Review - Pokémon 4Ever (2002)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. After three movies released through Warner Bros., the Pokémon movies would switch American distributors from WB to Miramax. And, the first film to be released through Miramax would be Pokémon 4Ever, the second Johto era movie and fourth theatrical film overall in the Pokémon franchise. 

        The movie opens sometime in the past, where a boy named Sam enters a forest near the town of Arborville in the Johto Region, and a local girl warns him to remain still if he hears the Voice of the Forest. The voice, it turns out, is the legendary Pokémon Celebi, which is being hunted by a Pokémon hunter, who collects and sells off rare Pokémon. Celebi uses its power to traverse through time to take itself to safety in the future, with Sam as an unwitting passenger through time. Years later, in the present time, the hunter is approached by a maniacal member of Team Rocket named the Iron Mask Marauder, who seeks the Celebi that the hunter encountered years before. To demonstrate his resolve, the Iron Mask Marauder uses his signature Darkball to capture a Tyranitar, and the Darkball turns Tyranitar evil and maxes out its power. Fearful of the destruction Tyranitar will bring, the hunter caves in and agrees to show the Iron Mask Marauder where he found Celebi in the past. 

       After the opening titles, we catch up with Ash, Misty, and Brock, who are arranging for a ride with a boat captain named Mr. White. On the boat ride, Ash spots the legendary Pokémon Suicune, which according to some legends is the personification of the North Wind, and has the power to purify tainted water. Cool. Anyway, at the forest entrance near Arborville, a girl named Diana and her grandmother warn Ash and co. about the Voice of the Forest, and to remain still if they hear it. Traversing the forest, however, Ash, Misty, and Brock do hear something, and go to investigate. Arriving at the source of the sound, they find Sam, who is initially wary of our trio, and demanding to know what they did to Celebi. However, after Sam passed out, Ash and co. take him out of the forest and back to Diana and her grandmother, the latter recognizing the boy from when she was Diana's age. 

         It turns out that, sensing it was in danger, Celebi uses its time-travel powers to escape in the quickest way possible, and inadvertently brought Sam along for the ride. Sam, still protective over Celebi, decides to go back to the forest to find it, and Ash, Misty, and Brock join him just to be safe. Luckily, they find Celebi, but also the Iron Mask Marauder, who is eventually joined by Jessie, James, and Meowth, who have only a limited role in this movie. Really, the only reason these three hang out with the Iron Mask Marauder is because he's part of Team Rocket, just as they are. Anyway, Ash, Sam, Misty, and Brock are led by some forest Pokémon to a lake, which heals Celebi and reinvigorates it, and Celebi even heals Misty, who twisted her knee earlier. 

        As the day goes on, Ash, Sam, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu all form a close bond with Celebi, laughing with it, sharing berries, and enjoying the wonders of the forest. The next day, unfortunately, the Iron Mask Marauder uses a Darkball to catch Celebi, making it evil, and uses its power to decimate the forest. This, in turn, alerts Suicune, who arrives to help. Working with Suicune, Ash and Sam break the hold the Darkball had over Celebi, and it is back to normal. Unfortunately, the damage is done, as the toll on the forest also took a toll on Celebi. Suicune purifies the lake, but it's too late. However, more Celebi arrive to restore their fallen comrade, and all is well, Sam and Celebi bid everyone goodbye, and return to their own time. 

        Later, Ash speaks to Professor Oak about both Suicune and Celebi, but is sad that his new friend is back in his own time. Professor Oak reassures Ash that friendships last throughout time, and Ash and Sam will be friends forever. And, it's pretty much revealed that Sam was, in fact, Professor Oak as a boy. In fact, we see Professor Oak look at an aged version of the sketch Sam drew of Celebi and Pikachu, and remarks "It seems like it happened only yesterday." Back in Johto, Ash, Misty, and Brock wonder how Professor Oak knew Sam's name, as they didn't mention it. But, no time to ponder, as their ride is taking off. Jessie, James, and Meowth, meanwhile, relax and drift off in the lake. 

       Okay, so a number of fans have compared the plot of Pokémon 4Ever to that of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke,.and some have jokingly called this movie PokéMononoke because of it. Now, while I do see the similarities between Pokémon and Princess Mononoke, I do think that there is enough to stand out as its own thing. For instance, Celebi's time-travel ability is something that I don't believe was a thing with the forest spirit in Princess Mononoke. 

       Speaking of which, let's talk the two legendary Pokémon of the movie: Celebi and Suicune. Now, Suicune I get, as it's literally the personification of the North Wind, and I had some powerful moves and is handy in a battle. However, Celebi is a little too cute for a legendary Pokémon. Not to say that Celebi being cute is a bad thing, quite the opposite in fact. However, if I were to compare Celebi to another legendary like Lugia, there's clearly a difference. Lugia is mighty like the sea, while Celebi is fragile like the forest. It's not bad, per se, it's just one of those things where I tend to think of legendary Pokémon as these all-powerful beings. Mewtwo, Lugia, Entei, the Unown, Suicune, Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno. Those I see as proper legendary Pokémon. Celebi? Like I said, it's cute, but it's definitely something more for our heroes to play with and protect that to be a powerful guardian of the forest. 

       Our human cast is neat, as well. Of course, Ash, Misty, and Brock are entering as always, and the dynamic they share with the new kid Sam is pretty neat. Ash's newfound friendship with Sam is neat, and it grows alongside Ash and Sam's connection with Celebi. As for the villain, the Iron Mask Marauder isn't quite as memorable as say Mewtwo or Lawrence III. They say the best villains don't actually believe the they're evil. The Iron Mask Marauder actually BELIEVES he's evil, and always belts out an evil laugh every chance he gets. But, I will give props to Dan Green for his performance, as it does sound like Yami Yugi went full-bore villain. Cool. 

       Overall , this is more of a movie for fans of Pokémon, but is certainly not one of the better Pokémon movies. I'm going to give Pokémon 4Ever a rating of 3.5/5. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back tomorrow with my thoughts on the 2024 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.