Review M23: Koko

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

It does not. But Team Rocket does interact with the Cramorant.

WHAT NOOOOOOO WHERE WAS THAT SCENE THATS THE CRAMORGOD MEME FACE

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

The Zarude don't actually talk here. I mean, they do not use human speech. We just hear them say comprehensible human words when we're seeing things from the perspective of the Zarude or Koko, who understands Pokémon speech. For everyone else, like Ash, they speak their own language.

Also, while the villain can be considered generic, he also does some really messed-up stuff: He watches as a couple accidentally crashes their car while trying to escape him, and lets them perish in the fiery wreck after recovering what he wanted from them.

 

[Jewel the Quaxly]

I wish I had English subtitles to understand a bit more, but from what I could understand, my feelings for this movie are pretty strong. Not only was the animation and soundtrack beautiful and fitting, continuing on the technical aspect, where the music was used was also done rather well. Because of how Ash and Pikachu are supporting characters in this movie, just like Team Rocket, this, like The Power of Us, can stand alone as a good movie in its own right. Though, the issue of Team Rocket and Ash's relationship being established carried over to here from the 21st movie as well...they're inclusion at this point just added to the confusion and prevented it from truly being its own movie, but that's just one small aspect that doesn't take away from the overall picture.

Honestly, I don't understand when people complain about small things such as what pokemon Ash uses for the movie, how much screen-time he and Team Rocket gets, or how it "doesn't feel like an alternate continuity" because it says noting about the quality of the movie itself. The movie took its time with establishing character relationships and personalities, as well as giving a subtle overall message that really fits with what the series stands for. If they're going to do something generic, they might as well explore the message rather than use a generic plot like the DP-onward movies.

One thing that bothered me though, was the fact that, like Lugia in Movie 21, Celebi did literally nothing. I mean, I understand it's inclusion wasn't really necessary to the plot, but it just felt random to me. This is just a nit-pick though, and really reflects on whether or not you actually thought it was going to play a big role in the first place. I personally didn't, but I just didn't like it's last-minute inclusion.

The villain, like @FinnishPokéFan92 said, is rather generic, but like a select few villains, the stakes are very clearly presented here. The villain isn't just thrown in as well-he's important because he plays a role in the protagonist's story and everything is set-up from the very beginning. It's the villain's inclusion to the more personal stakes in the story that makes this movie worthwhile to me.

So, really, this movie focuses on the characters and their relationships first, and you'll notice even really small things about how certain characters interact if you take your time with this movie. It's slow paced, but I think it benefits it in the long run-you need the time to take in this film, because otherwise I don't think you'll be able to enjoy it and you'll miss a lot of stuff. In terms of movies, it's above average on the emotional aspect; but in terms of pokemon movies, it's very high in quality and really deserves more that what it was given.

[EDIT] If you're like me, and enjoy the pokemon being treated like characters(having relationships with other pokemon and humans, as well as roles in the overall narrative), you'll definitely enjoy this movie. Every pokemon actually feels like they're treated as an actual, you know, character, with personalities and important roles in the narrative...the bond between humans and pokemon were also a highlight, to me, so you'll enjoy that as well.

 

[Dogasu]

I wonder how many of you will still find the villain "generic" once the fansubs come out. I thought Dr. Zed was one of the better villains in Pokémon movie history.

 

[WatcherMark]

So I'm watching Koko with a fansub at the moment, and this caught my eye...

Who's that Pokemon?

 

[Daren]

I think that's Nuzleaf.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

I need to watch it in English to fully judge, but this movie has my favorite Pokémon Cramorgod in it, so instant 10/10.
I liked Koko as a character and his relationship with his adoptive father, Zarude, but the beginning of the movie seemed a lot like Tarzan. The villain also didn’t appear until halfway but if I recall, this must be the most evil villain as he deliberately killed Koko’s parents because he didn’t want them to be the leaders of the organization so he crashed their car and it exploded. He deserves jail. I liked how all the Pokémon and Ash teamed up to stop the device, and of course it’s Ash and Pikachu that save the day. Why didn’t Cramorant help? This makes me sad. Also Cramorant is the best thing about this movie. It would fit perfectly as one of James’s Pokémon as it even chomped on his head like Carnivine and Victreebel. Sadly Cramorant didn’t appear enough, but it did dance in the end credits which is the best part of the movie and even dabbed. I don’t know how Koko revived his dad and used the Jungle Healing move. Overall, this movie is a good movie, but still not the best. I would say an 8/10 for now, needs more Cramorant.

 

[Neo Blaze]

I was finally able to see the movie with subs. I have to say that unfortunately I found it to be another disappointing entry in the AU series of movies. It's by no means a bad movie, it's just kind of.... forgettable? To me it honestly felt like an extended filler episode with a story and tropes I've seen dozens of times before, not just in Pokémon but in movies in general. It still definitely has its charms though. I liked Koko and Zarude. It has nice animation and visuals. But ultimately there wasn't a whole lot about the movie that really excited or intrigued me.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

I wonder how many of you will still find the villain "generic" once the fansubs come out. I thought Dr. Zed was one of the better villains in Pokémon movie history.

