Pokémon Apokélypse
Encyclopedia
Pokémon Apokélypse is a 2010 fan-made short film directed by Kial Natale and produced by Dylan Innes and Lee Majdoub. Based on the Pokémon
franchise, the storyline takes place several years after the events of the original anime series
. Intended as a fan-response to "the common trend of 'dark and gritty' reboots of popular franchises", the film was meant to give a mature spin on Pokémon and be in the same vein as work seen on parody website CollegeHumor
. The creators initially intended to reveal the film at the Vancouver
Anime Evolution
convention, it was not shown due to technical difficulties. Instead on September 14, 2010, it revealed online via a teaser segment distributed through emails sent to various media outlets, which presented itself as a recording of a "secret movie trailer screening" for a film in development. The full film followed shortly thereafter, posted online on September 20.
The result of almost two years of work, the film follows Ash Ketchum
and his friends years after the events of the original anime series, and their struggle against criminal organization Rocket Industries. Deciding on using the subject of Pokémon after considering several possibilities such as Grand Theft Auto
and Dragon Ball Z, the producers were surprised by fan reaction to the material. Despite praises for the content however, they have stated they have no intention to produce a full-fledged film.
The initial "leaked" preview was met with skepticism and criticism, with Crave Online in particular recalling the trend of past video game-inspired films being of poor quality. Kotaku and Topless Robot in particular noting that the preview did it a disservice by hiding the charm of the completed project, which by comparison was met with very positive reception. GamesRadar
called it "amazing", and stated that the content was "good enough for grown ups"; in a further discussion, they added they were impressed by the quality of the work, and how it addressed the similarity between the games and dog fighting
. Other sources such as The Escapist
and Game Informer
also heavily praised the production, with the former lamenting that such a concept would never officially appear from Nintendo.
for a non-existent film, Pokémon Apokélypse is set in the fictional Celadon City, and takes place several years after the events of the original anime series. The plot focuses on Ash Ketchum (Lee Majdoub), a "Pokémon Trainer
" who commands creatures called Pokémon to battle other Trainers' Pokémon to advance within a league setting. Formerly a global sport, it was long since outlawed due to outcries of animal abuse, and instead continued in underground arenas, where the fighting became much more brutal. Despite warnings by his friend Brock
(Kial Natale), Ash takes part in the battles with his Pokémon Pikachu
. When approached by Giovanni (David Quast), the head of Rocket Industries, with a bribe to throw his next fight, Ash turns the offer down. In response, Giovanni threatens Ash's former mentor Professor Oak and girlfriend, Misty
(Rebecca Strom). Deciding to keep them safe, Ash accepts the bribe, and Pikachu is nearly killed in the match.
Quickly regretting his actions, Ash revisits Giovanni and returns the bribe money, declaring himself out of the league. Enraged, Giovanni declares Ash and his friends dead, and sends his minions Jessie, James (Julia Lawton and Gharret Patrick Paon) and Meowth
to carry out the retribution. As a result, Oak is killed, Pikachu and Misty are assaulted, and Brock is tortured. With the help of Pikachu, Brock and Misty, Ash goes after Giovanni and aims to take down Rocket Industries, declaring he will not stop until he has "caught them all".
, and Majdoub suggesting a film based upon Dragon Ball Z. After another member of the group suggested Pokémon as a possibility, they focused on that concept instead. Kial quickly wrote a script for the short film, while Majdoub and executive film producer Innes contributed additional material to flesh it out. Originally intended to be a film in the vein of CollegeHumor
's parody productions, more scenes were added and visual effects improved due to Kial's love for the series and his desire for the film to be "more and more". Planning of the film took four months, while filming and production took a year and a half. Varying crew sizes were used for the four different filming periods with the majority of filming occurring within one weekend. Majdoub noted he was surprised at the number of people that came forth for auditions that were not actors, but fans of the series.
The film's tone was inspired by a discussion with editor Nicholas Porteous about a review of Ang Lee
's film Hulk
, in which a producer theorized that the film was seen as a commercial failure "because it wasn’t dark and gritty, like Batman Begins
". Natale found the idea that Begins succeeded solely due to its tone insulting to its director Christopher Nolan
, and joked with Majdoub on the popularity of 'dark' series reboots, pondering what series would be good for a live-action adaptation. Settling on Pokémon due to its undertones of animal rights abuse, Majdoub wanted to approach the film from a completely mature standpoint. Displeased with the current trend of video game to film adaptations, they wished to see "see how far we could take it without being absolutely ridiculous". A variety of locations were worked in to give the completed project a proper trailer feel. The title Pokémon Apokélypse was chosen as nod to Apocalypse Now
, due to the similarity of the shooting ratios, with only ten percent of the footage actually used. Though several scenes were shot to add more content to the film, others using dialogue and one-liners from the anime series were purposefully shot in longer scenes then cropped down, in order to ensure the lines did not feel forced and to give a sense that "here is a world beyond what is shown in the trailer".
