Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution (Japanese: ミュウツーの, Hepburn: Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION) is the CGI-animated remake of Pokémon the First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back, the first original film and is the third/final film in Pokémon Sun & Moon: The Series film trilogy. It was released early in the United States during the 2019 4 July event in the country, in theaters in Los Angeles, California.
It was released a week later on Saturday, July 12, 2019, in Japan. At the time, when people watch it, they earn a Mewtwo Gaolé card.
The film was released worldwide on Netflix on Pokémon Day on February 27, 2020.
It is the first and only CGI-animated Pokémon movie.
Blurb[]
When researchers discover and exploit a fossil of the Mythical Pokémon Mew, they unleash a creation that goes against the very laws of nature: Mewtwo, a Legendary Pokémon intended for use as a tool of destruction. But as Mewtwo becomes aware of its own dubious origin, it begins to resent its human creators and seeks revenge—and Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, and their friends find themselves at the center of its rampage! With the future of the Pokémon world at stake, will our heroes be able to overcome Mewtwo's challenge…and will Mewtwo be able to find a new meaning for its life?
Plot[]
Scientist Dr. Fuji is hired by Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket, to utilize his expertise in cloning in order to create a living weapon based on an eyelash from legendary Pokémon Mew. Soon after the weapon is created, it gains sentience and is named Mewtwo.
Several years later, Mewtwo has fully awakened from a long slumber in a laboratory on New Island, and learns of his origin as Mew's clone from Dr. Fuji. Infuriated that Fuji and his colleagues see him as nothing more than an experiment, he unleashes his psychic powers and destroys the laboratory, killing Fuji and the rest of the scientists. Giovanni, witnessing the carnage afar, approaches and convinces Mewtwo to work with him to hone his powers. However, after Mewtwo learns of his purpose to be a weapon for Giovanni's benefit, he escapes back to New Island where he plots his revenge against humanity.
After Mewtwo rebuilds the laboratory and establishes a base there, he invites several trainers with hologram messages to battle the world's greatest Pokémon trainer at New Island. Ash, Misty, and Brock receive a message and accept the invitation, but when they arrive at the port city, Old Shore Wharf, Mewtwo creates a storm, causing the boats on the wharf to be closed off for safety. As a result, Ash's group are picked up by Team Rocket disguised as captains on a Lapras-shaped sailboat. After the storm sinks their vessel in the middle of the ocean, Ash and his friends use their Pokémon instead to reach New Island.
Escorted into the island's palace by the woman who appeared on the hologram, Ash and the other trainers who were able to reach the island encounter Mewtwo. Only Corey, Fergus and Neesha managed to make it, meaning that the storm was a test. The woman is revealed to be a brainwashed Nurse Joy after she is released from Mewtwo's mind control. Mewtwo challenges the trainers using cloned Pokémon coincidentally modeled after the deceased friends from his childhood. Meanwhile, Team Rocket also reaches New Island and explores its inner sanctum with a Mew innocuously following them. After Mewtwo's clones defeat the challengers' Pokémon, he confiscates them and expands his clone army. Ash chases after his captured Pikachu down the cloning lab, where Team Rocket's Meowth is also cloned. Ash destroys the cloning machine, frees the captured Pokémon, and leads them to confront Mewtwo and his clones. Mew then reveals itself and Mewtwo challenges it in order to prove his superiority.
All of the Pokémon originals battle their clones save for a defiant Pikachu and Meowth, who makes peace with his own clone after realizing they're not so different after all. Horrified at the pain and anguish felt on both sides of the battle, Ash desperately runs into crossfire between Mewtwo and Mew to put an end to this futile massacre and prevent disaster, but this attempt leading to Ash to become petrified. Pikachu tries to revive Ash with its electricity but fails. Realizing that he's gone forever, Pikachu and other Pokémon begins to cry for Ash, who bravely and noble sacrificed himself in the name of their salvation. However, the tears of the Pokémon, as per a legend mentioned earlier in the movie, are enters into Ash's petrified body and filling it with their energy, healing and resurrecting him, to the much joy of his friends and all Pokémon. Moved by Ash's bravest and noble sacrifice with following miraculous resurrection, Mewtwo realizes that he should not have to be judged by his origins but rather his choices in life. Departing with Mew and the clones, Mewtwo turns back time to just before the trainers leave Old Shore Wharf, and erases everyone's memories of the event (for their good).
Back in Old Shore Wharf, the now-restored Nurse Joy has returned to reopen the Pokémon Center to shelter the trainers. The storm outside clears up, Ash spots Mew flying through the clouds and tells his friends of how he saw another legendary Pokémon the day he left Pallet Town. Meanwhile, Team Rocket find themselves stranded on New Island but enjoy their time there.
After the credits, a brief scene shows Mewtwo and the clones had flown towards Mount Quena.
