Pokémon: The First Movie

"Who is the strongest Pokémon?"

1998 1h 36m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1,636

AnimationFamilyAdventureFantasyAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Determined to prove its superiority, a bio-engineered Pokémon called Mewtwo lures Ash, Pikachu and others into a Pokémon match like none before.

“Who is the strongest Pokémon?”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Rica Matsumoto
Satoshi (voice)
Ikue Otani
Pikachu (voice)
Mayumi Izuka
Kasumi (voice)
Yuji Ueda
Takeshi (voice)
Satomi Korogi
Togepy (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara
Musashi (voice)
Shin-ichiro Miki
Kojiro (voice)
Inuko Inuyama
Nyarth (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Writers: Takeshi Shudo, Kunihiko Yuyama, Satoshi Tajiri
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Pokémon Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Toshio Henmi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Rica Matsumoto and Ikue Otani and Mayumi Izuka carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Who is the strongest Pokémon?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0190641 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kunihiko Yuyama directs. Hisao Shirai behind the camera. Toshio Henmi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.
228 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Pokémon Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Toshio Henmi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Rica Matsumoto and Ikue Otani and Mayumi Izuka carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Who is the strongest Pokémon?".
8IMDB entry: tt0190641 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 16 themes, including "clone", "villain", "revenge", "cloning".
10Released under 47 different titles around the world.