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| Scene from Detective Pikachu |
Welcome to the sporadic column Trailing Off in which I take a look at a trailer from the past week and analyze its potential. This will be done using an obnoxious amount of analyzing and personal thoughts on the cast and crew as well as expectations. I will attempt to highlight films ranging from new blockbusters to lesser known indies and give them their due. Partially to spread awareness, I do believe that there is an art to the sell and will do my best to highlight why these trailers matter or don't with approval (trove) or disapproval (trash). So please stop by, recommend some trailers, and I will see you next time.
Trailer in Discussion
Directed By: Rob Letterman
Written By: Nicole Perlman & Rob Letterman (Screenplay), Satoshi Tajiri & Ken Sugimori & Junichi Masuda (Created By), Atsuko Nishida (Characters), Alex Hirsch (Earlier Screenplay), Tomakazu Ohara & Haruka Utsui (Original Story)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Suki Waterhouse, Bill Nighy
- Preamble -
For awhile there, Pokemon as a concept seemed inescapable. Since the Mid-90's, the Japanese franchise has been selling its pocket monsters under the indulgent tagline "Gotta catch'em all!" with so much success that it spawned video games, trading cards, several TV shows and movies, the augmented reality hit Pokemon Go, and additional merchandise. It's a phenomenon that feels like it doesn't need any more of a presence in our pop culture to matter. Those who love the characters are already invested in every last form of the franchise and await every last update of Pokemon Go available. In fact, it does seem likely that when Japan hosts the Olympics in a short bit here, they could fund the entire construction of several stadiums off of the back of Pikachu's revenue alone. But hey, they have almost a 1,000 characters to pull from so why not spread the wealth?
It's partially why Detective Pikachu seems like a delightful surprise. Why is there a need for a live action Pokemon movie in 2019? Well, the answer is simple: people love Pokemon. The idea of taking them out of the animated world and into our own transforms the fantasy into something new and innovative. The TV series (and subsequent films) have their fans, but remain largely inferior in the product's mythology. There is a need for reinvention that makes them accessible to a generation who wasn't around 20 years ago when it first hit the scene. Sure, this may just be an excuse to get people to reinstall the hit game on their phones, but it also could be a chance to make these characters fresh and new.
The idea of Detective Pikachu isn't exactly new. The rumors of voice casting have been around for a few years, even featuring rumors of Danny DeVito playing the lead role. With that said, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds has taken the mantle and is probably going to be everyone's go-to wisecracking protagonist for a few years here. It's hard to say what he brings to a character like Pikachu, who has been notoriously simple minded in the realm of language until last year's controversial I Choose You, where he spoke English for the first time. Still, it does seem like if the film is going for a fun direction that Reynolds is the guy to get. Whether it will work as more than a gimmick will be hard to figure out.
On another note, there are few directors more suited to this project than that of Rob Letterman. While his name doesn't strike too much awareness, he has been responsible for a lot of updating of genres. With Monsters vs. Aliens, he updated cheesy 50's sci-fi to a wacky contemporary setting (with just a dash of feminism to boot). Even more recently, he turned Goosebumps into a loving homage to the R.L. Stine series (it was successful enough that it spawned a sequel). It's safe to say that he has more than enough passion for the childlike wonder that Detective Pikachu needs to be an exciting game changer. Even if it's just a fun movie, Letterman has proven that he's more than capable of delivering the goods. Now the trick is to see if he can do it.
It's partially why Detective Pikachu seems like a delightful surprise. Why is there a need for a live action Pokemon movie in 2019? Well, the answer is simple: people love Pokemon. The idea of taking them out of the animated world and into our own transforms the fantasy into something new and innovative. The TV series (and subsequent films) have their fans, but remain largely inferior in the product's mythology. There is a need for reinvention that makes them accessible to a generation who wasn't around 20 years ago when it first hit the scene. Sure, this may just be an excuse to get people to reinstall the hit game on their phones, but it also could be a chance to make these characters fresh and new.
