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Pokémon Apokélypse is a 2010 fan-made short film directed by Kial Natale and produced by Dylan Innes and Lee Majdoub. Based on the Pokémon franchise, the storyline takes place several years after the events of the original anime series. Intended as a fan-response to "the common trend of 'dark and gritty' reboots of popular franchises", the film was meant to give a mature spin on Pokémon and be in the same vein as work seen on the parody website CollegeHumor. The creators initially intended to reveal the film at the Vancouver Anime Evolution convention, it was not shown due to technical difficulties. Instead on September 14, 2010, it revealed online via a teaser segment distributed through emails sent to various media outlets, which presented itself as a recording of a "secret movie trailer screening" for a film in development. The full film followed shortly thereafter, posted online on September 20.
Plot[]
Structured as a trailer for a non-existent film, Pokémon Apokélypse is set in the fictional Celadon City, and takes place several years after the events of the original anime series. The plot focuses on Ash Ketchum, a Pokémon Trainer who commands creatures called Pokémon to battle other Trainers' Pokémon to advance within a league setting. Formerly a global sport, it was long since outlawed due to outcries of animal abuse, and instead continued in underground arenas, where the fighting became much more brutal. Despite warnings by his friend Brock, Ash takes part in the battles with his Pokémon, Pikachu. When approached by Giovanni, the head of Rocket Industries, with a bribe to throw his next fight, Ash turns the offer down. In response, Giovanni threatens Ash's former mentor Professor Oak and girlfriend, Misty. Deciding to keep them safe, Ash accepts the bribe, and Pikachu is nearly killed in the match.
Quickly regretting his actions, Ash revisits Giovanni and returns the bribe money, declaring himself out of the league. Enraged, Giovanni declares Ash and his friends dead, and sends his minions Jessie, James and Meowth to carry out the retribution. As a result, Oak is killed, Pikachu and Misty are assaulted, and Brock is tortured. With the help of Pikachu, Brock and Misty, Ash goes after Giovanni and aims to take down Rocket Industries (including Mewtwo), declaring he will not stop until he has "caught them all".
Cast[]
- Lee Majdoub as Ash Ketchum
- Ikue Otani as Pikachu (voice clips)
- Kial Natale as Brock
- Rebecca Strom as Misty
- Julia Lawton as Jessie
- Gharrett Patrick Paon as James
- David Quast as Giovanni
- Richard Toews as Professor Oak
- Sahaj Malhotra as Nurse Joy
- Katherine Atkinson as Officer Jenny
- Jason Lee Fraser as Team Rocket Grunt
- Tanner McColman as Team Rocket Grunt
- Taylor Enobuc James as Team Rocket Grunt
- Derek Cheng as Team Rocket Grunt
Reception[]
Reaction to the film's preview segment was mixed. Kotaku heavily praised the effects, undertone and music, stating that the staff loved it, though lamented that an official film of this kind would join a long line of "ill-advised live-action adaptations". Game Informer called it "absurd", stating that while it was a possible proof of concept film it was more likely completely fake, and adding "It looks goofy as hell, and Pokéfans are sure to get a couple chuckles out of it if nothing else." ComicsAlliance called it "somewhere in the middle" of presenting a better take on the franchise and a reminder that "some intellectual properties got things right (or inherently wrong) the first time", though called the effect "surprisingly competent" and it both generally fun and funny. Crave Online heavily criticized the film, calling the story formulaic and the production values "threadbare", and further adding that they dreaded the idea of it inspiring an actual live-action film on the series in light of Capcom's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.
In contrast, the full film has been well received by the media. GamesRadar praised the idea of the film, stating that if produced it would be "the best movie since Piranha 3D" and calling it "good enough for grown-ups". In a further discussion via their Pokémon Monday cast, the three editors involved praised the film as "very well done". While one editor stated disdain for the appearance of the various Pokémon in the film, they agreed that in any live-action adaptation the creatures would "always look weird", and that for a film with a lack of budget they were done very well. They also praised the attention of detail, and praised David Quast's portrayal of Giovanni, as well as the presentation of recurring anime villains Jessie, James and Meowth. Editor Carolyn Gudmundson added that she was uncomfortable with the grittiness of the production, though praised it for presenting out the inherent problem of the concept behind the games and its similarity to dog fighting.
Trivia[]
- Lee Majdoub, who played Ash Ketchum in the fan movie, voiced Ieyasu in Dragalia Lost and played Agent Stone in Sonic movies.
- The writers announced that Pokémon was only one of their original choices, with others including Grand Theft Auto and Dragon Ball Z.
External links[]
- Pokémon Apokélypse at Bulbapedia, the Pokémon wiki.
- Pokémon Apokélypse at the Internet Movie Database
- Pokémon Apokélypse at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia