Pokémon Apokélypse
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| Pokémon Apokélypse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Barry Liu & Kial Natale |
| Screenplay by | Kial Natale & Lee Majdoub |
| Produced by | Dylan Innes, Lee Majdoub, Kial Natale |
| Edited by | Nicholas Porteous |
| Music by | David Mesiha |
Release date |
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Running time | 3 minutes |
| Country | Template:Film Canada |
| Language | English |
Pokémon Apokélypse is a 2010 short film directed by Kial Natale and produced by Lee Majdoub. Based on the Pokemon franchise and taking place years after the events of the original anime series, the film and storyline are intended as a response to "the common trend of 'dark and gritty' reboots of popular franchises'". Initially intended for reveal at the Vancouver Anime Evolution convention, it was not due to technical difficulties, and was instead revealed online via teaser segment distributed through emails sent to various media outlets on September 14, 2010, which presented itself as a recording of a "secret movie trailer screening" for a film in development. The full film followed shortly thereafter, posted online on September 20th.
The result of almost two years of work, the film follows Ash Ketchum and his friends years after the events of the original anime series, and their struggle against criminal organization Rocket Industries. Produced as a fan-response to "dark and gritty reboots" of popular franchises, and meant to be in the same vein as work seen on parody website College Humor as well as give a mature spin on the subject. Deciding on using the subject of Pokémon after considering several possibilities such as Grand Theft Auto and Dragon Ball Z, the producers were surprised by fan reaction to the material. Despite praises for the content however, they have stated they have no intention to produce a full-fledged film.
Though the initial trailer was met with skepticism and criticism, with Crave Online in particular recalling the trend of past video game-inspired films being of poor quality, the completed product has received much praise. GamesRadar called it "amazing", and called the content "good enough for grown ups"; in a further discussion, they added they were impressed by the quality of the work, and how it addressed the similarity between the games and dog fighting. Other sources such as The Escapist and Game Informer also heavily praised the production, with the former lamenting that such a concept would never officially appear from Nintendo. Kotaku and Topless Robot in particular noted that the initial teaser trailer did the film a disservice, hiding the charm of the completed project.
Synopsis
Set in the fictional Celadon City, the film takes place years after the events of the original anime series, and focuses on Ash Ketchum (Lee Majdoub), a "Pokémon trainer" who uses creatures called Pokémon to battle one another to advance within a league setting. Formerly a global sport, it was long since outlawed due to outcries of animal abuse, and instead continued in underground arenas, where the fighting became much more brutal. Despite warnings by his friend Brock (Kial Natale), Ash takes part in the battles with his Pokémon Pikachu. Approached by Giovanni (David Quast), the head of Rocket Industries, with a bribe to throw his next fight, Ash turns the offer down, only for Giovanni to threaten his former mentor Professor Oak and girlfriend, Misty (Becca Strom). Deciding to keep them safe, Ash accepts the bribe, and Pikachu is nearly killed in the match.
Quickly regretting his actions, Ash revisits Giovanni and dumps the bribe money on his desk, declaring himself out of the league. Enraged, Giovanni declares Ash and his friends dead, and sends his minions Jessie, James (Julia Lawton and Gharret Patrick Paon) and Meowth to do the deed. As a result, Oak is killed, Pikachu and Misty assaulted, and Brock tortured. With the help of Pikachu, Brock and Misty Ash goes after Giovanni and aims to take down Rocket Industries, declaring he won't stop until he's "caught them all".
Development and production
Produced as a side project by Kial Natale and Lee Majdoub, the concept originated in December 2008 from the desire to produce a live-action version of a series, with Natale wishing to focus on Grand Theft Auto, and Majdoub suggesting a film based upon Dragon Ball Z. After another member of the group suggested Pokemon as a possibility, they focused on that concept instead. Kial quickly writing a script for the short film, while Majdoub and executive film producer Dylan Innes contributed additional material to flesh it out.[1] Originally intended to be a parody film in the vein of College Humor's productions, as production progressed more scenes were added and visual effects improved due to Kial's love for the series and desire for the film to be "more and more". Planning of the film took four months, while filming and production took a year and a half, with varying crew sizes for the four different filming periods and the majority of filming occurring within one weekend.[1] Majdoub noted he was surprised at the number of people that came forth for auditions that weren't actors but fans of the series.[2]
The film's tone was inspired by a discussion with the film's editor on a review of Ang Lee's film Hulk, in which a producer theorized that the film was seen as a commercial failure "because it wasn’t dark and gritty, like Batman Begins". Natale found the idea that Begins succeeded solely due to its tone insulting to director Christopher Nolan, and joked with Majdoub on the popularity of 'dark' series reboots, pondering what series would be good for a live-action adaptation. Settling on Pokemon due to its undertones of animal rights abuse, Majdoub wished to approach the film completely from a mature standpoint, displeased with the current trend of such adaptations and wishing to see "see how far we could take it without being absolutely ridiculous", and to give a mature spin on the subject.[2] A variety of locations were worked in in order to give the completed project a proper trailer feel. The title Pokémon Apokélypse was chosen as nod to Apocalypse Now, due to the similarity of the shooting ratios, with only ten percent of the footage actually used. Though several scenes were shot to add more content to the film, others using dialogue and one-liners from the anime series were purposefully shot in longer scenes then cropped down, in order to ensure the lines did not feel "mugged" and to give a sense that "here is a world beyond what is shown in the trailer".[1]