Though originally intended to be shown at the Anime Evolution
convention in Vancouver
, Canada
, the crew ran into technical difficulties. At a friend's suggestion, the film was instead revealed through viral emails on September 14, 2010, with the sender named "Professor Oak" attaching a small thirty-second part of the film and presenting it as a small part recorded from a "secret movie trailer screening". Satisfied that the teaser had sparked interest, the full film was released on September 20. Natale stated that he was impressed by the people that had scrutinized the preview to determine whether or not it was genuine. When asked if they had any plans to produce a full movie, Majdoub stated that he would like to consider the prospects if they could receive assistance with the CGI
aspects of the film, however any further production would be up to Natale. Natale in turn added that while he was grateful for the positive reviews, he had no intention to do further films based on the Pokémon franchise.
heavily praised the effects, undertone and music, stating that the staff loved it, though lamented that an official film of this kind would join a long line of "ill-advised live-action adaptations". Game Informer
called it "absurd", stating that while it was a possible proof of concept
film it was more likely completely fake, and adding "It looks goofy as hell, and Pokéfans are sure to get a couple chuckles out of it if nothing else." ComicsAlliance
called it "somewhere in the middle" of presenting a better take on the franchise and a reminder that "some intellectual properties got things right (or inherently wrong) the first time", though called the effect "surprisingly competent" and it both generally fun and funny. Crave Online heavily criticized the film, calling the story formulaic and the production values "threadbare", and further adding that they dreaded the idea of it inspiring an actual live-action film on the series in light of Capcom
's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
.
praised the idea of the film, stating that if produced it would be "the best movie since Piranha 3D" and calling it "good enough for grown-ups". In a further discussion via their Pokémon Monday cast, the three editors involved praised the film as "very well done". While one editor stated disdain for the appearance of the various Pokémon in the film, they agreed that in any live-action adaptation the creatures would "always look weird", and that for a film with a lack of budget they were done very well. They also praised the attention of detail, and praised David Quast's portrayal of Giovanni, as well as the presentation of recurring anime villains Jessie, James and Meowth. Editor Carolyn Gudmundson added that she was uncomfortable with the grittiness of the production, though praised it for presenting out the inherent problem of the concept behind the games and its similarity to dog fighting
.
The Escapist shared similar sentiments, calling the film "amazing" and stating their desire to see the mock-trailer expanded into a full film despite it being contrary to Nintendo's vision of the series; "Why can't anything this cool ever come through official channels?" Joystiq
commented that it was "long, long overdue" and called the completed results delightful, questioning why such a project had not been properly attempted years prior. Kotaku added that while the "leaked" segment hid the flaws in the film's effects, it hurt the film by hiding the "hammy charm" of the completed project. Though Game Informer criticized the original segment, they heavily praised the full film, describing it as "what the franchise could look like if Peter Jackson
, Martin Scorsese
, and Jerry Bruckheimer
all teamed up". Topless Robot stated that while the original preview had nearly sabotaged the final production's appeal, they called it "awesome" and described it as taking "Pokémon battles to its inevitable, cock-fighting end". Cinemablend stated that while the content was out of place with Nintendo's presentation of the series, they found the finished product still "pretty cool", further praising the effects and the approach taken towards the material.
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise, the storyline takes place several years after the events of the original anime series
Pokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
. Intended as a fan-response to "the common trend of 'dark and gritty' reboots of popular franchises", the film was meant to give a mature spin on Pokémon and be in the same vein as work seen on parody website CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor is a comedy website owned by InterActiveCorp and based in New York City. The site features daily original comedy videos and articles created by its in-house writing and production team, in addition to user-submitted videos, pictures, articles and links. In early 2009, CollegeHumor's...
. The creators initially intended to reveal the film at the Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
Anime Evolution
Anime Evolution
Anime Evolution was an annual three-day anime convention held in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and organized by the AE Convention Corporation. It had traditionally been held in August since 2004...
convention, it was not shown due to technical difficulties. Instead on September 14, 2010, it revealed online via a teaser segment distributed through emails sent to various media outlets, which presented itself as a recording of a "secret movie trailer screening" for a film in development. The full film followed shortly thereafter, posted online on September 20.
The result of almost two years of work, the film follows Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum, known as for all appearances in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise owned by Nintendo. He was created by, and named after, Satoshi Tajiri as the protagonist of the anime and manga series, as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise...
and his friends years after the events of the original anime series, and their struggle against criminal organization Rocket Industries. Deciding on using the subject of Pokémon after considering several possibilities such as Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
and Dragon Ball Z, the producers were surprised by fan reaction to the material. Despite praises for the content however, they have stated they have no intention to produce a full-fledged film.
