The first Pokémon movie ever released, Pokémon The First Movie – also known as Mewtwo Strikes back – was a landmark for the franchise and won over fans all over the world. The movie first released back in 1998, and was the first in a movie franchise that recently released its 21st entry in Jap💫an earlier this summer. The film also marked the first of the Pikachu short’s – of which there have been an astounding 27 entries to date, with the last one releasing three𓄧 years ago – that would become fan favorites.
The film has become a fan favorite, and remains a memorable part of many Pokémon fans’ childhoods, reminding them of a time when the series was the biggest pop culture phenomenon in the world. Given its age, there are a number of interesting bits of information regarding it that many fans might not have heard of. The art, script, soundtrack, plot and even voice actors all have some interesting stories behind or regarding them. Whiไle there’s a ton of information to sift through, this list compiles some of the most relevant and interesting of it all.
Here are 25 things you didn’t know about Pokémon the First movie.
25 These Two Pokémon Made Their Debut
While we’re all used to seeing all sorts of new Pokémon with the release of each new generation of games, but there are some cases where the games aren’t the first place a specific Pokémon makes its debut. The very first Pikachu short; titled Pikachu’s Vacation, did just that. A precursor to The First Movie, Pikachu’s Vacation int🍎roduced fans to two new faces from the upcoming second generat🔯ion of Pokémon.
Both Snubbull and Marill made their debut here among some fan favorites.
It is here that fans are first introduced to Gen II Pokémon Snubbull and Maril. Fans would’ve had no idea who these two were for several months between the release of The First Movie and the Western release of Gold & Silver.
24 Where’d She Go?
The Pokémon anime has had a ton of character of the week types come and go over the years. While some have been memorable, one that still lingers on the minds of fans is this Fearow and its trainer. Initially se🌳en fleeing the storm at the beginning of the movie with the rest of the cast, we never see or hear from her again.
The sudden disappearance of such a minor character has led to a surprising amount of speculation by fans. Some thꦑink she never made it to New Island while others think she just turned back towards the mainland. The most likely answer here is that the animators just forgot about her.
23 Critically (Un)Acclaimed — It Has A 15% On Rotten Tomatoes
Most adult fans ꧟of the Pokémon franchise have been following it since their early days. Everything about the franchise is made specifically with younger audiences in mind, and though it does attract an adult fan base now – that wasn’t tꦯhe case back when it first hit the scene.
To most fans, the first movie holds a special place in their hearts. The same cannot be said, however, about many film critics. The movie was panned by many reviewers and to be honest – it’s pretty funny to read so many of them having such contempt for a Pokémon movie, considering the obvious target audience.
22 Ever Heard Of Spell Check?
Errors made in localization are something of an inevitability, and while they’ve certainly been reduced in recent years, they were pretty problematic a couple of decades ago. Despite all the work that went into its localization, Mewtwo Strikes Back still has its fair share of errors.
A pretty notable one comes as a handful of Pokémon in the movie being identified by the wrong name. Some were pretty innocent, with Pidgeot being referred to as Pidgeotto and Sandslash being called Sandshrew. The most bizarre one by far is Scyther ✱being confused𒁃 with Alakazam.
21 BK’s Bad Day
Anything Pokémon related in the late 1990s and early 2000s was a guaranteed money maker. So massive companies like Burger King trying to get in on some of the action is no surprise. What is a surprise is how badly BK whiffed on their handling of distributing promotional toys for The First Movie back in 1999.
Instead of being a financial success for Burger King, this was a PR nightmare.
At the time, the $22 million campaign was one of the largest promotions in fast-food history. The first problem arose when the fast food chain ran out of toys in locations all around the West. M💧any parents were livid with the company and things didn’t get much better from there. The toys were later recalled when two infants tragically suffocated on the outer portion of the Poké Ball toy offered.
20 The Japanese Staff Loved All The Changes
Part of what’s s💝o interesting about a film like this is that it was so big, and so popular that a number of interesting events happened as a result of it.
Following the release of the Western version of the film, about 30 or so members of the film’s Japanese staff viewed the new version and were very pleased with what they saw. The updated visuals an🐈d new score were well received and greatly impressed the original staff.
19 Rare Or Common?
In the games, Legenda☂ry Pokémon are so desirable not only because they’re so strong, but because they’re one of a kind. So one would assume that the same logic would apply to the animated universe, but that might not be the case.
For example; we see a Mewtwo in Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened, but that’s a female Mewtwo created by Team Rocket. So not the same as the one we see in the first movie. The same goes for Mew, since the one seen in Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew doesn’t seem to be the same one either.
18 4Kids To The Rescue
If you talk to older fans of the series that were around when the original anime aired, you’ll get a bit of a mixed bag of reactions when you mention 4Kids Entertainment. The corporation responsible for licensing the original anime made some questionable changes when it came to censorship and pಞlot poin𝔍ts.
4Kids might have a bad track record withꦯ fans of the ✤old series, but the changes they made to the first movie stand as a lone bright spot.
The biggest contributions they made to th♉e film were fixing some noticeable plot holes that the Japღanese version left unanswered. The biggest being the mystical properties of Pokémon tears and Mewtwo evening out the final fight by blocking every Pokémon’s special attack.
17 Differences In The Manga
Like many successful Japanese games and anime franchises, Pokémon got a ton of spin-offs. One 🐟of the most notable being its various manga adaptations. So it only makes sense that the first movie in the franchise would get an adaptation.
The manga version of Mewtwo Strikes Back changes things around quite a bit. Artist Ono Toshihiro claims that he was commissioned to create the manga version only a few months prior to the film’s release. So whi🐠le it’s supposed to be based on the first movie, it’s really its own story.
16 Multi-talented Voice Actors
English voice acting in Japanese games, films, and television shows has come a long way since the 90s. Not only in the quality, but the resources put towards these projects. Now you might think that Pokémon being the behemoth that it is wouldn’t have any budg🍸et problems. But for whatever reason, the English dub of the first movie still reused some voice actors.
Misty and Jesse share a voice actor, as does Mewtwo and its creator Doctor Fuji. The same goes for Misty and Jesse. It’s actually pretty hard to differentiate between them all, so kudos to ๊those voice actors.