The idea of Detective Pikachu isn't exactly new. The rumors of voice casting have been around for a few years, even featuring rumors of Danny DeVito playing the lead role. With that said, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds has taken the mantle and is probably going to be everyone's go-to wisecracking protagonist for a few years here. It's hard to say what he brings to a character like Pikachu, who has been notoriously simple minded in the realm of language until last year's controversial I Choose You, where he spoke English for the first time. Still, it does seem like if the film is going for a fun direction that Reynolds is the guy to get. Whether it will work as more than a gimmick will be hard to figure out.
On another note, there are few directors more suited to this project than that of Rob Letterman. While his name doesn't strike too much awareness, he has been responsible for a lot of updating of genres. With Monsters vs. Aliens, he updated cheesy 50's sci-fi to a wacky contemporary setting (with just a dash of feminism to boot). Even more recently, he turned Goosebumps into a loving homage to the R.L. Stine series (it was successful enough that it spawned a sequel). It's safe to say that he has more than enough passion for the childlike wonder that Detective Pikachu needs to be an exciting game changer. Even if it's just a fun movie, Letterman has proven that he's more than capable of delivering the goods. Now the trick is to see if he can do it.
- Dissection -
Even while watching it, there's something that feels immediately gimmicky about it. Why would there be a live action Pokemon movie? There's no possible way that it could turn out well. It's why the whole thing feels like a fever dream, or a student film with an incredible budget. If someone watched this without greater context, it could easily be seen as a bigger piece of satire about the notion that everything needs to be live action-ized in American cinema. After all, this is not being made by the Japanese originators. What gives? Of course, it's largely because the idea alone feels a bit surreal and silly, especially since these characters have been almost exclusively cartoon characters and the idea of Pikachu having tufts of hair that are visibly rendered are a bit... odd.
Once you get past that notion, it becomes something that will depend on another question. Are you a fan of Pokemon? Do the monsters that are seen on screen mean anything to you? Sure, Pikachu has predominantly been the accessible point for newcomers, but did seeing Psyduck or Charizard strike any feelings in you? For those who don't have opinions on the characters and didn't even get into them through the Pokemon Go fad, there's a good chance that this whole exercise is something of the goobledygook variety. It's ridiculous but also a bit baffling. This is for fans, most likely. They are the ones who get something fun out of the Mr. Mime bit. What could possibly be retrieved if you don't even know a fraction of their names (I'd say half, but there's hundreds of them)?
Beyond that, there's one thing that's abundantly clear: it's catered to fans and that's great. There's something exciting to those who patiently waded through the video game, TV show, card game, animated movies, and more in seeing these characters brought to life, even if it's set to the overused Turtles classic "So Happy Together." The bare idea of seeing Pikachu having the ability to talk to only one person is an idea that could be expanded upon to make for some great modern reinvention. In fact, there's room for a big upgrade of ideas that may make it a tad too American but nevertheless fun. What adventures could a Pikachu who solves crimes possibly go on? There's a lot of mystery there.
As for the general decision to cast Pikachu as a talking character, especially Reynolds, does seem a bit jarring. However, the context works well enough and captures something new. It's hard to tell how Pikachu will interact with the human characters, but there's a good chance that Reynolds' built-in charm will make things work. There's an off chance that this will be too surreal and fail in the live action realm, but it's still taking enough chances that fans of the franchise have enough to parse through and enjoy from this trailer. It still has some skepticism over whether it will be fully successful in the new form, but considering the talent involved, it's hard to not think that a lot of it will go right.
- One Sentence Sell -
It's Pokemon in live action and Pikachu solves crimes, enough said.
- Trove or Trash -
TROVE
It could be that the affection that I have for Pokemon still is rooted somewhere in me and that the Mr. Mime made me happy, but it just works at creating an interest in a story that may or may not work. To see it have such a unique design alone makes it a fascinating discovery and I'm here for Reynolds' Pikachu performance. I hope they fit all of the Pokemon into the film, or at least the first generation, because that's really what this film will live or die on.
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