Parents, be afraid. Just when you thought you'd seen the last of Pikachu - having endured the First Movie and its endless video repeats - along comes Pokemon The Movie 2000 for the festive season.
Like its predecessor, Pokemon The Movie 2000 is two films for the price of one: a psychedelic 20-minute short followed by the full-length feature. In Pikachu's Rescue Adventure, the adorable yellow mouse and chums - manic mallard Psyduck, amphibious Squirtle and rotund lazybones Snorlax - frolic in a series of fantasy landscapes, like the cast of a 1940s musical.
The titular furball bounds about screeching "Pik-a-chu" to anyone who'll listen and wily Meowth pops up to put a damper on proceedings.
Little egg-shaped characters make their big-screen debut, along with a crazed three-headed walking coconut called Exegutter.
The animators have omitted any sort of plot and focused on filling the screen with as much colour and movement as possible, guaranteed to have parents reaching for the aspirin.
It's difficult to guess where the rescue or the adventure comes in, as the creatures serenade one other with high-volume name calls. Indeed, Pikachu's Rescue Adventure is arguably the closest parents and their offspring will come to a shared hallucinogenic experience.
Thankfully, the main feature is underpinned by a vaguely coherent narrative. Evil and greedy collector Lawrence threatens the balance of the Poki-universe when he tries to capture the three legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres who control the elements ice, lightning and fire. If Lawrence succeeds, the weather will be thrown into chaos and all life will perish. Only the Chosen One can vanquish the dastardly collector and restore harmony to the Earth. Step forward Ash Ketchum, fearless chum Misty and ever-faithful sidekick Pikachu.
The animation is as basic, and the dubbing appalling, as the television series. In the First Movie, the moral message was about power of friendship. In The Movie 2000, we have environmental themes and the maxim that "One person can make all the difference". Stirring stuff indeed.
Poki-fans 6/10; Poki-parents 1/10