Characters[]
Human[]
- Ash
- Misty
- Brock
- Jessie
- James
- Gary Oak (cameo)
- Giovanni
- Nurse Joy
- Officer Jenny
- Dr. Fuji
- Corey
- Neesha
- Fergus
- Miranda
- Raymond
- Team Rocket Grunts
- Trainers
- Scientists
- Mother and daughter (ending credits)
Pokémon[]
- Ash's Pikachu
- Ash's Bulbasaur
- Ash's Charizard
- Ash's Squirtle
- Misty's Staryu
- Misty's Psyduck
- Misty's Togepi
- Brock's Vulpix
- James's Weezing
- Team Rocket's Meowth
- Gary's Arcanine
- Gary's Nidoking
- Giovanni's Persian
- Raymond's Donphan
- Raymond's Machamp
- Raymond's Drowzee
- Raymond's Venomoth
- Raymond's Pinsir
- Bruteroot
- Corey's Pidgeot
- Corey's Sandslash
- Corey's Rhyhorn
- Corey's Hitmonlee
- Corey's Scyther
- Shellshocker
- Neesha's Dewgong
- Neesha's Wigglytuff
- Neesha's Vileplume
- Neesha's Ninetales
- Neesha's Rapidash
- Fergus' Gyarados
- Fergus' Golduck
- Fergus' Seadra
- Fergus' Tentacruel
- Fergus' Vaporeon
- Fergus' Nidoqueen
- Mother and daughter's Eevee
- Team Rocket Grunts' Tauros
- Mewtwo
- Fearow
- Dragonite
- Mew
- Charizardtwo
- Venusaurtwo
- Blastoisetwo
- Pikachutwo
- Bulbasaurtwo
- Squirtletwo
- Psyducktwo
- Vulpixtwo
- Meowthtwo
- Pidgeottwo
- Sandslashtwo
- Rhyhorntwo
- Hitmonleetwo
- Scythertwo
- Dewgongtwo
- Wigglytufftwo
- Vileplumetwo
- Ninetalestwo
- Rapidashtwo
- Gyaradostwo
- Golducktwo
- Seadratwo
- Tentacrueltwo
- Vaporeontwo
- Nidoqueentwo
- Kingler (Trainer's)
- Wingull (ending credits)
Cast[]
| Character | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ash Ketchum | Rika Matsumoto | Sarah Natochenny |
| Pikachu | ||
| Misty | Mayumi Iizuka | Michelle Knotz |
| Brock | Yūji Ueda | Bill Rogers |
| Narrator | Unshō Ishizuka | Rodger Parsons |
| Togepi | ||
| Jessie | Megumi Hayashibara | Michelle Knotz |
| James | Shinichiro Miki | Jimmy Zoppi |
| Meowth | Inuko Inuyama | Jimmy Zoppi |
| Fergus | Hiroyuki Yoshino | Jimmy Zoppi |
| Corey | Hiroshi Kamiya | Ed Paul |
| Neesha | Ayane Sakura | Lisa Ortiz |
| Miranda | Sachiko Kobayashi | Lisa Ortiz |
| Raymond | Raymond Johnson | Sam Riegel |
| Mewtwo | Masachika Ichimura | Dan Green |
| Mew | ||
| Giovanni | Kenta Miyake | Ed Paul |
| Officer Jenny | Chinami Nishimura | Emily Jenness |
| Nurse Joy | Chika Fujimura | Alyson Rosenfeld |
| Dr. Fuji | Minoru Inaba | Billy Bob Thompson |
Differences from the Original Movie[]
- Ash's bag, jacket and shoes are the same from Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
- Charizard, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Psyduck and Vulpix are shown to be eating with Ash and the group. This didn't happen in the original movie.
- Raymond's appearance in this remake has him look similar to Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.
- Raymond's Golem was replaced with a Drowzee so Pikachu's Thunderbolt taking out all three would make more sense.
- Miranda tells the trainers about a prophecy in the original movie, but in the remake she didn't.
- In the original movie, Fergus stated that all his Pokémon were Water types, despite his Nidoqueen not being one. In this movie, he says that they are all excellent swimmers, this makes more sense as Nidoqueen could learn Surf.
- In the original movie, Officer Jenny's hat gets blown off while she and Miranda try to the trainers from going out to sea. This didn't happen in the remake.
- In the original movie, Team Rocket disguises themselves as Vikings when they take Ash and his friends on a boat to New Island. In this movie, they disguise themselves as sailors on a Lapras-shaped sailboat and they sing.
- Misty adores Fergus's water Pokémon, but got scared off by his Gyarados. This didn't also happen in the original movie.
- Brock tries to Neesha until he was pulled away by Misty. This didn't happen in the original movie.
- In the original movie, Jessie accidentally sat on the console to activate the computer. In this movie, she leaned her hand on the computer and activate it.
- Pokémon moves that were used in this movie were never used in the original movie. These moves were from generation 3 and 4 which are Leaf Storm and Energy Ball.
- Although they still lost, Bruteroot and Shellshocker put up a much better fight against the cloned Pokémon than they did in the original movie.
