Search - Pokemon - Jirachi Wish Maker on DVD

A Pokemon for the older fans

J. Nickerson | Pallet Town, Kanto | 06/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Pokemon: Jirachi Wish Maker may have gone direct to video, but that doesn't mean it's not as good as previous installments. In fact, in some ways this entry could very well be the best Pokemon movie so far, especially in the way the franchise seems to have grown up with it's original fans.
The basic premise of the movie is that Ash and company attend a festival for the Millenium Comet, which only comes to earth once every thousand years. They meet a magician named Butler and his assistant Diane, who have found Jirachi deep in an isolated forest and convince Max to befriend it. However, Butler has dark motives and it's not long before he is found out and it's up to Max, Ash and the others to save Jirachi.
The story is actually quite good, considering this is a direct release. This time, Ash takes a back seat to May and Max, and we get to see their characters really develop. The themes of the movie, such as the relationship between brother and sister, and having to say goodbye to friends, are subtle at first, but by the end of the movie you realize they've been around all the time. We even get some foreshadowing for Season Seven of the tv series... the only thing that disappointed me was the lack of a theme song during the opening credits, but the Pokemon Advanced theme really wouldn't have fit the action on screen, so it was probably the right decision to exclude it.
One thing I would like to add... this is a film for the older Pokemon fans. Parents would be advised that the movie might be a bit intense for their littlest Poke-fans, especially the creature Butler creates near the end. I'm a college grad, and it creeped even ME out! The accompaning Pikachu short, however, is perfect for all ages.
If I liked the film so much, why only four stars? Well, Miramax and 4Kids have done better with this release than the previous two. There are no color tint errors this time around (ie, Pikachu doesn't appear green in some scenes) and the production values are quite high. But some of their decisions are still baffling. The movie end credits, the Pikachu short, the music video, even the DVD menus are all presented in widescreen, but the main feature is not. It just doesn't make sense why they could not present the main feature in widescreen as well. The ending song includes Japanese lyrics, the music video is completely Japanese, the director's message is Japanese, yet there is no Japanese language option for the main feature. It's just very frustrating and odd. Perhaps they're planning on releasing special widescreen versions of the films down the road...
At any rate, despite the shortcomings, Pokemon fans will really dig this entry. It definately competes with Pokemon 3 and Pokemon Heroes as the best entry in the series."

Another wonderful "Pokemon" film!

M. L. Smith | Florida | 09/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kudos to "Pokemon" for turning out yet another wonderful masterpiece!Like"Pokemon Heroes" and the other "Pokemon" films,JWM has a unique plot,well-rounded characters,and plenty of action,suspense ,comedy and drama!And the scenes are breath-taking and well-animated!

Get this for your family today and watch everyone's faces light up with pure joy!"

Way Off The Chart Of Cool!

Lauren | Harlingen, TX USA | 05/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 6th movie's gotta be the best of them all! I mean, Jirachi doesn't appear as often as most people would like... Anyway! This movie is in the Pokemon Advanced series, as in May takes Misty's place (I hate that!). Max is Jirachi new best friend! ^__^ It's so cute the way he fell asleep with Jirachi's big, crystal rock in his arms! And there's a small part that gives a small hint of Ash liking Misty! The mini movie is in the extras (Like always), and it's called "Gotta Dance." It's basically how Meowth gets this cool stick that can make Pokemon dance, but it's really cute! ^___^ I highly recommend this to ANYone who's a huge fan of Pokemon, or has been into it for a very long time! And here's another thing... I think I was one of the first ones to get this DVD a week before it came out because a certain movie, DVD and CD store forgot not to put it on the shelves yet! Hah Hah!!"

Pokemon is still #1!!!

Christine M. Chapin | Cleveland, NY United States | 06/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie was so awesome! I'll admit, it did start off rather slow, but this movie is so different from all the others before it!! The animation was beautiful and fluent, and so was the music! Thank you Miramax for keeping the original Japanese music in this film too, although I wished that there was a Japanese audio too. Maybe later I hope. Some of the scenery in the movie was so breath-taking!! The story was very exciting as it got going, especially at the end with the fake Groudon. I loved the scene where Ash and Max are flying around on the Flygon and Butler is on Salamence. The ending song "Chiisaka Mono" in Japanese, or "Make a Wish" in Enlish, is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The Japanese singer puts so much emotion into her singing, its gorgeous and makes the music video one of the biggest reasons to buy this movie! I also like the fact that there was some romance going on with the two new characters, Butler and Diane. However the voice acting left a lot to be desired. Some of it sounded like a tv dub, Diane's voice was great, but Butler...well it was ok. But it sort of took away from the film. I was about ready to pound that Flygon, very annoying. And the movie actually focuses on a character other than Ash!! *gasp* Thank God! Max & Jirachi were the main focus, with Butler and Diane being secondary focuses. Which made the movie very interesting and a lot more enjoyable than the old "Ash saves the world from certain doom" theme. Not very much air time for Jessie, James and Meowth though, which was a dissapointment. The Pokemon short on this dvd, "Gotta Dance" is hilarious!! The original song for this short was "Polka wa Dolka" and I prefer the Japanese singing to the English-its better on the ears. >_< Very cute song though, makes me wanna dance too. ^_^ All in all, this is a movie that should definetally be on your favorite's list!! Thank you Shogakukan and keep up the good work!!"