Pokémon 4Ever

Pokémon 4Ever
File:Pokémon 4Ever.jpg Australian DVD cover of Pokémon 4Ever
Directed by	Kunihiko Yuyama Jim Malone
Written by	Norman Grossfield Hideki Sonoda
Produced by	Norman Grossfield Yukako Matsusako Takemoto Mori Choji Yoshikawa
Starring	Veronica Taylor Rachael Lillis Eric Stuart Madeleine Blaustein Tara Sands Dan Green Stuart Zagnit Ken Gates Amy Birnbaum Roxanne Beck Roger Kay Ed Paul Kayzie Rogers Marc Thompson Kerry Williams
Distributed by	Toho (Japan) Miramax Films (U.S.) Alliance Atlantis (Canada theatrical) Universal Studios Home Entertainment (Canada DVD, distributing for Alliance Atlantis) Europa Filmes (Brazil)
Release dates	July 07, 2001 (Japan) October 04, 2002 (USA)
Running time	79 min.
Countries	Japan United States
Languages	English Japanese

Pokémon 4Ever (劇場版ポケットモンスター セレビィ 時を越えた遭遇, Gekijōban Poketto Monsutā Serebii Toki o Koeta Deai, lit. "Pocket Monsters the Movie: Celebi: The Meeting that Traversed Time"; officially POCKET MONSTERS CELEBI A TIMELESS ENCOUNTER in Japan) is the fourth official Pokémon movie. It was the first one to be distributed by Miramax Films and the last Pokémon film to be released in wide theaters outside of Japan in 2002. The original Japanese version was released in theaters on July 7, 2001, and the English adaptation saw limited theatrical release on October 4, 2002.

Although Cartoon Network currently airs the film, it aired on Toon Disney on May 21, 2007 (because Miramax, owned by Disney, released this animated film), being the third Pokémon film to air on Toon Disney (the first two being the next films Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker and Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys).

Plot

The film focuses on Celebi who travels to the future and brings with a boy named Sam when being chased by a hunter. Meanwhile Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu are on their way to the next gym in their Johto journey and get a lift from a man named Maki who takes them to his hometown of Arborville. They see a Suicune (who was actually the first Pokémon Ash saw in Johto). When they plan to enter a forest that is claimed to have many unusual and rare Pokémon, they are warned by an elderly lady about the "Voice of the Forest" which may carry a person off to a different period in time unless those hearing it stand still.

Ash finds Sam alone in the forest as Celebi has fled. Sam awakens and discovers he is 40 years in the future from when he was. He, Ash, and the others search for Celebi and they find it in a tree. After some convincing, the gang manage to gain Celebi's trust. They run into a high-ranking member of Team Rocket, the Iron Masked Marauder, who has been trying to capture Celebi. Jessie, James, and Meowth also team up with the Iron Masked Marauder to capture Celebi.

The heroes take Celebi to its home, the Lake of Life, where it is healed by the water. The group spend the night in the forest. The next day, Celebi is captured by the Iron Masked Marauder and is turned evil by the Dark Ball, a ball with special powers that will enhance the captured Pokémon's powers and turn it evil. The Iron Masked Marauder orders Celebi create a giant dragon made from parts of the forest. The heroes chase after Celebi in Maki's flying boat, but are brought down by the evil Celebi's attacks. The Iron Masked Marauder tries to kill Ash and Sam, but Suicune saves them. Onix and Suicune do battle with the Masked Marauder's evil Tyranitar, while Ash, Sam, and Pikachu clamber into the dragon and manage to get Celebi to remember its memories, successfully bringing Celebi back to normal.

With the destruction of the dragon shape, the Iron Masked Marauder falls into the lake. The other heroes rush to the lake's edge and find Ash and Sam with Celebi, who suddenly falls limp. Ash and Sam realize Celebi is dead and everyone weeps. However, the Voice of the Forest materializes in the sky and thousands of Celebi appear and resurrect Celebi. The Iron Masked Marauder appears and kidnaps Celebi and flies up with a jetpack, but Ash and Pikachu hold onto him as he flies away. Pikachu destroys the Masked Marauder's jetpack and they fall to Earth, but Celebi saves them. The Iron Masked Marauder falls down to the forest floor and is confronted by the old woman, her granddaughter Diana, Maki, and the Pokémon of the forest.

Celebi prepares to bring Sam back in time. He has an emotional farewell with Ash and departs with Celebi. The movie ends with Ash and company talking to Prefessor Oak, who muses about the story and tells a confused Ash that he and Sam are going to be friends forever.

The credits end with Tracey clearing Oak's room and finds Sam's drawing pad, containing a faded sketch of Pikachu and Celebi. The reason being that Sam was actually a young version of Professor Oak, whose first name is Samuel.

Cast

Character	Japanese Voice Actor	English voice actor
Ash Ketchum	Rica Matsumoto	Veronica Taylor
Pikachu	Ikue Ōtani	Ikue Ōtani
Misty	Mayumi Iizuka	Rachael Lillis
Brock	Yūji Ueda	Eric Stuart
Togepi	Satomi Kōrogi	Satomi Kōrogi
Jessie	Megumi Hayashibara	Rachael Lillis
James	Shinichirō Miki	Eric Stuart
Meowth	Inuko Inuyama	Maddie Blaustein
Vicious	Shirō Sano	Dan Green
Towa	Mami Koyama	Veronica Taylor
Diana	Unknown	Roxanne Beck
Celebi	Kazuko Sugiyama	Kazuko Sugiyama
Narrator	Unshou Ishizuka	Rodger Parsons

Box Office

Unlike the other films, the movie was a big flop at the box office, all together the film made $28,023,563. Domestically the film made just a little over a million dollars, and made most money at the foreign box office (and enough to be deemed profitable).

External links

• Pokémon 4Ever at IMDb
• Official Pokémon.com site
• Dogasu's Backpack's English/Japanese comparison of Pokémon 4Ever