Do some Pokemon movies even need Ash?

[matt0044]

This video got me to thinking about Pokemon 4ever started a sort of trend for Ash to feel incidental in a lot of the movies. Hell, while Max and May would get their own subplots in Jirachi: Wishmaker and Temple of the Sea respectively, it'd often feel like Ash should take a backseat to them but... he doesn't. While I loved M21 for not neglecting the wider cast, Ash felt like he was just some side character bumped up to secondary at best.

In fact, I honestly feel like Pokemon movies would be more intriguing if they were to break away from Ash's journey and show another story in another part of his world. I mean, the core appeal of the movies is how they have to be self-contained so that parents can enjoy with their kids in addition to said kids not needing to watch a particular episode of the series in order to get what's going on. Leaving out Ash would alleviate these issues.

 

[Daenerys]

I don't mind Ash being in each film, but I did feel like Dawn should've gotten top billing in Movie 11 or 13 over him. Same with Serena in Movie 17.

 

[Gligarman]

I did appreciate that he was almost incidental in Everyone's Story. I mentioned in an earlier post that Mewtwo Strikes Back is my personal favorite but I honestly think from an objective cinematic standpoint, Everyone's Story is the best film in the series because it's the only one that works even if you're not familiar with the source material.

 

[Nicolas721]

I actually like the movies where Ash plays the hero, as it allows us to see his bravery and his handling of difficult situations more often than in the series. However I agree that not seeing movies fosucing on Misty, Brock and Dawn was a huge missed opportunity, and that May and Max should've done more on their respective movies. Movies should be balanced like M21 and M03.

However, Ash is not necessary to tell a legendary story, he is in all of them just because he is recognizable. He can be replaced with anyone, and I'm sure that will happen eventually if they keep experimenting with the movies' format.