the lab. The original uses a lot of heavy shadows to instill a dark, moody, and almost horror-tinged atmosphere. It's a really evocative way to open what's ostensibly a children's movie.


The remake, however, washes the lab in bright fluorescent lights and doesn't obscure the scientists' faces at all. The mood is entirely different, and especially noticeable when you compare these two shots from an identical moment across both versions.

The shift in overall direction is apparent throughout. Like just look at this scene of Mewtwo revealing he's been controlling Nurse Joy the whole time:

Evolution has more consistent motion with Mewtwo emoting the whole time, but the original communicates the intent so well with just a simulated rack focus that you don't even need to hear it to know what it's communicating.

I also generally have an issue with how dark and muddled Evolution can look. Again, comparing analogous scenes, the myriad arms are supposed to be an oppressive, disorienting presence, but it's a lot easier to see what's happening in Evolution.


Also Ash makes a better chomping face in the original, imo.

To be fair, I know the original dub took quite a number of liberties (Minnesota Vikings included), some of which were pretty significant when it came to things like Mewtwo's motivations, so it's entirely possible this new dub is more faithful to the original. I honestly don't know how or if the Japanese script changed. That said, for as much flak as 4Kids rightfully deserves, I do have to admit a certain bias towards the concentration of dumb jokes and puns in the original. The new dub is much lighter on that levity, and kind of duller for it.

It just bugs me, I guess. It makes Mewtwo stop feeling like a villain and more like the kid at school who learned about EV training before everyone else.

Oh if editorial would let us I'd turn this article into nothing but reminiscing about beating the Elite 4 with just my Primeape at 15 HP when I first played Red. If nothing else Evolution caught me in the blast radius of its nostalgia bomb.

I do kind of resent this line though. Bringing up the wrong type of old memories guys.

Ahhh, I had to allow them that one. Call me a sucker. And to be fair, some of the jokes are still the same!

Netflix was even kind enough to call back to original movie's habit of misidenitifying basic Pokemon!

Which was of course intentional, because far be it from me to question the veracity or QC policies of Netflix's anime subs writ large!

Just saying if you're gonna make self-aware callbacks you should have room for brilliant lines like this.

IMO it's not a line of authentic Meowth dialogue if it doesn't contain at least one unforgivable pun.

It's a wholly "okay" remake. And it's not like the original is some unimpeachable masterpiece either, but I'm glad I took the time to rewatch that one and gain some new appreciation for what it was doing. Like I said earlier, I honestly think Evolution works best as a case study and companion piece for people who want to learn about film theory. In both films, tho, the MVP is undoubtedly Ikue Otani's heartbreaking performance as Pikachu.

I don't know how she makes that tiny rat with a very limited vocabulary emote so much, but damn she still gets me good.

She's fantastic at it! And thank god they've never done anything weird like have Pikachu speak actual human language in a movie or anything. Just Pika-pika-pi!

That's the way it should be, and will always be, forever, for certain. Yep.

So yeah, Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution - if you're looking for a way to kill 90 minutes with a version of a movie you liked as a kid animated like a Sonic Unleashed cutscene, it's totally worth checking out. Otherwise:

Mewtwo is his own harshest film critic.