Pokemon The Movie 3: Spell Of The Unown | Kris Reviews

[Kris]

Hi all! Kris here today with a new thing I'm going to be starting on the site, Pokemon Movie and Anime reviews! I'm going to be review all the Pokemon Movies (not in order) from Mewtwo Strikes Back to Arceus And The Jewel Of Life, Ugh that disaster and the 6 generations of the anime as a whole, probably in order. Spoilers are obviously ahead, if you haven't watched any Pokemon Movies I review, please make an effort to do so to remain unspoiled. Thank you!
 

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Today's Review; Pokemon The Movie 3: Spell Of The Unown / 結晶塔の帝王　ＥＮＴＥＩ Emperor of the Crystal Tower: Entei
PM3 was the first Pokemon Movie I ever watched, and as such, it stands as my absolute favourite Pokemon Movie, the characters introduced in this movie are so, I know it's a movie but, real, like you can sympathize with them, it's a wonderfully written story, and the actors they picked could not have been better. 

Cast & Characters
The main Pokemon crew of Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Misty, Prof. Oak and Delia make appearances in the movie, with a large part of the movie focusing on Ash & Co. Team Rocket makes minor appearances here and there, although ultimately the play no larger role outside of being the comedic gag. The newly introduced characters is what makes this movie shine. Molly Hale, who the story focuses on the most, is a sweet little girl struggling with, what seems at the opening, the loss of a parent. Doctor Spence Hale, Molly's father, doesn't appear much in the movie, but he plays an important role, which we'll get to later on. Schuyler, Spencer's assistant, is more a background character, but even so he seems to add so much more to the story. Entei, the secondary focus of the movie, plays a massive role in the movie, being on the box art should provide that as hint anyway. Lisa is that character in this movie, the character who Ash battles and triumphs over while the opening song plays, however she also lends our gang a helping hand along the way.

Cast: 

• Veronica Taylor as Ash Ketchum
  
• Ikue Ōtani as Pikachu
  
• Rachael Lillis as Misty and Jessie
  
• Eric Stuart as Brock and James
  
• Satomi Kōrogi as Misty's Togepi
  
• Maddie Blaustein as Meowth
  
• Kayzie Rogers as Wobuffet
  
• Shin-ichiro Miki as Charizard
  
• Amy Birnbaum as Molly
  
• Dan Green as Spencer and Entei
  
• Lisa Oritz as Lisa
  
• Ted Lewis as Schuyler
  
• Rodger Parsons as the Narrator
  

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The Review
There are SPOILERS ahead.
Opening Scene 1; Spencer and Molly

The film opens to a shot of a child's room, Molly's, as she and her father Spencer are sitting on her bed as Spencer reads a mysterious looking book to her. We soon find out this book is about the Legendary Pokemon. Notably we see Entei and Unown.
 

A small thing I pointed out while rewatching this movie was a page in the book has a drawing of the sun, the page after it has a drawing of a tropical location. It may be nothing, but will we see Entei or Unown in UsUm? Molly takes note of Entei saying her father is just like Entei, which then prompts Spencer to pick Molly up, put her on his back as he runs around her room, roaring, giving Molly the feel of 'riding Entei'.

Spencer then gets an e-mail from Schuyler talking about a 'new discovery concering the Unown' to which Spencer has no choice but to leave Molly and continue his work. Molly, being only young, is obviously saddened by this, she appears to have no mother around and now her father leaves her, seemingly often, due to his work.
 

Skip to the next scene, we see a temple with Schuyler and Spencer inside, investigating the contents of the temple. Spencer finds a mysterious box, and upon opening it, finds a multitude of small tiles with odd inscriptions on them, soon revealed to be the Unown. After looking at them for a while, the tiles begin to glow blue, and then an Unown appears next to Spencer. A few minutes later, a portal opens up and Spencer is sucked into it, screaming as he falls: "It's the...Unown!" Hearing a minor part of Spencer's words, Schuyler turns around to find Spencer has disappeared with no trace of the Unown or the portal, just the box with the Unown tiles.
 

Returning home, he informs Spencer's butler of the news. They share thoughts about how this will affect Molly, who in her room awoke to the sound of Schuyler's car pulling up in the driveway. She excitedly rushes downstairs, only to be told of the unfortunate news. Later on she's left alone with Spencer's PC and the box of Unown glyphs. Opening the PC she reads Spencer's research notes about the Unown and becomes fascinated in them. She accidentally tips the box over and all the Unown glyphs spread out across the floor. She begins arraging them, based on what letters she can see, to say 'MAMA, PAPA, and ME' and begins crying.
 

