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News: Detective Pikachu to feature in live-action Pokémon movie

icomeanon6

icomeanon6

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    • Gotta say...I don't understand this. I am at a loss as to their reasoning behind focusing on an element of Pokemon that's so tangential to what it's about as Detective Pikachu for this movie. The last Pokemon movie to have a serious theatrical run in the US was Pokemon 3 back in 2001, so why reintroduce the franchise to big screens in the West with something that will feel more like a weird spinoff than a major, definitive Pokemon movie?

    Seriously, am I the only one who's baffled by this decision??
     
    Pinkie-Dawn

    Pinkie-Dawn

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    • At least it's not going to be a live action movie based on the mainline games or the anime, because I fear they would only butch up the pacing.

    I'm still waiting for Detective Pikachu to come out overseas, or are they waiting for it to release it on time with the movie?
     
    Karous

    Karous

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    • In one year, Legendary killed off any chance of a Warcraft 3 film existing, now they're making a live action movie focused on Pikachu.

    Legendary, why must you defile the things I love?
     
    blue

    blue

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    • I remember hearing this as a rumour a few months ago, to see it actually becoming a reality is crazy. It will be interesting to see this movie develop over the coming months though, I'll keep checking up on this.
     
    Caaethil

    Caaethil

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    • bobandbill said:
    The first sentence already links to the source article. http://variety.com/2016/film/news/pokemon-movie-live-action-legendary-1201818838/
    Click to expand...
    Oh, right. I didn't bother clicking that because the text which had the hyperlink didn't actually have anything to do with Detective Pikachu. Silly me.

    Karous said:
    In one year, Legendary killed off any chance of a Warcraft 3 film existing
    Click to expand...
    They what? Maybe a bit off-topic, but Warcraft did pretty well in many places outside of the US. It still made $422 million worldwide. Warcraft 2, as far as we're aware, is 100% on the table.
     
    Pinkie-Dawn

    Pinkie-Dawn

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    • Caaethil said:
    They what? Maybe a bit off-topic, but Warcraft did pretty well in many places outside of the US. It still made $422 million worldwide. Warcraft 2, as far as we're aware, is 100% on the table.
    Click to expand...

    People still think Warcraft 2 won't happen because it flopped in the U.S., but so did Pacific Rim (another film by Legendary), and yet it too is getting a sequel because it did well overseas. Of course, this the Pokémon brand we're talking about, so of course the Detective Pikachu movie is going to outgross both of those movies at the box office.
     
    Z25

    Z25

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    icomeanon6 said:
    Gotta say...I don't understand this. I am at a loss as to their reasoning behind focusing on an element of Pokemon that's so tangential to what it's about as Detective Pikachu for this movie. The last Pokemon movie to have a serious theatrical run in the US was Pokemon 3 back in 2001, so why reintroduce the franchise to big screens in the West with something that will feel more like a weird spinoff than a major, definitive Pokemon movie?

    Seriously, am I the only one who's baffled by this decision??
    Click to expand...

    The logic behind the decision makes a lot of sense. I know it's weird for most to see the movie focus on Detective pikachu, but here is why I believe they went that route:

    Detective Pikachu became an instant sensation in Japan and people are awaiting the next episodes. It also got huge in the west because of how different and unique it was.

    Mysteries always captivate viewers, and Detective pikachu has all the right elements plot wise for a crime Drama. I won't spoil it, but if you read the plot, it is very adaptable. The game also is the closest thing to pokemon and real life outside of Go. It follows a normal boy who'd drawn into a mysterious situation while on a journey of his own. He teams up with a lovable partner, pikachu as they take on the "real world". What you see in Detective pikachu is nothing like the main games. Pikachu is the mascot as well and the fact that he talks helps boost the movie's potential as they can cash in on his popularity while still appealing to all of the audience.

    The game is a perfect mash up of child like story, but always serious undertones. Something that makes a good child's move thrive. Adults could easily enjoy as would their children cause it's pokemon. It's also a great opportunity to show how the series has evolved throughout the years. Especially since because of Go the series is as big as it once was. A crime Drama is also something big everywhere.

    For example, there's a live action Phoenix Wright movie that did pretty well in Japan. So has detective pikachu with just one episode. The game also has been in development for a few years, so 'm sure Legendary has the full game's plot at their disposal. My guess is that they will carry out the game's plot in theaters and then release the rest of the episodes afterwards.

