Ash, Misty and Brock have brought their Pokemon to the city of Altamon where the streets are made of water. (Just like Venice - Italy) to compete in a Water-Pokemon tournament. Ash is winning the race through the canals when an invisible force makes his Pokemon take a wrong turn. Unaware that the force is an ancient almost forgotten Pokemon, Ash puts his loss down to bad luck and continues on his tour of the City.

Lurking in one of the canals are the evil twins Annie and Oakley, who are determined to steal a precious Jewel that can give team rocket control of the world. The mysterious Pokemon, Latios and Latias, guard the Jewel and in order to steal the Jewel, Annie and Oakley must first overpower the Pokemon.

Latios and Latias are ancient Pokemon with the power to take on any form and they guard the whole city of Altamon from evil. Annie and Oakley will stop at nothing to capture these Pokemon and claim the Jewel as their own and it’s up to Ash, Misty and Brock to uncover the truth about the Pokemon and save the city. They will have to use all their skills as Pokemon trainers in order to succeed.

This is an adventure packed story, and for Pokemon fans it’s a real blast. The characters in Pokemon are credible, Ash is a likeable boy on a quest to be the worlds best Pokemon Master; he knows right from wrong and is willing to fight for justice. Ash’s best friends are Misty and Brock; the three of them travel together all over the world in search of new Pokemon and Pokemon tournaments.

Ash’s first ever Pokemon is an electric creature called Pikachu, he faithfully stays with Ash and is never far from his side.

My son is 9 years old was a giant fan of Pokemon for a few years, when the whole Pokemon craze started; we had posters, figurines, shoes, etc of the 150 Pokemon and religiously watched the TV show each afternoon, so I know a fair bit about the show, but I have to say I was impressed with this movie length DVD. This is the 5th Movie of the Pokemon series and arguably the best. The animation is great, the story and plot development was fantastic and the characters have really developed into believable “beings”.

Children watching this are enthralled by the bright and colourful action packed world of Pokemon. Whilst the characters battle each other and are “fighting” most of the time, this is not a violent cartoon and the “moral of the story” & Good V’s Evil” themes are underlying in each episode. Ash’s victories do not come easily he must work hard and train his Pokemon, so he isn’t really an all-conquering hero character either.

Perfect for younger children too, this DVD would make a great gift and is appropriate in a home DVD collection. My kids all love Pokemon and It’s one of the few “modern” cartoons that I don’t find annoying, and the story is actually quite entertaining for bigger kids too.

THE EXTRAS

Location Scouting in Venice- I thought they makers of this movie must have been to Venice at some stage to get the set design so realistic. This little featurette explains where most of the inspiration came from.

Another short flick on how the animation comes together and some explanation of the main Pokemon and the powers they possess. Great for “Pokemon Beginners’”.

Camp Pikachu - a 5 minute animation - just more Pokemon animation and adventure.

Trivia- a game for the kids to test their knowledge of Pokemon. This was easy to follow and straight forward. My kids enjoyed playing this one.

CONCLUSION

Ash, Misty and Brock have brought their Pokemon to the city of Altamon where the streets are made of water. (Just like Venice - Italy) to compete in a Water-Pokemon tournament. Ash is winning the race through the canals when an invisible force makes his Pokemon take a wrong turn. Unaware that the force is an ancient almost forgotten Pokemon, Ash puts his loss down to bad luck and continues on his tour of the City.