The initial "leaked" preview was met with skepticism and criticism, with Crave Online in particular recalling the trend of past video game-inspired films being of poor quality. Kotaku and Topless Robot in particular noting that the preview did it a disservice by hiding the charm of the completed project, which by comparison was met with very positive reception. GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
called it "amazing", and stated that the content was "good enough for grown ups"; in a further discussion, they added they were impressed by the quality of the work, and how it addressed the similarity between the games and dog fighting
Dog fighting
Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling....
. Other sources such as The Escapist
The Escapist (magazine)
The Escapist is an online magazine covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Published by the Themis Group, it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009, then by Russ Pitts through September 2011, and is currently edited by Steve Butts. The Escapist was first...
and Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
also heavily praised the production, with the former lamenting that such a concept would never officially appear from Nintendo.
Synopsis
Structured as a trailerTrailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
for a non-existent film, Pokémon Apokélypse is set in the fictional Celadon City, and takes place several years after the events of the original anime series. The plot focuses on Ash Ketchum (Lee Majdoub), a "Pokémon Trainer
Pokémon trainer
People with at least one Pokémon creature can be considered a Pokémon Trainer. In this sense, people in related Pokémon occupations, such as Pokémon coordinators or Pokémon breeders, can also be considered to be Pokémon Trainers....
" who commands creatures called Pokémon to battle other Trainers' Pokémon to advance within a league setting. Formerly a global sport, it was long since outlawed due to outcries of animal abuse, and instead continued in underground arenas, where the fighting became much more brutal. Despite warnings by his friend Brock
Brock (Pokémon)
Brock, known as in Japanese versions, is a video game character in the Pokémon franchise. In the Pokémon video games, he is the Gym Leader of Pewter City and mainly uses Rock -type Pokémon; in the anime series, he left his position as a Gym Leader to travel alongside Ash Ketchum and become a...
(Kial Natale), Ash takes part in the battles with his Pokémon Pikachu
Pikachu
is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series...
. When approached by Giovanni (David Quast), the head of Rocket Industries, with a bribe to throw his next fight, Ash turns the offer down. In response, Giovanni threatens Ash's former mentor Professor Oak and girlfriend, Misty
Misty (Pokémon)
Misty, known as in Japanese versions, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. She has appeared as a Gym Leader in the Pokémon video games, several seasons of the Pokémon anime, The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, the Ash & Pikachu manga, toys, books, and other media.-Design:Misty's...
(Rebecca Strom). Deciding to keep them safe, Ash accepts the bribe, and Pikachu is nearly killed in the match.
Quickly regretting his actions, Ash revisits Giovanni and returns the bribe money, declaring himself out of the league. Enraged, Giovanni declares Ash and his friends dead, and sends his minions Jessie, James (Julia Lawton and Gharret Patrick Paon) and Meowth
Meowth
Meowth, known as in original Japanese language versions, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Meowth first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and...
to carry out the retribution. As a result, Oak is killed, Pikachu and Misty are assaulted, and Brock is tortured. With the help of Pikachu, Brock and Misty, Ash goes after Giovanni and aims to take down Rocket Industries, declaring he will not stop until he has "caught them all".
Development and production
Produced as a side project by Kial Natale, Dylan Innes and Lee Majdoub, the concept originated in December 2008 from the desire to produce a live-action version of a series, with Natale wishing to focus on Grand Theft AutoGrand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
, and Majdoub suggesting a film based upon Dragon Ball Z. After another member of the group suggested Pokémon as a possibility, they focused on that concept instead. Kial quickly wrote a script for the short film, while Majdoub and executive film producer Innes contributed additional material to flesh it out. Originally intended to be a film in the vein of CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor is a comedy website owned by InterActiveCorp and based in New York City. The site features daily original comedy videos and articles created by its in-house writing and production team, in addition to user-submitted videos, pictures, articles and links. In early 2009, CollegeHumor's...
's parody productions, more scenes were added and visual effects improved due to Kial's love for the series and his desire for the film to be "more and more". Planning of the film took four months, while filming and production took a year and a half. Varying crew sizes were used for the four different filming periods with the majority of filming occurring within one weekend. Majdoub noted he was surprised at the number of people that came forth for auditions that were not actors, but fans of the series.
The film's tone was inspired by a discussion with editor Nicholas Porteous about a review of Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
's film Hulk
Hulk (film)
Hulk is a 2003 American superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name. Ang Lee directed the film, which stars Eric Bana as Dr. Bruce Banner, as well as Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, and Nick Nolte...
