Gothic Eye Candy: Mewtwo Strikes Back

This is actually one of my favourite articles. It originally included the American credits, but I have removed them in favour of comprehensibility. they will be made available elsewhere on the website at a later date. Gothic eye candy...what a great phrase....

 Ken Hollings writes for Sight & Sound Magazine. Published in 2000

  Japan, the present. Cloned from the remains of Mew, an ancient forebear, Mewtwo is the most powerful of the species of creatures know as the Pokémon. Refusing to obey his human creators, he destroys their island laboratory and vows to use his psychic abilities to conquer the world. Shortly afterwards Ash, a young Pokémon trainer, receives an invitation to a Pokémon championship on New Island, where selected trainers can challenge the World's Greatest Pokémon Master.

   On arrival, Ash discovers the competition is a trap set by Mewtwo, who separates the Pokémon from their human trainers, then uses their DNA to create clones with which to rule the planet. Unable to withstand Mewtwo's powers, the Pokémon are soon fighting with their clones. Ash attempts to intervene, assisted by Mew, who has been restored to life. Accidentally killed while trying to stop Mew and Mewtwo from destroying each other, Ash is revived by the tears of the mourning Pokémon. Moved by such devotion, Mewtwo leaves New Island, taking his clones with him, to seek his true purpose in life.

   To the adult mind, which in this case probably constitutes anyone above the age of 12, a mass-media marketing phenomenon such as Nintendo's Pokémon appears as a dark conspiracy to foster confusion and dread among grown-ups. Suddenly children are speaking in strange tongues and worshipping graven images. Unfortunately, the first feature-length animated film to star the Pocket Monsters makes very few concessions to the uninitiated. Plot strands and background stories from both the games and the television series are shuffled on and off the big screen without explanation. This leaves the conflict between Mewtwo and Ash centre stage as the sole narrative focus. Brooding, articulate and vengeful where the other Pokémon remain bright blobs of wordless energy, Mewtwo alone justifies the film's enhanced production values and grandiose score. Like a troubled elder brother, Mewtwo represents an older order of experience. It is perhaps no accident scenes depicting his creation and early life contain strong echoes of such anime classics as Ghost in the Shell, Akira and Evangelion, all of which are geared to teen and adult audiences.

   At the same time there's something very affecting about the ferocious loyalty Ash and Pikachu, his Pokémon companion, display for each other. The movie may have been designed to shift Pokémon product but it also comes down hard on the side of friendship, mutual respect and resourcefulness. Similarly, the sight of an arena filled with Pokémon mindlessly bludgeoning their cloned doubles to a standstill offers a strong message about the futility of violence for its own sake -- especially after Pikachu's Vacation, the short film packaged with Pokémon, has revealed that Pokémon do not usually battle without their trainers.

   At its best, this is pure gothic eye candy. Mewtwo's refuge resembles an evil amusement park, complete with rotating windmills, steeply angled slides and glittering towers, while his underground laboratory boasts an equally imposing array of mechanical arms, conveyor belts and chemical vats. The arena itself, setting for the film's final conflict, has a shadowy three-dimensional grandeur that only serves to highlight the sparkling web of tears cast over it by the grieving Pokémon. Not surprisingly, with Ash restored to life, the story ends with the happy promise of further adventures to come. Whether parents and teachers alike will find the Pocket Monsters as menacing the next time around still remains to be seen.