- Ash's Poké Balls didn't go to his hands at the lab when the cloned balls released that had captured two of his Poké Balls that contained Bulbasaur and Squirtle.
- Charizard was released from the cloned ball next to Ash, Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. This wasn't seen in the original movie.
- During the climax of the original movie, Nurse Joy and the trainers talk about how fighting is wrong. In this movie, they talk about how clones are living beings too.
- When Ash is petrified in the movie's climax, he turns into black stone instead of usual gray rock.
- When Mewtwo lifts the cloned Pokémon at the near end of the movie, they didn't say their names unlike at the end of the original movie.
- Mew didn't say its name at the near end of the movie before leaving alongside Mewtwo and the cloned Pokémon unlike the near end of the original movie.
- The post-credits scene for the original movie only showed Mew flying to New Island. However, this movie's post-credits scene shows Mewtwo and all of the clones flying to Mount Quena.
- The original movie plays the 1990s pop songs, such as Blessed Union of Souls' "Brother, Oh Bother" during the cloned Pokémon battle scene, and M2M's "Don't Say You Love Me" in the end credits. However, this movie replaces all the songs with its original scores instead, except that a Pokémon opening theme song was the only one to be used in this intro of this movie.
Archive music re-usage[]
Active audio music footage from various Pokémon episodes and movies were used in the CGI-animated movie. Among of them include:
- Pokémon - I Choose You!
- The Tower of Terror
- The Punchy Pokémon
- Sparks Fly for Magnemite
- The Bridge Bike Gang
- Beach Blank-Out Blastoise
- Clefairy Tales
- Make Room for Gloom
- Go West, Young Meowth
- The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémopolis
- All Fired Up!
- Round One: Begin!
- Fire and Ice
- The Fourth Round Rumble
- Pokémon The First Movie
- Pikachu Re-Volts
- Shell Shock
- The Joy of Pokémon
- Navel Maneuvers
- The Mandarin Island Miss Match
- Get Along, Little Pokémon
- Charizard Chills
- The Pokémon Water War
- Hello, Pumello!
- Enter the Dragonite
- Viva Las Lapras
- A Tent Situation
- A Sappy Ending
- A Shadow of a Drought
- Hour of the Houndour
- Fowl Play
- Forest Grumps
- Mountain Time
- Hoenn Alone
- That's Just Swellow
- The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon
- Gotta Catch a Roggenrola!
- Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia!
- Victini and Zekrom
- Crisis at Chargestone Cave
- Evolution Exchange Excitement
- Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice
- Genesect and the Legend Awakened
- Awakening the Sleeping Giant
- Origins of Mega Evolution
- Fairy-Type Trickery!
- Hoopa and the Clash of Ages
- Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel
- The Legend of X, Y and Z!
- Alola to New Adventure!
- Alola Kanto!
- When Regions Collide
- A Masked Warning!
- Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?
- A Battle Hand Off
- Guiding An Awakening
- Battling the Beast Within'
- Showdown on Poni Island
- A Grand Debut
- Keeping Your Eyes on the Ball
- The Dealer of Destruction
- Drawn with the Wind
- The One That Didn't Get Away
- A Fiery Training Camp Trick
Movie theme[]
- Gotta Catch 'Em All (Mewtwo Mix)
- Now! Now! Noow!
- The Rescue
- Pokémon The Series: Best Wishes Music Suites
- Pokémon The Series: XY Music Suites
- Pokémon The Series: Sun & Moon Music Suites (Battle! Totem Pokémon)
- Keep Evolving
Trivia[]
- This is Misty's first full appearance in a Pokémon movie since Pokémon Heroes.
- This is Brock's first full appearance in a Pokémon movie since Pokémon—Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
- Pokémon: The First Movie is the first traditionally-animated film in general to have a computer-animated remake, not counting Disney's The Lion King (whose remake is technically a live-action/computer-animated hybrid, although the only live action part is the opening shot of the sunrise).
- Thus, this is the first Pokémon film to be a remake of a previous installment.
- Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, Victini and Zekrom, Pokémon The Movie - Genesect and the Legend Awakened, Pokémon the Series: Black & White, Pokémon the Series: XY and XYZ, Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, and Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel are used as background music.
- Unlike the English dub of the first original film, the English dub of this film has Sarah Natochenny, Michele Knotz, Bill Rogers, James Carter Cathcart, and Ted Lewis reprise their English roles of Ash, Misty, Jessie, Brock, James and Meowth respectively from the current anime seasons while Dan Green reprises his English role of Mewtwo from Mewtwo Returns.
- Ted Lewis and James Carter Cathcart also reprise their roles from the original movie (Giovanni and Corey; Fergus, respectively).
- Rodger Parsons also reprises his English role of the series' narrator respectively (making him one of two English-language voice actors for so far to reprise their roles from a traditionally-animated film in a computer-animated remake alongside James Earl Jones, who reprises his role of Mufasa in 2019's The Lion King).
- This is the first Pokémon movie to stream directly on Netflix in the US instead of being released in selected theaters or broadcast on TV.
Gallery[]