, in which a producer theorized that the film was seen as a commercial failure "because it wasn’t dark and gritty, like Batman Begins
Batman Begins
Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
". Natale found the idea that Begins succeeded solely due to its tone insulting to its director Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
, and joked with Majdoub on the popularity of 'dark' series reboots, pondering what series would be good for a live-action adaptation. Settling on Pokémon due to its undertones of animal rights abuse, Majdoub wanted to approach the film from a completely mature standpoint. Displeased with the current trend of video game to film adaptations, they wished to see "see how far we could take it without being absolutely ridiculous". A variety of locations were worked in to give the completed project a proper trailer feel. The title Pokémon Apokélypse was chosen as nod to Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
, due to the similarity of the shooting ratios, with only ten percent of the footage actually used. Though several scenes were shot to add more content to the film, others using dialogue and one-liners from the anime series were purposefully shot in longer scenes then cropped down, in order to ensure the lines did not feel forced and to give a sense that "here is a world beyond what is shown in the trailer".
Though originally intended to be shown at the Anime Evolution
Anime Evolution
Anime Evolution was an annual three-day anime convention held in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and organized by the AE Convention Corporation. It had traditionally been held in August since 2004...
convention in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the crew ran into technical difficulties. At a friend's suggestion, the film was instead revealed through viral emails on September 14, 2010, with the sender named "Professor Oak" attaching a small thirty-second part of the film and presenting it as a small part recorded from a "secret movie trailer screening". Satisfied that the teaser had sparked interest, the full film was released on September 20. Natale stated that he was impressed by the people that had scrutinized the preview to determine whether or not it was genuine. When asked if they had any plans to produce a full movie, Majdoub stated that he would like to consider the prospects if they could receive assistance with the CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
aspects of the film, however any further production would be up to Natale. Natale in turn added that while he was grateful for the positive reviews, he had no intention to do further films based on the Pokémon franchise.
Initial reaction
Reaction to the film's preview segment was mixed. KotakuKotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
heavily praised the effects, undertone and music, stating that the staff loved it, though lamented that an official film of this kind would join a long line of "ill-advised live-action adaptations". Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
called it "absurd", stating that while it was a possible proof of concept
Proof of concept
A proof of concept or a proof of principle is a realization of a certain method or idea to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle, whose purpose is to verify that some concept or theory that has the potential of being used...
film it was more likely completely fake, and adding "It looks goofy as hell, and Pokéfans are sure to get a couple chuckles out of it if nothing else." ComicsAlliance
ComicsAlliance
ComicsAlliance is an American website centering around the subject of American comic books. The editor-in-chief of the site is Laura Hudson. One of its frequent contributors and Senior Writer is Chris Sims, who appeared in a segment on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to provide commentary as the...
called it "somewhere in the middle" of presenting a better take on the franchise and a reminder that "some intellectual properties got things right (or inherently wrong) the first time", though called the effect "surprisingly competent" and it both generally fun and funny. Crave Online heavily criticized the film, calling the story formulaic and the production values "threadbare", and further adding that they dreaded the idea of it inspiring an actual live-action film on the series in light of Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is the second live-action film based on the Street Fighter series of video games. It follows the quest of Street Fighter character Chun-Li, who is portrayed by Kristin Kreuk. The story follows Chun-Li's personal history and her journey for justice. The film...
.
Post-release
In contrast, the full film has been well received by the media. GamesRadarGamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
praised the idea of the film, stating that if produced it would be "the best movie since Piranha 3D" and calling it "good enough for grown-ups". In a further discussion via their Pokémon Monday cast, the three editors involved praised the film as "very well done". While one editor stated disdain for the appearance of the various Pokémon in the film, they agreed that in any live-action adaptation the creatures would "always look weird", and that for a film with a lack of budget they were done very well. They also praised the attention of detail, and praised David Quast's portrayal of Giovanni, as well as the presentation of recurring anime villains Jessie, James and Meowth. Editor Carolyn Gudmundson added that she was uncomfortable with the grittiness of the production, though praised it for presenting out the inherent problem of the concept behind the games and its similarity to dog fighting
Dog fighting
Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling....
.
The Escapist shared similar sentiments, calling the film "amazing" and stating their desire to see the mock-trailer expanded into a full film despite it being contrary to Nintendo's vision of the series; "Why can't anything this cool ever come through official channels?" Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
commented that it was "long, long overdue" and called the completed results delightful, questioning why such a project had not been properly attempted years prior. Kotaku added that while the "leaked" segment hid the flaws in the film's effects, it hurt the film by hiding the "hammy charm" of the completed project. Though Game Informer criticized the original segment, they heavily praised the full film, describing it as "what the franchise could look like if Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
, Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, and Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...
all teamed up". Topless Robot stated that while the original preview had nearly sabotaged the final production's appeal, they called it "awesome" and described it as taking "Pokémon battles to its inevitable, cock-fighting end". Cinemablend stated that while the content was out of place with Nintendo's presentation of the series, they found the finished product still "pretty cool", further praising the effects and the approach taken towards the material.