Pokémon Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kunihiko Yuyama
Screenplay by	Hideki Sonoda
Based on	Pokémon  by Satoshi Tajiri Junichi Masuda Ken Sugimori
Produced by	Choji Yoshikawa Yukako Matsusako Junya Okamoto Takemoto Mori
Starring	see below
Narrated by	Unshō Ishizuka
Cinematography	Takaya Mizutani
Edited by	Toshio Henmi
Music by	Shinji Miyazaki
Production company	OLM, Inc.
Distributed by	Toho
Release dates	July 16, 2005 (2005-07-16) (Japan)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥4.3 billion

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, originally released in Japan as Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation the Movie: Mew and the Wave Hero, is a 2005 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and produced by OLM, Inc. It is the eighth installment of the Pokémon film series. The film stars the voices of Rica Matsumoto, Ikue Ōtani Yūji Ueda, KAORI, Fushigi Yamada, Megumi Hayashibara, Shin-ichiro Miki, Inuko Inuyama, Daisuke Namikawa, Satomi Kōrogi, Takeshi Aono, Noriko Hidaka, Kōichi Yamadera, Kumiko Okae, Momoko Kikuchi, and Becky. It was released in theaters in Japan on July 16, 2005, followed by the Japanese DVD release on December 22, 2005.

The English dub was done by 4Kids Entertainment and was first released on DVD in Australia on August 16, 2006, with the US release following on September 19, 2006. The English dub of the movie premiered in the US for the first time at the 2006 Comic-Con in San Diego, California. The film aired in the United Kingdom in July 2007 on Cartoon Network and it continues to air on CITV. This is also the last Pokémon film to be dubbed in English by 4Kids Entertainment, who have been dubbing Pokémon from the start of the television series in 1998. All future Pokémon episodes and films would be dubbed by The Pokémon Company International. The events of the film take place during the eighth season of Pokémon: Advanced Battle.

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was one of the four nominees for the American Anime Awards' "Best Anime Feature" award, but it lost to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Plot

In the legendary past, before the creation of Poké Balls, an Aura-guiding Pokémon called Lucario senses two rival armies about to clash near Cameran Palace in the Kanto region. He telepathically informs his master, Sir Aaron, through a nearby crystal just before being attacked by three Houndoom. During the battle, Lucario is temporarily blinded, but is still able to use his Aura Sphere to defeat the Houndoom - sensing their movements with his Aura abilities. The Queen of Cameran, Lady Rin, decides it is right to die with her people, so Aaron leaves on his Pidgeot to meet up with Lucario, but is attacked by a rival group of Skarmory on the way. Aaron tells Lucario that he is leaving and will not be coming back, and when Lucario tries to follow him, he is automatically sealed in Aaron's staff. The Tree of Beginning then shines a bright light covering the land; stopping the war, and the queen realizes that Aaron must have sacrificed himself by using his own Aura to transform the armies' hatred into mutual understanding. Since then, he was hailed as a hero, and only his staff remained for his legacy.

Around one thousand years later, Ash Ketchum, his partner Pokémon Pikachu, and their travelling companions Brock, May and Max arrive at Cameran Palace to celebrate the life of Sir Aaron. Ash competes in a Pokémon battle tournament, and wins against Kidd Summers and her Weavile. That night, there is a royal ball, and as the winner of the tournament, Ash is rewarded with the title of "Hero of the Year" and the privilege to hold Aaron's staff. Team Rocket join the dance too, but Meowth runs off to follow Kidd. She reveals herself as an agent explorer, performing research on Mew, who is known to appear at the palace, and Meowth presumes that she is a villain. Ash and May's Pokémon run off into the attic of the palace to play. However, Kidd's two Weavile attack when Mew joins in. As Max watches through a crack in the door, Mew teleports Pikachu and Meowth onto the roof of the castle, before transforming into a Pidgeot and flying away with them. In the ballroom, Ash watches the fireworks display. However, Ash begins to hear a voice coming from the crystal on his staff. The crystal begins to glow, and Lucario is freed from the staff due to Ash's Aura having a close resemblance to Aaron's. Lucario is very confused about what has happened since the time he was sealed, and goes to search for answers.

Max informs the rest of the group on what happened, while Team Rocket overhear him. Lady Ilene, the current queen, says Mew has a tradition of showing up at the palace and taking toys to its home at the Tree of Beginning. Ash and his friends begin to work with Kidd after Brock finally realizes she is famous and not a villain at all. The group head off to the Tree of Beginning with the help of Lucario, with Team Rocket following by hiding in Kidd's trunk. On their journey, they find a Time Flower (which allows the finder to look at images of the past) and meet a Bonsly which hitches a ride with the group. That night, Ash recalls how much he and Pikachu have been through, such as on their first day together when a flock of Spearow attacked him, and Pikachu leaped to save Ash. Lucario scoffs at the story, saying humans can never be trusted after his apparent betrayal by Sir Aaron in the past. Ash gets angry at this and tackles Lucario, but ends up losing the brawl. Max tries to cheer the Pokémon up with some chocolate, which Lucario is unfamiliar with.

