I remember watching this movie many years ago as a kid and the Pikachu and Pichu prequel that aired for 20 minutes before it that had absolutely nothing to do with the plot...



After a recent watch, I'd say that this movie felt unique compared to the original movies. It was by far the best-animated movie of the three. This was the first time that Ash had been personally involved in the plot and that all of the characters had been uniquely cast. Additionally, It was the first time that a villain wasn't present and that Team Rocket had worked in tandem with our heroes to save the world.



However, the beginning of the movie felt very stiff like the anime; all of the Pokemon battles felt over the top and scripted, and there were many moments throughout the movie that just felt outright boring. The concept of the movie also was very convoluted and confusing. The movie started off with Molly being orphaned after her Father was whisked away by Unknown while doing research, yet the premise of her losing him was personified by Entei and the relationship between Unknown and Entei was never explicitly explained. Unknown essentially was able to control Molly's imagination and alter reality, causing chaos and wreaking havoc into the real world.