There’s no denyingPokémon’s status as one of the biggest anime of all time; the series played a major part in anime’s rise to prominence in the 90s and early 2000s, and while it doesn’t hold the same level of prestige in modern day, it still manages to make waves now and then, especially with the soft reboot,Pokémon Horizons.
There are few anime as fun to watch asPokémon, but five years ago, the series quietly abandoned one of its biggest claims to fame. It’s hard to say why, exactly, that happened, and with the current direction the anime has taken, it’s unlikely that the series will return to it anytime soon.
Why There Hasn’t Been A New Pokémon Movie In Half A Decade
The End Of One Of Pokémon’s Most Iconic Features
Like manylong-running anime,Pokémonused to have a history of yearly theatrical films, each one focusing on either a legendary Pokémon or a Pokémon from the next generation of games as something of an early preview. What many people probably didn’t realize, though, was that practice abruptly stopped in 2020, and there hasn’t been a new movie in five years.
As for why that happened, there are some possible explanations. As thePokémonanime became less popular, its movies started performing worse at the box office, with 2016’sVolcanion and the Mechanical Marvelhaving an utterly abysmal theatrical run.Pokémon: I Choose Youand its sequelsperformed better, but unfortunately, it likely wasn’t enough to justify more movies.
Another possibility is the general shift in direction for the anime. By 2020, the anime was putting all its attention into the TV show, and since that was meant to be Ash’s big sendoff, it made sense to focus solely on that as opposed to risking a drop in quality by dividing time and resources for movies.
There Might Never Be Another Pokémon Movie, And That’s A Shame
Why Pokémon Movies Are Probably Dead
While there’s no reason why there can’t be a newPokémonmovie, that’s unlikely to happen. By 2017, between things like starting a new continuity for the films and a lazy CGI remake ofPokémon: The First Movie, there was already a notable lack of interest in keeping to the formula, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
Another problem is how differentPokémon Horizonsis from the original anime. WithHorizonshaving a more linear and streamlined narrative than the original anime, there’s less room for episodic, non-canon movies, so as long asHorizonsis the currentstatus quoof the franchise, movies probably won’t be a priority.
All of that, of course, is nothing but a shame. Between the constant escalation of action and story coupled with consistently great visuals,thePokémonmoviesalways added a lot to the franchise visually and narratively, so if there really won’t be any newPokémonmovies, it’s hard to see that as anything other than a detriment to the franchise.