The next morning, Lucario encounters the same area where he was sealed in the staff. A Time Flower projects the moment, showing Sir Aaron trapping Lucario and flying away, making everyone believe Lucario in saying that he was, indeed, betrayed. Ash apologizes to Lucario for his previous behavior and cries shamefully; Lucario, forgiving him, asks Ash to promise that he will not desert Pikachu. At that moment, a Regirock attacks, and everyone runs into the Tree of Beginning. Ash and Lucario split up, with May, Max, Brock, and Kidd heading a different direction. Ash ends up getting attacked by a Regice that blocks their path, so he and Lucario decide to backtrack. Meanwhile, everyone else is attacked by a Registeel, and red blob "antibodies" produced by the Tree begin devouring May, Max, Brock, and Team Rocket as if they are a disease.

Ash finally reunites with Pikachu and meets up with Meowth and Kidd, who are the only members of the group left. Soon, Ash and Kidd get attacked as well, after sending their Pokémon out to safety, while Registeel stops Lucario from saving them. All of Ash's Pokémon cry over their Trainers' apparent deaths. However, Mew decides to talk with the Tree, using its powers to inform the Tree that humans aren't trying to harm it. Eventually, this works, and everyone is brought back; however, after its performance, Mew becomes badly ill. Finding that the Tree is dying due to its immune system going into shock, Ash, Kidd, Mew, and Lucario run into the heart of the Tree. They find a crystal with Sir Aaron in suspended animation, and a Time Flower showing that the legend was true - Aaron actually used his Aura to end the ancient war, at the cost of his life.

Lucario realizes that he can also restore the Tree by using his Aura powers. Due to his similar Aura, Ash uses Aaron's gloves to help complete the procedure, despite both knowing they will die as a result. As the Aura Sphere gets larger and much more powerful, Lucario knocks Ash back and demands to finish the rest. The Tree and Mew are restored back to health, but Lucario only has little time left. A Time Flower is found once again, showing Sir Aaron saying goodbye to Lucario as he dies. Aaron is seen sharing that Lucario was more than his pupil, he was his closest friend, and that he hopes to meet Lucario again someday. Lucario begins to cry at seeing his master's final image, apologzing for failing his master, realizing that Aaron sealed him away to prevent Lucario from making the same sacrifice. Ash holds Lucario's paws and says that he proved to be as good a Guardian of Aura as Sir Aaron. Lucario finally passes away, thanking Ash for the encouragement, while knowing that Sir Aaron is waiting for him. Kidd decides the Tree's mystery should be kept secret to prevent tourism.

Ash and Kidd meet May, Brock, and Max outside, who realize Lucario is not with them. After explaining the situation, Brock mentions it is hard to believe Lucario is gone, but Ash says "No, Lucario isn't gone... his Aura is with me."

In the credits sequence, it is shown that Ash and friends return to the palace and are rewarded by Lady Ilene, while the portrait of Sir Aaron at the castle is updated to include Lucario. Lucario and Sir Aaron share a chocolate bar in their distant place after death, while Kidd leaves the group and meets with Butler and Diane, and Ash and his friends continue on their journey in the Kanto region.

Voice cast

Character	Japanese	English
Ash Ketchum	Rica Matsumoto	Veronica Taylor
May	Kaori
Max	Fushigi Yamada	Amy Birnbaum
Brock	Yūji Ueda	Eric Stuart
Pikachu	Ikue Otani
Lucario	Daisuke Namikawa	Sean Schemmel
Grovyle	Yuji Ueda	Darren Dunstan
Combusken	Chinami Nishimura
Munchlax	Chie Satō
James	Shin-ichiro Miki	Eric Stuart
Jessie	Megumi Hayashibara	Rachael Lillis
Meowth	Inuko Inuyama	Maddie Blaustein
Mew	Satomi Korogi
Kidd Summers	Becky	Rebecca Soler
Lt. Banks	Takeshi Aono	Pete Zarustica
Aaron	Kōichi Yamadera	Jason Griffith
Rin	Momoko Kikuchi	Bella Hudson
Eileen
Narrator	Unshou Ishizuka	Mike Pollock

Release

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was released in Japan on July 16, 2005. It was released direct-to-video with an English-language dub in the United States on September 19, 2006 by Viz Video. The film has yet to be released on Region 2 DVD

Box office

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
2. July 23–24: 2nd overall, 1st domestic
3. July 30–31: 2nd overall, 1st domestic
4. August 6–7: 3rd overall, 2nd domestic
5. August 13–14: 3rd overall, 2nd domestic
6. August 20–21: 4th overall, 2nd domestic
7. August 27–28: 7th overall, 4th domestic

Since premiering on July 16, 2005, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew grossed ¥4.3 billion at the Japanese box office, making it the year's second highest-grossing domestic film, behind only Howl's Moving Castle. Approximately 3,930,000 viewers saw the movie.

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. The film was also praised by Japanese critics, with praise towards its animation, music score, and its darker tone.

External links

• Official Japanese Movie Page
• Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at the Internet Movie Database
• Pokémon Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at AllMovie
• Pokémon Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Pokémon Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at Box Office Mojo
• Pokémon Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at Rotten Tomatoes