 

Upon being arranged, the glyphs begin to glow like they did in the ruins, summoning a swarm of Unown into the house. Molly, being young, isn't sure of exactly what they are, but knows they're the Unown. She immediately thinks they're some sort of friend and asks "Do you all wanna play with me?' As Molly's interaction with the Unown grows, they begin to form a crystaline barrier around the room, Molly doesn't seem to notice this. Schuyler and the butler are well aware of the situation however, with Schuyler busting into the room, it is to no avail however, as Molly shouts 'Leave us alone!' and the Unown form a stronger barrier, closing the door and preventing anyone from entering.
 

After a while, Molly picks up the book Spencer read to her, going to the page about Entei. She has thoughts about wanting Papa back, and then, possibly one of the most heartwarming scenes in the entire movie plays out. As Molly wishes for her father back, the Unown percieve her father as Entei, and summon an illusion of the Legendary Pokemon into the world. Dan Green's voice fits Entei perfectly. giving him the most majestic and fierce, but still caring tone. As Entei now plays the role of Molly's father, the connection is immediate between them, as Molly instantly clings to Entei's fur referring to him as 'Papa'. To which Entei replies 'if that is what you wish'

There's just so much emotional power in this opening scene alone, you can see how happy Molly is and how much Spencer cares for his daughter, despite his work. We, the audience, are made to feel sorry for Molly, and honestly, it works perfectly, this scene shows us the struggle Molly goes through leaving us in a sense of wonder, Dan Green's portrayal as Spencer, the loving but busy father who tries to make ends meet, or as Entei, the father Molly wishes Spencer would be more like, he voices both perfectly in my opinion and portrays them exactly the way they're meant to be.

Opening Scene 2; Ash & Co meet Lisa

 

Ash and his friends are continuing their journey through Johto as we see them climbing a set of stairs in a park. The usual gag of 'we're lost and it's _____'s fault' plays until the group meet a girl who introduces herself as Lisa. She then challenges Ash to a Full Battle* and Ash accepts. During the battle, the movie version of the song 'Pokemon Johto!' plays.

Ash vs. Lisa

 

 

Granbull was Lisa's first choice of Pokémon to battle Ash. Its size made it too slow to catch the agile Totodile, who knocked it out with a single Water Gun.

 

Girafarig was sent out to battle Chikorita, and proved to be a powerful battler, coming very close to hitting Chikorita on its first attack. It was tripped over by Vine Whip, but managed to dodge the Razor Leaf and struck Chikorita with a Psybeam, dazing her and knocking her out of the match.

 

Aipom was Lisa's primary Pokémon, and is often seen outside of its Ball. It volunteered to go third in Lisa's battle with Ash. It proved to be extremely agile and graceful, using its tail as both a trapeze and a weapon in battle. However, this agility proved no match for Ash's Noctowl, who attacked it relentlessly and knocked it out with Tackle.

 

Butterfree was Lisa's fourth choice of Pokémon to battle Ash, fighting his Bulbasaur. It deflected Bulbasaur's Vine Whip easily, and then dazed it with Sleep Powder, before finishing it off with a gust of wind.

 

 

Mankey was sent out to fight Ash's Cyndaquil. It was quick and agile, but only managed to land one blow on Cyndaquil before it was blasted by Flamethrower and defeated.

 

Quagsire was Lisa's final Pokémon. Unlike the rest of her team, it was slow and worked defensively rather than offensively. It completely shook off Pikachu's electric attacks, and met its physical ones with blows of its own. It then blew Pikachu away with Water Gun, but when Pikachu used the swing set momentum to propel himself into a falling Tackle, both Pokémon were knocked out, resulting in a draw and giving Ash 3 wins to Lisa's 2.

After the battle, the group sit together and take a break from their journey as they talk to the newfound friend Lisa. Misty pipes up saying they were going to visit Greenfield, which prompts a response from Lisa saying she's wanted to go to Greenfield ever since she was a little girl. The two girls talk about how beautiful Greenfield is, finally prompting Lisa to say she knows the fastest way there. The gang walk for a while with Aipom swinging through trees as the they begin to approach a hill. Looking out over the hill, the group's excited expression turn to that of shock as they find Greenfield to be encased in crystal.