Aside from him murdering Koko's parents, he's a very flat villain and I have no idea what his goal was

It's honestly a bit stupid how often they demonize humans wanting to help humans because "tHiNk Of ThE pOkEmOn" keeps clogging up the story beats

Gorgeous movie though

 

[Gabo2oo]

What an astounding movie, honestly. I've never been too keen on this current AU/reboot trend in entertainment, but if for Pokémon it means we'll keep getting films like this and Everyone's Story, then I'm all for it.

What bothered me was the pacing during the first half though. Everything felt so fast... I was worried this would be an ongoing issue, but after the attack on the jungle started 50 minutes in, the pacing became really good and I began to realize they couldn't have made it any shorter in favor of the first half. I'm sure there's a runtime limit, but if they just had around 20 or so extra minutes to establish Ash and Koko's relationship and better present Dr. Zed...

And man what an interesting villain Dr. Zed was, for a Pokémon movie at least. I know he's not a very deep or three-dimensional character, but the way he's explored is more memorable than most of the other antagonists, both in actions and demeanor. I certainly didn't expect both a mental breakdown played straight and a murder, coming from one single villain, in one single movie.

 

[Jez]

I adore how much Jessie is portrayed as extroverted and turbulent woman and James introverted and wise guy in this movie and their design is really beautiful , OMG!!! But the gloves of Meowth are really disturbing XD

 

[jbmasta]

Man Celebi was pointless, likely only included to be an event giveaway for the games. Remove the lines about it, remove the cameo at the end, and nothing is affected. It's those lines that prevent it from being a Big Lipped Alligator Moment. There was no time travel element to justify it appearing. At least Lugia was built up in Power of Us and contributed to the climax.

As far as the villain goes, it could have been played for a genuinely moral dilemma. As part of the father and son theme, he could have wanted the healing power to save his father, the initially perceived villain not being one after all like Kidd in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. That or link his motivation in with pokemon, since he thinks little of them. Instead we get a half baked "oh we can save people with this" motivation which gets no elaboration beyond the line of dialogue. Heck, I knew the moment they were mention they'd be the villain.

 

[Craiden]

Wow, what a movie. Don't know if my favorite aspect of it was Skwovet in general, Ash attempting to catch Pokemon (which is rare in movies), the writers paralleling a tribe of Pokemon with a mad man, of all things, or the music, but very good work the team did here.

 

[ii kanji]

Finally got round to watching this and honestly, this might be my favourite Pokemon movie since M02. It was an almost perfect balance between really making the Pokemon world feel immersive, whilst not being another rehash of a Satoshi/Pikachu story. In fact, our regulars were used IMO the best they've been for many years - both Sato/Pika and TRio were very much side characters but they played substantial enough roles in developing Koko and/or moving the plot forward to not feel there simply for the sake of it.

The main story here was Koko and Zarude's and I loved it. I really couldn't care less that it's an old trope, the way the parent/child story was done here was wonderful. I love Zarude's brash personality which made him stand out from the string of strong and stoic Pokemon we've grown used to, and the opening compilation of him figuring out what to do with baby Koko was delightful. On that note, having insert vocal songs is unusual for this franchise but it was done in such a way that it really worked and I enjoyed all of them!

Zed was interesting in as far as how evil he is - have we seen intentional, successful human murders in Pokeani before?! Actually the only irritation for me in this film was Karen and the other scientists who were acting like a bunch of unquestioning dumbasses throughout. You didn't think that your boss razing the jungle with his monstrous robot would upset the Pokemon? Actual morons. I would have much prefered the lot of them to be a more cynical, evil tinted lot (think Malva) so that they couldn't get a full redemption without trying slightly harder.

Technically speaking this has to be one of the best produced Pokemon movies. The art, animation and music were simply sublime and my suspension of disbelief was held throughout because I felt almost like I was inside the story myself. The contrast between the grainy jungle setting and the town with its Pokemon-themed murals was particularly lovely.

As for Celebi, I'm not at all fussed that its role here was minimal - that little onion already had its time to shine and I'm glad they didn't have to shoehorn in a bigger role as with Marshadow in M20. For those that didn't catch it, I think its 'purpose' (beyond promoting an event mon) was that it had brought Dada Zarude's egg to the current time when it left ahead of the upcoming years of turbulence. So in a way, it was Zarude's parent... maybe?

Btw, do you think that the bg charas here are supposed to represent some of the staff? They're unusually distinctive. The old guy with the grey hair in particular looks very familiar though I'm struggling to place him:

Spoiler

 

[Defiant]

Is there any news on when the English dub will be released? Seems weird to have such a big gap from the Japanese release in December 2020. It's 8 months later and no dub. Surely dubbing isn't that much effected by the pandemic is it?

 

[RetroPokeFan]

Is there any news on when the English dub will be released? Seems weird to have such a big gap from the Japanese release in December 2020. It's 8 months later and no dub. Surely dubbing isn't that much effected by the pandemic is it?

Nope. Still nothing on the dub. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get anything until the end of this year or worse case scenario, perhaps even next year.

 

[MegaGreninga]

Why their no ioffical pages about Elder, Alpha and Sub-alpha zardues
they had a lot of personality and different appearance from one another.
It strange only Dada not those three
why everyone seems to care about Elder like more respect but Alpha isn't in charge at all then?