Mewtwo Strikes Back
Mewtwo Strikes Back is a movie that picks up where the Japanese CD Drama, The Birth of Mewtwo left off, with a little overlap. A vague reference to the Drama (or to the non-included dub) would be when Mewtwo says, "Where... am I? This isn't the same. Was everything before... just a dream? Ohhh... "
The title comes from Mewtwo "striking back" against the humans that created, used, and betrayed him.
Mewtwo Strikes Back is actually a very powerful tale, describing what it is to wake up and be told you are nothing more than a science experiement, and that, philosophically speaking, you should not even exist. Mewtwo breaks out from under control of both the scientists and Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket who attempts to control him. Once he is on his own, Mewtwo decides prove his worth as a living being. He plans to do so by battling and defeating Mew (thereby proving he is not inferior to the source of his DNA), by wiping out the human race (not only because they abused him, but also merely for creating him), and by replacing all the original Pokemon with clones (for he feels clones are the only ones who should rule the earth).
By the end of the movie, Mewtwo realizes that just because he is a clone doesn't mean he is any less worthy, powerful, real, or respectable as a naturally-born "original." He also recognizes that not all of humanity is bad, and, clone or not, what really matters is how one lives one's life.
Deep stuff, eh? The Japanese version was even deeper, but Mewtwo Strikes Back, in English, is still enjoyable to watch.
Warner Brothers' (lame) Official Site for Mewtwo Strikes Back
Compare the English and (better) Japanese Scripts, side to side
According to Lumina Sumnor, the Special Features on the DVD include:
- The theatrical trailer
- Preview of second Pokemon movie
- Clip of "Ash's Journey"
- "Don't Say You Love Me" by M2M music video (The song doesn't even go with the movie's plot!)
- "Behind-the-Scenes," which talks about how Pokemon was created by Satoshi Tajiri
- The DVD has more features available on a DVD-ROM PC. They are: virtual Pokemon trading Cards, Pokemon Nintendo game guides, genre essays (talks about origins of Japanese anime and video games), and a link to original theatrical web site
Read the (misguided) commentary from the English DVD
Lumina Sumnor also has found what seems to be the original Japanese trailer for Mewtwo Strikes Back. I have no idea where the trailer was aired, but like most of the Japanese previews for Pokemon movies, it is quite different from the actual movie. Most of the trailer shows Boijer (the harbor manager), Misty (who appears older), and a little girl (who looks like a young Nurse Joy, and may represent a Pokemon fan) sitting happily in the grass finding Pokemon shapes in the clouds. Then various scenes from the movie are shown, such as explosions and fighting, which contrast oddly with the happy music that continues to play in the background. Mewtwo is only shown for a split second, and he looks a little different from his final design. Mew is not shown at all, but that might have been to give more impact to the revelation of Mew in the actual movie. Overall, it is very strange to watch the trailer after seeing the movie, and I am glad the movie ended up being deeper and less overwhelmingly cute.
