Pokemon - The Movie 2000 (2000)

16% of critics liked it
(64 reviews)
52% of users liked it
(56,786 ratings)

In this action-packed anime film, fearless Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum and his pals must try to save Earth from destruction. An evil collector schemes to procure three coveted Pokemon -- Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno -- whose capture will unleash mystical sentinel of the sea Lugia. When the villain… More In this action-packed anime film, fearless Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum and his pals must try to save Earth from destruction. An evil collector schemes to procure three coveted Pokemon -- Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno -- whose capture will unleash mystical sentinel of the sea Lugia. When the villain snares the trio, nature gets thrown out of whack, causing a series of natural disasters. Can Ash and friends prevent an environmental cataclysm?

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Kunihiko Yuyama, Michael Haigney
Written By: Norman J. Grossfeld, Michael Haigney, John Touhey, Takeshi Shudo
Genres: Animation, Kids & Family, Anime & Manga, Art House & International

In Theaters: Jul 21, 2000 Wide
On DVD: Nov 14, 2000

Critic Reviews

Robert Koehler, Variety
A much more intense action vehicle for hero Ash Ketchum and his band of pocket monster trainers than its leaden, sometimes claustrophobic predecessor.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
A din that drowns out all adult howls.
Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Slightly better than a poke in the eye.
Sean Means, Film.com
One can almost hear a droning noise.
Jay Carr, Boston Globe
Ugly animation, hackneyed plots, one-dimensional characters, and the Pokemon gibberish that makes the Teletubbies sound as if they were speaking the King's English.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
A class-A migraine in soupy, gloopy Technicolor.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Better than the first, but that's not saying much.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
This is a fun, magical, and appealing movie that kids will love.
Mark Halverson, Sacramento News & Review
Lesson of the day: Pokémon are more attuned to nature, but one human can make a difference.
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
Pikachu has very little to do with the plot, so die-hard fans may be disappointed. On the other hand, I daresay die-hard fans could not possibly be discriminating enough to notice, since most of them are still in diapers.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
As in the first movie, the animation here is chintzy and almost amateurish, although fans of the TV show could hardly expect more.
Michael Thomson, BBC
A few set-pieces, though, do stand out: weird, almost entirely spherical fish swimming in the water, a boat crashing down hundreds of steps, and a jagged 'chicken' lit up by golden electric energy are certainly transfixing.
Ross Anthony, Hollywood Report Card
Total, there were maybe three references in the dialogue that an adult might find clever or cute.
Susan Granger, rec.arts.movies.reviews
The rudimentary animation resembles the TV show.
Laura Clifford, rec.arts.movies.reviews
A few jokes and improved technical aspects can't quite counter overall boredom.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Only those really in tune with the Pokémon world (read: children) will be able to make heads or tails of the specifics of the story.

Read all 16 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

Despite the premise, Pokemon - The Movie 2000, is not really exciting like the series and become boring. The end is very violent, what could deviate the younger audience. Rotten.
Directors C

Pokemon 2000 is 2000 times better than the original which was awful. It's still not that good though, it's good to entertain small children though. I'ts not good but its watchable.
Alexander D

A sequel to the unsuccessful anime-based film from just a single year before, POKEMON: THE MOVIE 2000 is nothing good. At all. Even a true-blue fan of the series can easily fall asleep.
KJ P

A downgrade from the original, but with all of the characters back to love, a story about three legendary birds has never been more mesmerizing to me. As an evil mastermind is planning to rule the world with possession of these three birds, he must have one more bird to rule the… More
A downgrade from the original, but with all of the characters back to love, a story about three legendary birds has never been more mesmerizing to me. As an evil mastermind is planning to rule the world with possession of these three birds, he must have one more bird to rule the world; Lugia. Ash and his pals must save the earth from total destruction before the madman takes over. This was an extremely enjoyable, family friendly film, it may not be the pokemon movie we have all been waiting for, but it certainly is an awesome animated feature.
Brad W

Eh
Michael E

if you critics hate on this movie that only children of the show are going to watch than why did you see it
Luke B

A bit more of extra action packed Pokemonness. Unlike the latest Star Trek film, the Pokemon films are not geared towards converting new fans. The episodes slip into the television series and make little sense unless you are familiar with Pokemon. Here we find a Pokemon collector, out… More
A bit more of extra action packed Pokemonness. Unlike the latest Star Trek film, the Pokemon films are not geared towards converting new fans. The episodes slip into the television series and make little sense unless you are familiar with Pokemon. Here we find a Pokemon collector, out to capture the legendary bird Pokemon. The plot survives for at least half the run time, but is soon an extended battle between the birds. It's fun and still limits the number of second generation Pokemon. There are a few nice touches, a couple of well timed jokes, and some heavy handed preaching about the environment, which is an odd thing for a franchise about animal fights.
Bradley W

Eh
Dillon L

I can't really remember anything about this movie at all, I watched it when I was like seven. My rating is based on the ratings of the others in the series.
Steven V

This movie is by far the best Pokemon movie. The first movies was really only a long episode of the TV series, but this one seems to be more cinematic. The story is better and the beginning short is much cooler. The graphics are improved a lot more, making it… More
This movie is by far the best Pokemon movie. The first movies was really only a long episode of the TV series, but this one seems to be more cinematic. The story is better and the beginning short is much cooler. The graphics are improved a lot more, making it half-animation, half-computer-animation. The scenery was beautiful, even for an animation film, the entertainment level was way up there. The moral point, "If you work for it, your dreams can come true" is perfectly stated and shown in this movie.

Read all 10 featured audience ratings

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