Though originally intended to be shown at the Anime Evolution convention in Vancouver, Canada, the crew ran into technical difficulties.[2] At a friends suggestion, the film was instead revealed through viral emails on September 14, 2010, with the sender named "Professor Oak" attaching a small thirty-second part of the film and presenting it as a small part recorded from a "secret movie trailer screening".[3] Satisfied that the teaser had sparked interest, the full film was released on September 20. Natale stated that he was impressed by the people that had scrutinized the preview to determine whether or not it was genuine. When asked if they had any plans to produce a full movie, Majdoub stated that he would like to consider the prospects if they could receive assistance with the CGI aspects of the film, however any further production would be up to Natale. Natale in turn added that while he was grateful for the positive reviews, he had no intention to do further films based on the Pokemon franchise.[2]
Critical reception
Initial reaction
Reaction to the film's preview segment was mixed. Kotaku heavily praised the effects, undertone and music, stating that the staff loved it, though lamented that an official film of this kind would join a long line of "ill-advised live-action adaptations".[4] Game Informer called it "absurd", stating that while it was a possible proof of concept film it was more likely completely fake, and adding "It looks goofy as hell, and Pokéfans are sure to get a couple chuckles out of it if nothing else."[5] ComicsAlliance called it "somewhere in the middle" of presenting a better take on the franchise and a reminder that "some intellectual properties got things right (or inherently wrong) the first time", though called the effect "surprisingly competent" and it both generally fun and funny.[6] Crave Online heavily criticized the film, calling the story formulaic and the production values "threadbare", and further adding that they dreaded the idea of it inspiring an actual live-action film on the series in light of Capcom's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.[7]
Post-release
In contrast, the full film has been well received by the media. GamesRadar praised the idea of the film, stating that if produced it would be "the best movie since Piranha 3D" and calling it "good enough for grown-ups".[8] In a further discussion via their Pokémon Monday cast, the three editors involved praised the trailer as "very well done". While one editor stated disdain for the appearance of the various Pokémon in the film, they agreed that in any live-action adaptation the creatures would "always look weird", and that for a film with a lack of budget they were done very well. They also praised the attention of detail, and praised David Quast's portrayal of Giovanni, as well as the presentation of recurring anime villians Jessie, James and Meowth. Editor Carolyn Gudmundson added that she was uncomfortable with the grittiness of the production, though praised it for presenting out the inherent problem of the concept behind the games and its similarity to dog fighting.[9]
Other websites gave similar praise. The Escapist shared similar sentiments, calling the trailer "amazing" and stating that while the film didn't exist, it should, asking that while it was contrary to Nintendo's vision of the series, "Why can't anything this cool ever come through official channels?"[10] Joystiq commented that the fan-made trailer was "long, long overdue" and called the completed results delightful, questioning why such hadn't been properly attempted years prior.[11] Kotaku added that the while the "leaked" segment hid the flaws in the film's effects, it hurt the film by hiding the "hammy charm" of the completed project.[12] Though Game Informer criticized the original segment, they heavily praised the full film, describing it as "what the franchise could look like if Peter Jackson, Martin Scorsese, and Jerry Bruckheimer all teamed up".[13] Topless Robot stated that while the original trailer had nearly sabotaged the final productions appeal, they called it "awesome" and described it as taking "Pokémon battles to its inevitable, cock-fighting end".[14] Cinemablend stated that while the content was out of place with Nintendo's presentation of the series, they found the finished product still "pretty cool", further praising the effects and the approach taken towards the material.[15]
References
- ^ a b c Gale, Paul (2010-09-27). "Pokemon Apokelypse creators reveal what's next in exclusive interview". Paul Gale Network. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ a b c d Rollins, Corey (2010-09-20). "Live action Pokemon movie (Full HD Trailer) and interview with its creators [Pokemon Apokelypse]". Shogun Gamer. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ Rollins, Corey (2010-09-14). "Live Action Gritty Pokemon Movie Trailer Leaked! Shogun Gamer Exclusive". Shogun Gamer. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (2010-09-15). "A Live-Action Pokemon Movie Would Never Be This Great". Kotaku.
- ^ Kollar, Phil (2010-09-14). "'Leaked Live Action Pokémon Movie Trailer Looks Absurd". Game Informer. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ Goellner, Caleb (2010-09-16). "Gritty Live Action Pokemon Trailer is Totally Fake But Generally Fun". ComicsAlliance. AOL. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
- ^ Gilchrist, Todd (2010-09-22). "Pokemon `Proof Of Concept` Footage Debuts..." Crave Online. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ Cundy, Matt (2010-09-22). "Extreme violence and sexy nurses. This is one Pokemon movie that we would probably admit to watching". GamesRadar. Future Publishing. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ Carolyn Gudmundson (2010-09-27). "Pokemon Monday 19 - Everything old is new again". GamesRadar (Podcast). Future Publishing. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
- ^ Goldman, Tom (2010-09-21). "Pokemon Gets Gritty in Live Action Pokemon Apokelypse". The Escapist. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
- ^ McElroy, Griffin (2010-09-22). "Fan-made Pokemon Apokelypse trailer is long, long overdue". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (2010-09-21). "The Pokémon Movie For Grown-Ups". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ Reeves, Ben (2010-09-21). "The Trailer To End All Trailers: Pokémon Apokélypse". Game Informer. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ Bricken, Rob (2010-09-21). "That Pokémon Fan Trailer, Now Watchable". Topless Robot. Village Voice Media. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
- ^ Eisenberg, Eric (2010-09-22). "Live-Action Pokemon Trailer Is Fan-Made, But Still Pretty Cool". Cinemablend. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
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