Pokémon
Detective Pikachu
 |
| Pokémon Detective Pikachu |
Is a 2019 mystery film directed
by Rob Letterman. Based on the Pokémon franchise created
by Satoshi Tajiri and the 2016 video
game Detective Pikachu, it
was written by Letterman, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit and Derek Connolly,
from a story by Hernandez, Samit and Nicole Perlman.
The film was produced by Legendary Pictures in association
with Toho.
It is the first live-action Pokemon film. Ryan Reynolds stars
as the voice and facial motion capture of Pikachu,
with Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy in
live-action roles.
Filming
took place from January to May 2018 in Colorado, England, and Scotland. It was
released in Japan on May 3, 2019, and
in the United States on May 10, 2019, distributed by Warner Bros.
Entertainment in RealD 3D and Dolby Cinema. It
is the first Pokémon film to be distributed theatrically in
the United States by Warner Bros. since Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000), and with
a PG rating from the MPAA,
it is also the first Pokémon film released in the United
States not to receive a G rating.
Plot
In the Pokémon universe, Tim Goodman is a 21-year-old
insurance salesman who has given up Pokémon training due to the death of his
mother and the absence of his father, Harry. He travels to Ryme City – a
metropolis where humans and Pokémon live together as equals – to collect
Harry's assets following his apparent death in a car crash. In Harry's
apartment, Tim encounters a deerstalker-clad Pikachu that
can speak and only he can somehow understand; the pair are then escape from an
attack by a party of Aipom under the influence of an
"R"-labeled purple gas that Tim accidentally released upon
inspection. They take shelter at a café where Pikachu reveals that he is an amnesiac detective
who was Harry's police partner, and that they were investigating a case
together when Harry disappeared. They look for Lucy Stevens, a fluff columnist
and aspiring reporter suspicious of Harry's death, who Tim had previously
encountered. She leads Tim and Pikachu to Ryme Wharf and, after interrogating
a Mr. Mime there,
are directed to an illegal Pokemon fighting arena owned by Sebastian. He
demands a rematch with Pikachu, who previously defeated Sebastian's Charizard.
Tim attempts to save Pikachu during the rematch however, after Sebastian gives
Charizard a dose of the R gas, which is then mishandled by Sebastian and
accidentally released into the stadium, causing havoc. Sebastian then tells Tim
that he got the R gas from "the doctor."
After confronting police lieutenant Hideo Yoshida about Harry's
apparent death and the possibility of his survival, Tim and Pikachu are brought
before Ryme City's benefactor Howard Clifford, who reveals to Tim that Harry
indeed survived his car crash, which was caused by an attack from a recently
escaped Mewtwo,
which took him away and left Pikachu with amnesia. Howard warns them of his
son, Roger, who he claims is in de facto control of his company and the city.
Tim and Pikachu recruit Lucy and her Psyduck on
an expedition to the lab facility Harry was investigating, where they learn
Sebastian's "doctor" was a researcher aided by Harry, who had been
experimenting on Mewtwo, recaptured after escaping 20 years earlier. They are soon attacked by several Greninja who
chase them out of the building, but are fended off by Psyduck. They then escape
a field of colossal Torterra, but Pikachu is gravely injured. Tim manages to
communicate with a Bulbasaur and takes Pikachu to a clearing in the forest
where they are greeted by Mewtwo, who heals Pikachu. Mewtwo attempts to reveal
its intent, but is captured by Roger. Thinking that he betrayed Harry to a
vengeful Mewtwo, Pikachu leaves Tim while the others return to Ryme City to
warn Howard. Pikachu comes across the area where Harry's car crash occurred,
and finds evidence that the Greninja attacked Harry, not Mewtwo.
Tim reaches Howard, but learns too late that he intends to
transfer his consciousnesses into Mewtwo and use his powers to fuse Pokémon
with their owners, with the assistance of the R gas. He also learns that
"Roger" had actually been a shape-shifting Ditto,
with the real Roger having been tied up and hidden. As Howard in Mewtwo's body
starts fusing humans with Pokémon, Pikachu arrives and finally summons his
electricity powers to battle Mewtwo, fending off Mewtwo long enough for Tim to
free Mewtwo from Howard's control. Mewtwo restores everyone to normal while
Howard is arrested by the police, and reveals that Harry was in fact fused with
Pikachu in order to heal him; the fusion erased Harry's memory while keeping
his consciousness within Pikachu. After Mewtwo unfuses them with the help of
Tim, a fully revived Harry offers Tim the chance to return home, but Tim
decides to stay in order to learn how to become a detective and spend time with
him and Pikachu.
Cast
·
Ryan Reynolds as
Detective Pikachu, a world-class detective and
exceptionally smart Pikachu whom only Tim can understand. Reynolds performed
both the voice and facial motion capture for the character.
o Reynolds also portrays Harry Goodman, Tim's
missing father and a veteran Ryme City police detective.
o Ikue Ōtani provides
Detective Pikachu's normal voice as heard by everyone other than Tim.
·
Justice Smith as
Tim Goodman, a former Pokémon trainer looking for his missing
father; he is also Detective Pikachu's partner, and the only person capable of
hearing him speak.
o Max Fincham portrays a young Tim Goodman.
·
Kathryn Newton as
Lucy Stevens, a junior reporter who is accompanied by a Psyduck.
·
Bill Nighy as
Howard Clifford, the disabled visionary behind Ryme City and founder of
Clifford Enterprises.
·
Ken Watanabe as
Detective Hideo Yoshida, a veteran Ryme City police lieutenant and
friend of Harry who is accompanied by a Snubbull.
·
Chris Geere as
Roger Clifford, Howard's son and president of Clifford Enterprises.
·
Suki Waterhouse as
Ms. Norman, a human disguise used by a modified shape-shifting Ditto that is Howard's accomplice.
·
Omar Chaparro as
Sebastian, a Pokémon trainer who runs a secret Ryme City Pokémon battle arena
who is accompanied by a Charizard.
·
Rita Ora as
Dr. Ann Laurent, a scientist for Clifford Enterprises experimenting on Mewtwo.
·
Karan Soni as
Jack, Tim's friend who is a Pokémon trainer.
·
Josette Simon as
"Grams", Tim's grandmother who took care of him after the death of
Tim's mother.
·
Kadiff Kirwan as the
Mayor of Ryme City
·
Rina Hoshino and
Kotaro Watanabe as Mewtwo (voice)
·
Rachael Lillis as Jigglypuff (archive
voice recording)
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