"Pokemon: The Arceus Chronicles" debuts on Netflix as a film, but it doesn't take a Pokemon trainer to realize that it is just a few episodes of the popular anime spliced into a single event. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that, but it's impossible not to feel mislead.
The plot is gobbledygook, but here goes nothing: while at a sorta bygone era celebration in Sinnoh, Ash, Dawn and Goh, voiced by Sarah Natochenny, Emily Jenness and Zeno Robinson respectively, acquire a few Pokemon from Cynthia (also voiced by Emily).
There is an aura of innocence to these brief segments, but in no time does disaster strike when the evil Team Galactic, bent on restoring their missing leader Cyrus, cause Pokemon Heatron on a flaming raging up Mount Coronet. Could it explode and destroy the region? Can our heroes save the day? Will legendary 'mon Arceus help? Did I get all the names right? Gosh I hope so.
Anyway, my cursory knowledge of the franchise helped me piece together what was going on despite there being very little explanation; the meager sixty three minute runtime hardly allows any narrative meat on this slim skeleton of a motion picture; consisting instead of a lot of explosions and action. It's all surprisingly engaging, considering I had very little idea what was happening most of the time and quickly learned to shut my brain off
Part of what kept me watching here is its animation. Anime is what it is called, and it is fascinating how little actually goes on in any given frame- these rather detailed images sit static onscreen as the camera pans slowly about. It is such a contrast to the usual Disney fare, and they work perfectly in the quieter scenes where its just kids having fun. Those are the parts I liked most.
Why bother with anything serious? This is a candy-coated hour and change where bright colors flash across the screen until they stop and the credits roll. Actually that's a lie- even the credits are bright and colorful.
Ultimately though, "Pokemon: The Arceus Chronicles" feels like an extended Saturday morning cartoon because that's exactly what it is, but fans will no doubt enjoy every silly moment, and at the movies, isn't that all what matters?
No comments:
Post a Comment