"Mewtwo Strikes Back! Evolution" Details
March 23rd, 2019

Dogasu @ 11:34 JST -- You know, if I'm going to be nearly a month late reporting on Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution news then I'd better bring you information and analysis you can't find anywhere else, right?

Trailer

A new trailer was released at the end of last month that showed off quite a bit of the new movie:

trailer01

Here's a translation of the trailer:

Researcher 1:  "It possesses miraculous powers. It causes great floods but also makes crops grow in barren lands and shares them with humans." On-screen Text:  "Is it an angel or a devil?" Researcher 2:  "Is it an angel or a devil?" Dr. Fuji:  "In this world, the only ones who can create new  life are humans and God." Researcher:  "It finally woke up!" On-screen Text:  Original Story: Satoshi Tajiri; Directors: Kunihiko Yuyama and Motohori Sakakibara; Screenplay: Takeshi Shudo; Special Guest Voice: Masachika Ichimura Mewtwo:  "Who am I?" On-screen Text:  "What does it mean to be the strongest?" Mewtwo:  "What is this place?" On-screen Text:  "This question goes out to all life." Mewtwo:  "Who wished for me to be created?" On-screen Text:  "It's the greatest because it's the original" Satoshi:  "Mew...two...?" Pikachu:  "Pika?" Mewtwo:  "Against you I will...strike back!"

Of course, with this being Dogasu's Backpack and all, I also went ahead and did a full breakdown / comparison of the trailer to see what all we can gather about the new film.


Check out my breakdown of the new trailer here.

Plot Synopsis

A "plot synopsis," if you can even call it that, was posted on the official website:

We're telling the whole world... It's the greatest because it's the original. "A pure heart and a strong desire to meet"...the mythical pokemon Mew is said to only appear before those adventurers who possess both. Researchers from all over the world have been chasing after that which is said to be the genesis of all pokemon until finally, one day, a scientist discovered a Mew fossil and dirtied his hands by crossing a line that even God is afraid to cross. "What is this place...Who am I..." A legendary pokemon was dragged into this world due to man's egotistical desire to create the strongest pokemon. That pokemon's name is Mewtwo. Without knowing the reason for its existence Mewtwo is subjected to experiment after experiment to make it the strongest weapon and, during all this, begins to plot against the humans who brought it into this world. "And so to the humans who gave birth to me I will...strike back." At long last, that perfect masterpiece will STRIKE BACK in full 3D-CG worldwide in Summer 2019.

That last line about the movie going "worldwide in Summer 2019"...is that hinting at a worldwide simultaneous release??

Voice Cast

On the voice cast side of things we got the expected returning names; Rika Matsumoto as Satoshi, Ikue Ohtani as Pikachu, Megumi Hayashibara as Musashi, Shin-ichiro Miki as Kojirou, and Inuko Inuyama as Nyarth.

We also got word that the late Unshou Ishizuka will be back as the narrator, suggesting that his audio from the 1998 original (well, all two lines of it anyway) will be reused for 2019's film.

Curiously enough, neither Kasumi's nor Takeshi's voice actors are listed yet despite appearing in the trailer.

The big voice actor news, of course, is that Masachika Ichimura has (finally) been confirmed to be reprising his role as Mewtwo. Mr. Ichimura played Mewtwo in 1998's Pocket Monsters The Movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back!" as well as the TV special Mewtwo Lives but he hasn't played the character since then. Here's a comment he gave to go along with the announcement:

みなさんの伝説である、あのミュウツーがさらに進化して帰ってきます。 今回、新たに自分の中の“ミュウツー魂”を呼び起こして演じました。 21年ぶりに蘇った今回の「ミュウツーの逆襲 EVOLUTION」はポケモン映画初となる全編フル3DCGで描かれています。 1作目を観た人も、観ていない人も… すべての人に伝説のポケモン “ミュウツー”のパワーをお届けしたい！ 来たれ、映画館に！

Mewtwo, the legend itself, is back and has evolved to be even better than ever. I once again called upon the "Mewtwo spirit" within me to play the role for this year's film. Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution brings it all back after 21 years as the first all CG Pokemon movie. I hope to deliver the power of the legendary pokemon "Mewtwo" to everyone out there regardless of whether you've seen the first movie or not! We'll see you at the theater!

