Before I talk about the short, I want briefly talk about the First Movie and the Pikachu shorts. Pokémon The First Movie is just fine. I grew up on this movie, it's one of the earliest cinematic experiences I've had (much to the detriment of my parents). While The First Movie hasn't aged well growing up, seeing it's writing as hacky and cheesey, it's still a nostalgic guilty pleasure with a surprisingly complex antagonist (it's a 6/10, if you're curious).
But then there is the Pokémon shorts preceding each movie. Similarly to the first movies, I grew up on the Pikachu shorts, I actually love them (probably more so than the movies themselves), I think they're charming, they have unique locations, and I love how adorable and slice of life it all is.
With all that said: Pikachu's Vacation, despite being the very first entry, is not just the worst of the Pikachu shorts nor the Pokémon cinematic universe, it is quite possibly the worst short movie I've ever seen. I hated this short when I was a kid, and I still vehemently hate it. It is so boring, brainless, and it makes the runtime feel like an eternity. Pikachu's Vacation is literally a short about nothing: Ash Ketchum's Pokémon go to a playground, Togepi gets upset for like most of the short, the Ketchum monsters deal with a rival gang, Ash's Charizard gets stuck in a pipe, and everyone has to tag in to help him get out. That's it. I don't expect something grand like Lord of the Rings, but if Wallace and Gromit can tell a charming and entertaining short in 30 minutes, there's no excuse. Pikachu's Vacation is not fun. It is so pandering and obnoxious. Everything is handled in the most juvenile and anodyne ways possible. Togepi is really annoying, all of the Pokémon voices are grating in this short, and the transitions, oh god the transitions. So for whatever reason Pikachu's Vacation has these really bizarre transitions that are of these Pokémon... doing something. These transitions really break the flow of the short, they eat up the run time, and don't really have a reason to exist outside of filler. They are terrible, elongated and it feels like a pair of keys are being jangled in my face. And key-jangling is the one word to perfectly sum up Pikachu's Vacation. What my parents felt watching the movie, I feel the same way about the short. I know that Pokémon is aimed mostly for kids, but Pikachu's Vacation is too obnoxious for adults, too boring for kids, and really, is made for no one.
2/10 (The Pikachu shorts do go up from here.)
But then there is the Pokémon shorts preceding each movie. Similarly to the first movies, I grew up on the Pikachu shorts, I actually love them (probably more so than the movies themselves), I think they're charming, they have unique locations, and I love how adorable and slice of life it all is.
With all that said: Pikachu's Vacation, despite being the very first entry, is not just the worst of the Pikachu shorts nor the Pokémon cinematic universe, it is quite possibly the worst short movie I've ever seen. I hated this short when I was a kid, and I still vehemently hate it. It is so boring, brainless, and it makes the runtime feel like an eternity. Pikachu's Vacation is literally a short about nothing: Ash Ketchum's Pokémon go to a playground, Togepi gets upset for like most of the short, the Ketchum monsters deal with a rival gang, Ash's Charizard gets stuck in a pipe, and everyone has to tag in to help him get out. That's it. I don't expect something grand like Lord of the Rings, but if Wallace and Gromit can tell a charming and entertaining short in 30 minutes, there's no excuse. Pikachu's Vacation is not fun. It is so pandering and obnoxious. Everything is handled in the most juvenile and anodyne ways possible. Togepi is really annoying, all of the Pokémon voices are grating in this short, and the transitions, oh god the transitions. So for whatever reason Pikachu's Vacation has these really bizarre transitions that are of these Pokémon... doing something. These transitions really break the flow of the short, they eat up the run time, and don't really have a reason to exist outside of filler. They are terrible, elongated and it feels like a pair of keys are being jangled in my face. And key-jangling is the one word to perfectly sum up Pikachu's Vacation. What my parents felt watching the movie, I feel the same way about the short. I know that Pokémon is aimed mostly for kids, but Pikachu's Vacation is too obnoxious for adults, too boring for kids, and really, is made for no one.
2/10 (The Pikachu shorts do go up from here.)