Duke
01-17-2004, 07:23 PM
Technically, the DVD goes on sale Tuesday, but some big chain DVD stores are stocking them early. (I got mine at fye earlier today for $27.)
I haven't seen the Camp Pikachu short yet, but I have taken a look at the other extras. The animation progression is expanded from last year's movie, as it includes 6 scenes with varying levels of unfinished-ness. (For example, once scene only has 3 different layouts, while another has 6.) The Venice Location extra is kinda dull. It shows how Altomare is pretty much a complete replica of Venice, even down to the same locations and fences, but it doesn't do any interviews or anything, just a musical tour of Venice and Altomare. I do wish Miramax would have interviewed the Japanese staff. There's another trivia game, but this one's narrated by a random voice instead of Brock, and looks a lot less stylized.
Also, Miramax has done something which really pisses off many DVD viewers: they put trailers in before you can get to the menu. I wish DVD companies didn't do this, as most people don't even WATCH said trailers unless they're unskippable (luckily, these are). The only one worth watching is Lion King 1/2.
And if you buy MVP 2, you can mail the UPCs in for both movies & get a $5 rebate. Whoopie.
As for the movie itself, I managed to see it in theaters. (I'm one of the lucky few who saw all 5 movies in theaters.) It's my 2nd favorite after the 3rd movie. Two new thieves named Annie & Oakley are trying to steal a mystic gem called the Soul Dew, which resides in Altomare. Ash & co. just HAPPEN to be in the same city, with Ash & Misty competing in a pretty cool water race. (Misty's Corsola gets some screen time, as does Ash's Totodile) After the race, Ash is separated from Misty & Brock and runs into a young girl being chased after by two shady criminals, Annie & Oakley. One thing leads to another and Ash & the Ashettes meet Latios and Latias. They have to help the two illegitimate children of Lugia protect the Soul Dew from the main villains of the movie, or else Altomare will flood and be destroyed.
Unlike Movie 4, you really explore ALL the legendaries, and feel for both Latios and Latias as the movie goes on. Unfortunately, the race at the beginning is ruined by a half-assed version of "Master Quest." After "Born to be a Winner," which was actually pretty good and better than the TV version, I was expecting maybe 4Kids might do better, but no, they crapped out.
EDIT: OK, watched Camp Pikachu. The theme song this time is "Pokémon Hoedown." I'm sure you can imagine what it sounds like. The Pichu Bros. return with a new friend, Wynaut. They get lost after being thrown from a train and meet up with Pikachu. Returning from the previous Pikachu shorts are Cyndaquil, Totodile, Togepi, and Psyduck, while Corsola and Phanpy make their debuts. Volbeat helps out the gang and Duskull plays some pranks as well. Also, Psyduck finally gets to act like Psyduck, something that hasn't been done much since the gang left Kanto for the Orange Islands way back when. One thing I both hated and loved was the fact that it was in widescreen and had the ending credits. I loved it because it was, in fact, in widescreen. I hated it because the feature film wasn't widescreen too!
I haven't seen the Camp Pikachu short yet, but I have taken a look at the other extras. The animation progression is expanded from last year's movie, as it includes 6 scenes with varying levels of unfinished-ness. (For example, once scene only has 3 different layouts, while another has 6.) The Venice Location extra is kinda dull. It shows how Altomare is pretty much a complete replica of Venice, even down to the same locations and fences, but it doesn't do any interviews or anything, just a musical tour of Venice and Altomare. I do wish Miramax would have interviewed the Japanese staff. There's another trivia game, but this one's narrated by a random voice instead of Brock, and looks a lot less stylized.
Also, Miramax has done something which really pisses off many DVD viewers: they put trailers in before you can get to the menu. I wish DVD companies didn't do this, as most people don't even WATCH said trailers unless they're unskippable (luckily, these are). The only one worth watching is Lion King 1/2.
And if you buy MVP 2, you can mail the UPCs in for both movies & get a $5 rebate. Whoopie.
As for the movie itself, I managed to see it in theaters. (I'm one of the lucky few who saw all 5 movies in theaters.) It's my 2nd favorite after the 3rd movie. Two new thieves named Annie & Oakley are trying to steal a mystic gem called the Soul Dew, which resides in Altomare. Ash & co. just HAPPEN to be in the same city, with Ash & Misty competing in a pretty cool water race. (Misty's Corsola gets some screen time, as does Ash's Totodile) After the race, Ash is separated from Misty & Brock and runs into a young girl being chased after by two shady criminals, Annie & Oakley. One thing leads to another and Ash & the Ashettes meet Latios and Latias. They have to help the two illegitimate children of Lugia protect the Soul Dew from the main villains of the movie, or else Altomare will flood and be destroyed.
Unlike Movie 4, you really explore ALL the legendaries, and feel for both Latios and Latias as the movie goes on. Unfortunately, the race at the beginning is ruined by a half-assed version of "Master Quest." After "Born to be a Winner," which was actually pretty good and better than the TV version, I was expecting maybe 4Kids might do better, but no, they crapped out.
EDIT: OK, watched Camp Pikachu. The theme song this time is "Pokémon Hoedown." I'm sure you can imagine what it sounds like. The Pichu Bros. return with a new friend, Wynaut. They get lost after being thrown from a train and meet up with Pikachu. Returning from the previous Pikachu shorts are Cyndaquil, Totodile, Togepi, and Psyduck, while Corsola and Phanpy make their debuts. Volbeat helps out the gang and Duskull plays some pranks as well. Also, Psyduck finally gets to act like Psyduck, something that hasn't been done much since the gang left Kanto for the Orange Islands way back when. One thing I both hated and loved was the fact that it was in widescreen and had the ending credits. I loved it because it was, in fact, in widescreen. I hated it because the feature film wasn't widescreen too!