Still no word yet if the first film's other special guest voice actors - Kouichi Yamadera as Mew and Sachiko Kobayashi as Voyager - will be returning.

Staff

On the staff side, we got Junya Okamoto (岡本順哉) and Katakami Hidenaga (片上秀長) returning as Executive Producers from last year's Pocket Monsters The Movie "Everyone's Story." The regular Producers of the film are Satoshi Shimodaira (下平聡士), Nobuyuki Hosoya (細谷伸之) and Yosuke Nagafuchi (長渕陽介).

Masashi Kobayashi (小林雅士) is the animation producer of the new film. Previous credits of his include Rudolf the Black Cat, Cyborg 009 Call of Justice, and Snack World.

Kiyoshi Nasu (那須基仁)'s the CGI supervisor. He previously worked on the CG in Future Card Buddyfight.

According to OLM's official site the film is being animated by a combination of OLM, OLM Digital, and the Los Angeles-based Sprite Animation Studios. The latter's "About Us" section on their website is worth a read:

At Sprite Animation Studios we specialize in creating CG animated works. Our passion to create something that is uniquely ours – infused with Spriteness – gave birth to Sprite Animation Studios in 2002 in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2004, Sprite Animation Studios relocated to Los Angeles, which has been our home ever since. Although our company is American-born and bred, our core staff is comprised of creative minds with cultural roots in both Japan and America. The collaboration of these "East Meets West" values allows us to create unique works which we delight in sharing with the world. As a small boutique studio in LA we swim in a big pond but our great passion and pride allow us to achieve what would be thought unachievable. We believe that a good CG-animated story has the magical power to touch and transport its audience to a different time and place, and we will always be passionate about crafting this magic for our audience! In early 2009, Sprite entered into a partnership with OLM Digital, Inc., expanding our production capacity and our ability to handle large-scale projects. This has also made possible a seamless production line between LA and Tokyo through the sharing of Sprite's workflow methods and tools perfected over five years of research and development by its internal team. This lead to our first joint production in 2013: Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (Disney XD), in which the entire production process – from storyboard to delivery – was handled by Sprite and OLM. In 2016, we saw the launch of our much anticipated theatrical films, Rudolf: The Black Cat and Snack World: Lenny the Misanthrope. So what is next for Sprite? To continue creating CG-animated projects that resonate with our audience – projects with a touch of Spriteness!

On the audio side of things, the duo of Masafumi Mima (三間雅文) and Shinji Miyazaki (宮崎慎二) return as sound director and music composer, respectively. The first movie's soundtrack was composed by both Shinji Miyazaki and Hirokazu Tanaka (たなかひろかず) but, as of this writing, there's no word of the latter being involved in the new film at all. I'm guessing that, at the very least, the music he wrote for the original will be replaced with all new music, though of course we don't have any real way of knowing until the final film's released.

Illustration Contest

Details about this year's illustration contest have been revealed.


The general idea is that you take one of the templates seen on the left side below, draw fanart around it like the examples on the right, and then send it in to one of the magazines associated with the franchise. Here are some examples of what they're looking for; the template's on the left while an example's on the right.


Prizes include having your name and artwork featured during the end credits of Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution and a copy of either Pocket Monsters Let's Go! Pikachu or Let's Go! Eevee.

I've compiled / translated all the details about the illustration contest on its own page here.

Pre-Order Ticket Distribution

Those who purchase a pre-order ticket - which go on sale starting April 12th, can get a special "Strikes Back Mewtwo" for their Pocket Monsters Let's Go! Pikachu or Let's Go! Eevee games.


I've compiled / translated all the details about the distribution on its own page here.