Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew
| Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew | |
|---|---|
| File:Lucariomovieposter.JPG DVD Cover | |
| Directed by | Kunihiko Yuyama D. C. Douglas |
| Written by | Hideki Sonoda |
| Produced by | Jim Malone |
| Starring | Colleen Clinkenbeard Ikue Ohtani Monica Rial Eric Vale Aaron Dismuke Stephanie Sheh Sonny Strait Steve Staley Greg Eagles Chris Cason Chuck Huber |
| Distributed by | Toho (Japan) VIZ Media (U.S., DVD only) Magna Pacific (Australia) |
Release dates | July 17, 2005 (Japan) August 16, 2006 (Australia) September 19, 2006 (USA) October 10, 2006 (Canada) July 21 2007 (UK TV Premiere Cartoon Network UK) |
Running time | 100 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Languages | English Japanese |
Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (ミュウと波導の勇者 ルカリオ, Gekijōban Poketto Monsutā Adobansu Jenerēshon Myū to Hadō no Yūsha Rukario, lit. Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation the Movie: Mew and the Wave Guiding Hero: Lucario) is the eighth Pokémon movie. It was released in theaters in Japan on July 16, 2005, followed by the Japanese DVD release on December 22, 2005. The English dub made its worldwide DVD debut in Australia on August 16, 2006, with the US release following on September 19, 2006 by VIZ Media. The English dub of the movie premiered in the US for the first time at the 2006 Comic-Con in San Diego, California.[1] The movie aired in the United Kingdom in July 2007. While the Australian DVD has only one disc with slideshows as the sole extras, the North American DVD set comes with the redubbed The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon special included on the 2nd disc as a bonus feature, as well as a 'Making Of' feature on the first disc along with sketches similar to the slideshows on the Australian DVD. However the Australian DVD has a widescreen presentation while the American release does not. This is also the only film to have been dubbed in English by Funimation Entertainment. The background for this movie was based on visits by Kunihiko Yuyama to Bavaria, Germany. Neuschwanstein Castle and Linderhof Palace were used as the basis of the movie's setting.
"Hajimari no Uta", the ending theme for the Japanese version of the movie, is performed by Puffy AmiYumi. The ending theme for the English dub was "We Will Meet Again" performed by John Siegler.
Synopsis
Ash arrives at Cameron Palace where a festival is being held to celebrate Sir Aaron, an ancient hero who averted a war that was about to begin outside of the Tree of Beginning. At the festival, Ash competes in a tournament at Cameron Palace and wins, to become the "Aura Guardian" for that year. As part of the celebration, Ash is granted Aaron's staff, which contains his Pokémon companion, Lucario, whom Aaron had sealed before stopping the war.
However, when Pikachu fainted while protecting Mew from an adventurer named Kidd attempting to put a tracker on the legendary Pokémon using her pair of Weaviles, he was teleported away by Mew. Naturally Ash, with the help of Lucario, who was released from the staff when Ash "assumed the pose" of Sir Aaron, follows Mew to the Tree of Beginning in order to rescue Pikachu. There is but one problem. After being sealed in the staff, Lucario has completely lost his trust for humans. Eventually, Ash earns Lucario's trust and they enter the Tree of Beginning. They are attacked by Regirock, Regice, and Registeel, the tree's guardians who recognize them as a threat.
They enter the tree and are attacked by the tree's defense system, white blood cell type mechanisms, triggered by Kidd's survey robots. The white blood cells are able to transform into jelly-like representation of Pokémon and then absorb the threat. When Ash and the gang are absorbed into the tree, Mew saves them by reasoning with the tree's defense mechanism. The disruption of energy flow in the tree due to the defense system sends the tree into shock, and as Mew and the tree are symbiotic creatures that depend on each other for survival, Mew also becomes very ill. In order to save Mew and the tree, Lucario and Ash combine their Aura to reverse the self-destruction of the tree.
Lucario pushes Ash away towards the completion of the process so that Ash won't end up sacrificing himself to the tree as Aaron did (presumably, no matter if it's a human or a Pokemon, giving up all of one's Aura means death for that being). Afterward, a "time flower" shows a memory of Aaron sacrificing himself to stop a war. Right before Aaron died (in the memory), he said how Lucario was his closest friend and would miss him before dying. It is made clear that the reason Aaron sealed Lucario was to ensure that Lucario didn't die with him. Sadly, it means that Lucario moves on with Aaron into the afterlife. His last words on earth are "I have to go Ash. Aaron is waiting". The dramatic ending concludes the story well as all characters move on after learning important lessons of trust, sacrifice, and love.