    The first episode was obviously a test. I'd say that's why they are so quiet on it. With Detective Pikachu being new and having little story to work with, it gives them a lot of power to make them movie work.

    Also the game is much shorter then a real pokemon game. Making it much easier to work with. Having a full movie based on Say Red, Blue and Yellow, would cost a lot of money, time and resources. There would need to be many CGI models and they still have to focus on a huge story. This was a complaint with the origins, and probably one reason why Detective pikachu was chosen instead. They could do Detective Pikachu in the time restraints of a movie much better then a movie based on the main games.

    This also would open more possibilities if it succeeds. As they would have some models done already and a future movie could allow for more to be made easier.


    So essentially why Detective Pikachu was chosen was for 3 reasons:

    1) It's short and simple. Much easier to make and fit a full story in a movie then mainline games.

    2) It's a game that uses the mascot and allows him to be seen in new light. Thus they can appeal to the audience because everyone loves pikachu.

    3) It's a mystery crime Drama. An simple plot that sells every time. This are popular everywhere so it allows for more people to enjoy it as it's something very known and loved across the world.

    With all of that said, I look forward to this! I think Legendary could definitely do this right. It will either be really good or really bad, no in between. It worked with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, so if done right, they could make this really successful and I think it could end up very good. So I will definitely be watching to see what else comes of this movie.
     
    Karous

    Karous

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    • Caaethil said:
    They what? Maybe a bit off-topic, but Warcraft did pretty well in many places outside of the US. It still made $422 million worldwide. Warcraft 2, as far as we're aware, is 100% on the table.
    Click to expand...

    The film lost $15 million, I am under the assumption that it'll just break even once the home release happens. You have to understand that cited budgets for films don't include distribution, marketing, and other costs that aren't directly associated with the creation of the film. A sequel is far from 100% on the table.

    If there is a sequel, it'll be produced in China with a cut budget, and its success isn't certain. Which is a shame because one of the reasons imho the film failed in the US is because the majority of Warcraft fans got into it either via WC3 or WoW (which is more heavily derivative of WC3 than 1 or 2), and the majority have not cared about orcs vs humans for a long time - iirc this was a huge complaint about lore of the post-WotLK era. If they do get to WC3, because the first one wasn't a smash, it won't get the treatment it deserves. (and tbh, it deserves more than one because of the different campaigns and TFT).

    Going back on topic, I don't trust Legendary to handle this with care and I doubt I will see it. I like Pokemon even more than I like Warcraft and once again they have announced something totally not of interest to me despite being a huge fan of the franchise they are adapting. tbh I'm starting to loathe any and all gen 1 Pokemon due to oversaturation with my sincere doubts any non-gen 1 (or any Pokemon other than Pikachu even?) will appear and it's based on a spinoff that has little immersion into the Pokemon world with a plot dumbed down for children, let alone a game they have bothered to release outside of Japan. There is plenty of great "all ages" media out there but I'm just saying that movie studios think children are stupid which won't go well with an interesting detective story. I get that the anime films have a propensity to be lame and shitty but those don't have the budget or exposure that the Detective Pikachu film will have.

    It's a real shame because it has potential but based on Legendary's past work, the curse of the video game movie, and the details that are known so far, I'm not hopeful.

    Yeah, I'm salty about it. I will absolutely concede that I could be wrong and it could be totally awesome, but we won't find out for another 2 years at the least (production doesn't begin until next year). Until then, I'll be a Negative Nancy about it for the reasons above.
     
    Last edited:
    Caaethil

    Caaethil

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    • Karous said:
    The film lost $15 million
    Click to expand...

    *the film is predicted to lose $15 million.

    You're right. People like Warcraft 3. Maybe they'll do Warcraft 3 next. Failures get sequels all the time. It also says in that article you linked "In fact, sequels have been OK'd with less — just look at Legendary's Pacific Rim." No, it's not 100% confirmed that it's actually being considered, that's not what I was trying to say, I'm trying to say it's very possible and saying it won't happen is foolish. And I think saying that any possible sequel will be produced in China is a massive assumption. Yes, the budget would be cut, anything beyond that is guessing. It's possible, sure, but I don't think it's wise to say it's certain.

    Anyway, um, enough Warcraft talk here. Let's talk about Pokemon.

    I don't want Detective Pikachu. :(
     
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