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

IMDb plot summary: Scientists genetically create a new Pokémon, Mewtwo, but the results are horrific and disastrous.
Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and Michael Haigney. Starring Veronica Taylor, Jay Goede, Rachael Lillis, and Eric Stuart.

So this is most certainly a movie made for little kids who are already a fan of the games and TV show. A good chunk of this is just Pokemon running around using special attacks on each other and yelling their own names, and they definitely don't expect *anybody* to be watching this who isn't already familiar with it. We get zero exposition. I still have no idea who these random humans running around being maybe evil with their talking cat Pokemon even were. It's got a super simple and cheesy story arc (but somehow still a confusing one -- why do all the good guys get so sad that Pokemon are fighting each other when that's literally the entire point of the Pokemon franchise?).

That being said, there were a couple redeemable moments. Mewtwo's back story is a fun campy comic book supervillain level of cheese, and the scene where Pikachu attempts to bring Ash back to life is surprisingly moving (well, for a moment... then all the Pokemon started crying and I started laughing). Those few moments, though, are not enough to elevate this movie very far. I'm just totally the wrong audience for it.

1 star.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Pokemon: The First Movie < Single White Female
Pokemon: The First Movie < House of Games
Pokemon: The First Movie < 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (This movie is too low and needs to be reranked)
Pokemon: The First Movie > Around the World in 80 Days
Pokemon: The First Movie > Oklahoma! (1999)
Pokemon: The First Movie > The Good German
Pokemon: The First Movie < Napoleon
Pokemon: The First Movie > The Rules of the Game
Pokemon: The First Movie > Turner and Hooch
Pokemon: The First Movie < Reefer Madness (1936)

Final spot: #2391 out of 2702.