In the credits, Lucario is shown added into a painting of Sir Aaron, showing that the owners of the castle respect his status as a hero. At the end of the credits, Lucario and Sir Aaron appear together eating a chocolate bar, making it possible that Lucario and Sir Aaron did not die.
Voice cast
| Character (Japanese, English) | Japanese voice | English voice |
|---|---|---|
| Satoshi / Ash | Rica Matsumoto | Colleen Clinkenbeard |
| Haruka / May | Midori Kawana (KAORI) | Monica Rial |
| Masato / Max | Fushigi Yamada | Aaron Dismuke |
| Takeshi / Brock | Yūji Ueda | Eric Vale |
| Pikachu | Ikue Ōtani | Ikue Ōtani |
| Juptile/Grovyle | Yuji Ueda | Ashley Angel |
| Wakasyamo/Combusken | Chinami Nishimura | Brian Beacock |
| Gonbe/Munchlax | Chie Satö | Cam Clarke |
| Lucario | Daisuke Namikawa | Greg Eagles |
| Kojirou / James | Shinichirō Miki | Sonny Strait |
| Musashi / Jessie | Megumi Hayashibara | Stephanie Sheh |
| Nyarth / Meowth | Inuko Inuyama | Steve Staley |
| Mew | Satomi Kōrogi | Satomi Korogi |
| Kidd Summers | Ryusei Nakao | Chris Cason |
| Lt. Banks | Takeshi Kusao | Chuck Huber |
| Aaron / Sir Aaron | Kappei Yamaguchi | Jason Liebrecht |
| Leen / Rin | Momoko Kikuchi | Allison Sumrall |
| Eileen / Lady Eileen | Momoko Kikuchi | Alison Viktorin |
| Narrator | Unshou Ishizuka | Jerry Jewell |
Additional voices
Box office performance
The general screening of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew in Japan ran for 6 weeks from July 16 to August 26, 2005. Source: [1]
- July 16 - 17: 2nd overall, 1st domestic
- July 23 - 24: 2nd overall, 1st domestic
- July 30 - 31: 2nd overall, 1st domestic
- August 6 - 7: 3rd overall, 2nd domestic
- August 13 - 14: 3rd overall, 2nd domestic
- August 20 - 21: 4th overall, 2nd domestic
- August 27 - 28: 7th overall, 4th domestic
Since premiering on July 16 2005 the eighth Pokémon movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, has officially made 4.11 billion yen (approx. US$36 million) in box office sales. This number was tallied from box office receipts from the premiere to Sept. 25. Approximately 3,930,000 viewers saw the movie during its run.
The final box office tally is 98.3 percent of the sales of last year, but with the last three movies all consistently passing the 4 billion yen mark, it is considered a market success. The slight market loss is attributed to stiff competition at the box office from other anime films running at the same time.
Aura
Aura (Hadou 波導 or literally Wave Guidance) is the type of energy that Aaron and Lucario are sensitive to. In defensive aspects, Aura allows a level of clairvoyance which would explain Lucario's knowledge of the move Anticipate. In offensive aspects, it can create powerful, but small energy spheres. (This is how Lucario uses its Aura Sphere move.) Aaron is not seen in the movie displaying any offensive capabilities with Aura. Aura is connected to the Tree of Origin due to Aaron's sacrificial attempt to transfer his Aura into the tree/Mew so that harmony could be spread all across the region, thereby ending the war. Ash Ketchum can also use Aura, but is very undeveloped and needs Sir Aaron's Aura-enhancing gloves to put it to good use. He can attempt such a feat because his Aura is similar to Aaron's.
According to the Japanese pamphlet, every object in the world exhibits some oscillation. Wave Guidance is supposedly a manipulation of this oscillation.
The Aura is based on the actual parapsycological phenomena of Spiritual Auras which
References
- ^ Mailbag: Silver Screen Themed!, Pokémon.com. URL last accessed March 4, 2007.