Pokémon is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Yep, Pikachu and all of those other adorable little monsters have been around for 20 years. That’s… kind of hard to believe.
And here’s my confession: I was never a Pokémon fan when I was younger. I’m old enough that Pokémon has always been something “kids” enjoyed, which sort of makes sense since I was 18 when it debuted. (And now you know how old I am.)
(As a quick aside, GeekDad Rory has written a great newbies’ guide to Pokémon. If you’re looking for quick and easy FAQ, it’s a good starting point.)
Still, even though I was never a fan, I’ve always had an odd fascination for the franchise, and my kids (4 and 7) have since fallen in love with it. They don’t play the card game or video games (yet), but they love the shows they’ve discovered. So it was with a fair bit of excitement that I saw the recent release of the Pokémon: The Movies 1-3 Steelbook Blu-ray Collection. My kids, however, greeted the set as if they were given Poké Balls and asked to become trainers in real life. In other words, they were thrilled.
The set includes Pokémon: The First Movie, Pokémon The Movie 2000, and Pokémon 3: The Movie. They may not have the most creative names, but the Blu-ray releases look great. If you (or your kids) haven’t seen the films or don’t own them, this is a great way to pick them all up in an attractive package. Each of the films is the dubbed English language version. There’s not much to speak of in the way of special features and the films only have 2.0 audio, but that doesn’t take anything away from the fun of the films.
According to the two little Poké Fans in my house, all three films get two thumbs up. And as a dad, I can’t really argue with the price, which is reasonable for three Blu-rays.
If you’re unfamiliar with the films, here are the official synopses:
- In POKÉMON: THE FIRST MOVIE, the adventure explodes into action with the debut of Mewtwo, a bio-engineered Pokémon created from the DNA of Mew, the rarest of all Pokémon. After escaping from the lab where it was created, Mewtwo is determined to prove its own superiority. It lures a number of talented Trainers into a Pokémon battle like never before—and of course, Ash and his friends are happy to accept the challenge!
- In POKÉMON THE MOVIE 2000, just one person can make a difference… In the Orange Islands far south of Kanto, a Trainer named Lawrence is on a sinister quest: catching the Legendary Pokémon Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres in an attempt to awaken Lugia, guardian of the sea! When Ash and friends arrive, the islanders ask him to gather three elemental orbs from different islands. As the weather across the world goes out of control, it becomes clear that the capture of the legendary trio has thrown the environment out of balance! With Lugia’s help, can Ash find the orbs, restore the balance, and be the “chosen one” that everyone turns to?
- In POKÉMON 3: THE MOVIE, a crystal catastrophe is unleashed upon Greenfield, and Ash, Pikachu, and friends must figure out how to undo the damage to the once-beautiful town. But the unthinkable happens when Ash’s mother is kidnapped by the powerful Entei, a Pokémon thought to have existed only in legend. Now Ash must go to her rescue, uncertain of what he’ll uncover when he unlocks the real secret power behind the unbelievable turn of events: a young girl whose dream world is being turned into a nightmarish reality by the mysterious and unstoppable Unown!
