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Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is a 2005 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and produced by OLM, Inc. The movie is the third Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire movie, and the eighth Pokémon movie overall. Premiering in Japan on July 16, 2005, and the United States on September 19, 2006, it introduced four new Fourth Pokémon generation Pokémon: Lucario, Bonsly, Mime Jr., and Weavile. The three original Legendary giants Regice, Regirock, and Registeel also appear. The Mythical Pokémon Mew played an important role in the movie. It is the last Pokémon movie and production and also, the final Nintendo production overall to be dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment, though it was actually completed before Pasta La Vista!. The film received praise for its animation, music score, and its darker tone, making it one of the best films of the Pokémon series.
Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was one of the four nominees for the American Anime Awards' "Best Anime Feature" award, but it lost to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
Plot[]
Ash's Pikachu is taken to the Tree of Beginning by a wild Mew. To get Pikachu back, Ash must now team up with a Lucario from many years past, but with Lucario still bitter about the hero who sealed him away, Ash and friends must discover the hero's true intentions.
Cast[]
| Character | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ash Ketchum | Rica Matsumoto | Veronica Taylor |
| May | Kaori | |
| Max | Fushigi Yamada | Amy Birnbaum |
| Brock | Yuji Ueda | Eric Stuart |
| Pikachu | Ikue Otani | |
| Jessie | Megumi Hayashibara | Rachael Lillis |
| James | Shin-ichiro Miki | Eric Stuart |
| Meowth | Inuko Inuyama | Maddie Blaustein |
| Narrator | Unsho Ishizuka | Mike Pollock |
| Lucario | Daisuke Namikawa | Sean Schemmel |
| Mew | Satomi Korogi | |
| Kidd Summers | Becky | Rebecca Soler |
| Lt. Banks | Takeshi Aono | Pete Zarustica |
| Aaron | Kōichi Yamadera | Jason Griffith |
| Rin | Momoko Kikuchi | Erica Schroeder |
| Eileen | ||
Gallery[]
| Main article: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew/gallery |
Box office[]
Since premiering on July 16, 2005, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew grossed ¥4.3 billion at the Japanese box office, making it the year's second highest-grossing domestic film, behind only Howl's Moving Castle. Approximately 3,930,000 viewers saw the movie.
The final box office tally is 98.3 percent of the sales of last year, but with the last three movies all consistently passing the 4 billion yen mark, it is considered a market success. The slight market loss is attributed to stiff competition at the box office from other anime films running at the same time.
Reception[]
The film is generally considered one of the best of the series, as it makes a breakaway from the mostly derivative plot of the many Pokémon movies by featuring much more engaging characters and story. As of January 2022, it has the highest IMDb rating of the film series, 6.9/10 from over 4500 votes. In a February 2021 poll held by the official Japanese Pokémon website, this movie was voted the most popular movie of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire.
Legacy[]
Lucario in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Lucario in this movie is inspired by the same species of the same name in the Super Smash Bros. series, similar to Mewtwo who is inspired from the first movie. Daisuke Namikawa reprised his role in Japanese in all its appearances, while in English, Sean Schemmel reprised the character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bill Rogers provided the character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the anime). Its Mega Evolution is also included in later games. Namikawa would also voice Ash's Lucario in the anime proper.
Trivia[]
- This movie introduces the concept of aura to the anime canon.
- Jynx's old design appears briefly when the tree of Pokémon is seen in the beginning.
- The two armies of Pokémon, Red and Green, reference the original two Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Green.
- This is the first movie in which the main featured Pokémon is neither Legendary nor Mythical Pokémon, with the other being Zoroark: Master of Illusions (features Zoroark).
- This movie marks the first time a Fourth Pokémon generation move is used in the anime, in case Aura Sphere.
External links[]
- M08 at Bulbapedia, the Pokémon wiki.
- Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at the Internet Movie Database
- Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at Anime News Network