Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back

Original title: Gekijôban Poketto Monsutâ: Myûtsû no Gyakushû

1998
G
1h 36m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)

Animal Adventure Anime Hand-Drawn Animation Action Adventure Animation Family Fantasy Sci-Fi

Scientists genetically create a new Pokémon, Mewtwo, but the results are horrific and disastrous.Scientists genetically create a new Pokémon, Mewtwo, but the results are horrific and disastrous.Scientists genetically create a new Pokémon, Mewtwo, but the results are horrific and disastrous.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

47K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 6 nominations

Ash Ketchum
(English version)
(voice)
…

Rachael Lillis

Misty
(English version)
(voice)
…

Eric Stuart

Brock
(English version)
(voice)
…

Rica Matsumoto

Satoshi
(voice)

Ikue Ôtani

Pikachu
(voice)
(as Ikue Otani)

Mayumi Izuka

Kasumi
(voice)
(as Mayumi Iizuka)

Yûji Ueda

Takeshi
(voice)
…

Satomi Kôrogi

Togepi
(voice)
…

Megumi Hayashibara

Musashi
(voice)
…

Shin'ichirô Miki

Kojirô
(voice)
…

Inuko Inuyama

Nyarth
(voice)

Hirotaka Suzuoki

Sakaki
(voice)

Ayako Shiraishi

Joy
(voice)

Chinami Nishimura

Junsar
(voice)

Kôichi Yamadera

Mew
(voice)

Yôsuke Akimoto

Doctor Fuji
(voice)

Tôru Furuya

Sorao
(voice)

Wataru Takagi

Umio
(voice)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The Japanese version's Mewtwo is shown in a more favorable light, feeling that it has no place in the world and so wants to "earn" its place. The English dub opts to make Mewtwo an emotionless tyrant who wants to destroy the world, a decision that both fans and critics criticize. In hindsight, the producers felt they made the wrong decision.

Goofs
When watching the Pokemon go through the cloning machine, Jessie and James call the silhouette of a Scyther an Alakazam.

Quotes
Mewtwo: The human sacrificed himself, to save the Pokemon. I pitted them against each other, but not until they set aside their differences did I see the true power they all share deep inside. I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.
[Japanese version]
Mewtwo: It's true... that you're a Pokémon who exists just like I do. It might be best if no one knew of this incident. It might be best to forget this.

Crazy credits
After the credits, we see Mew fly away into the sky.

Alternate versions
When shown theatrically and on the original DVD release, Mewtwo's voice while thinking was projected through the center dialogue channel, but when speaking to others psychically, it was projected at a larger volume through all the speakers to overwhelm the audience. The VHS, 2016 DVD rerelease and Blu-ray use a separate mix that does not have this effect on it.

Connections
Featured in Pokémon: The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin (1999)

Soundtracks
Mezase Pokemon Masutâ '98
(Aim to Be a Pokemon Master '98)
Lyrics by Akihito Toda
Music by Hirokazu Tanaka
Arranged by Cheru Watanabe
Performed by Rica Matsumoto
Courtesy of Nippon Columbia

User reviews283

Review

Featured review

7/10

the Japanese version is better, but the translation is decent

Okay, first, if you will find this movie not making any sense, please note that it is an "English adaptation", not a direct translation. This version is edited and has a changed story, which many viewers found stupid (the reason for low ratings). The Japanese version was called "too scary and not suitable for children", so, 4Kids Entertainment overwrote practically everything, and deleted no less than 10 minutes of the opening sequence. Don't want to spoil anything, but you actually must watch the original opening to understand the story. An even better option is to view the whole Japanese version with subtitles.

There is ONE good thing about the English adaptation. The original orchestral music that was made by Ralph Schtukett is marvelous. I'm not sure, but the theatrical or the DVD version has some low quality pop songs added to mar an otherwise perfect score.

Even with the story changes and the inclusion of stupid songs (in theatrical or DVD version, not sure), this movie deserves a 7 out of 10. The animation is wonderful, on par with the best things in anime genre. And the original score is great.