At that time, Professor Oak hears the news on T.V. as does Delia best Pokemom and the two discuss the safety of Spencer's daughter, Molly. It is here we discover Delia and Oak knew Spencer a long time back. Oak and Spencer were work colleagues and Delia knew him by visiting Professor Oak. The two immediately decide to go to Greenfield. The two eventually meet with Ash and his friends. 

Meanwhile in the crystal tower, we see Molly playing with Entei in a similar fashion to how she played with Spencer, in running around her room and riding Entei's back. They stop however when Molly sees the news report and Molly points out the Crystal Tower. Later she spots Delia and we get the emotional stress of Molly showing once again, as she remembers her mother was missing. Turns out she has a photograph of her, Spencer, Prof. Oak, her mother, Ash and Delia and says she wants mama back. Entei, seeing it as his role to fulfil all of Molly's wishes, simply says his quote of, "If that is what you wish".

The group's first encounter with Entei occurs when everyone is eating quietly, discussing the mysterious events in Greenfield, when Pikachu notices something coming. Entei appears in front of them and we can see he leaves the ground crystalized as he runs. This prompts Delia to accuse Entei of being the one who trapped Molly. Entei ignores this accusation and simply says "You, are, MAMA!" as he hypnotizes her. She faints and as she falls, Entei swoops in front of her so she falls on his back, and dashes of as a news crew catches the entire scene on film. Ash immediately chases after Entei and demands Entei give his mother back. Pikachu makes an attempt to stop Entei, but it proves to be futile, as Entei shakes off Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Pikachu himself. Ash would have gone after Entei further, but he was ultimately stopped by Brock and Misty.

This part of the movie is a bit of hit or miss for me. The battle between Ash and Lisa is fun to watch, but Lisa as a Pokemon Trainer doesn't fit. She doesn't seem to train her Pokemon much, given that they get instantly KOed by Ash's Pokemon. Lisa comes off as a bit annoying in this part of the movie, and it's understandable, Lisa wasn't meant to be a main focus, but I feel she sufferred by not having more character development. 

The Crystal Tower

 

The group, now with Professor Oak look further into what Spencer's work was about, hoping it can provide some sort of clue to get Delia and Molly back. After a while Ash grows tired of waiting and decides to go after Entei himself. That night, he and Pikachu began travelling to the Crystal Tower in search of Delia, however he gets stopped by Brock and Misty who, after a small argument about Ash running off, join him to go find Entei. They're about to leave when THEY get stopped by Lisa's Aipom, who gives Ash Lisa's PokeGear to stay in contact with Oak, but, knowing Oak would get mad, informs him she wont be telling him herself.

However they don't get too far until the news crew spots Ash and his friends making their way to the tower, and after a talk with Professor Oak, they continue. After wading through a stream coming from the tower, Ash and friends come face to with a waterfall. Ash's quick thinking saved them by using his Noctowl to fly his Bulbasaur and Chikorita up to the top and having them use Vine Whip to make a grapple for them to climb up. 

Oak wasn't the only one to spot them as Molly notices them and asks who the boy is. Entei perks up and Delia just stares at the screen. Molly is surprised to see the boy has a Pikachu and, as powerful as Entei is, nothing breaks a Mother's bond with her child, as Delia breaks out of Entei's hypnosis and says 'Ash get down from there' Molly ask what's wrong, as Delia looks around. We can tell Entei knows she broke free, but instead of doing anything, watches what happens.

Delia acts normally and says 'Nothing dear' Molly says the boy must be a Pokemon Trainer and wishes she could be one too. Entei simply says 'You can be anything, so long as that is what you wish.' Molly says she would like to meet them and then jumps on Entei's back, as the two disappear into the floor. As Delia looks to her side however, she sees Molly is still there, now asleep on her lap. Delia sees the photo of everyone together, and sees Spencer's book and starts piecing it together.

The character interaction is great in this part of the movie, instead of focusing entirely on Entei and Molly, we get a nice amount of screentime for every character. The upcoming part is my personal favorite part of the entire movie.

The Climax Part 1; Minor Battles

As Molly and Entei go off to find Ash, Brock and Misty, Molly begins worrying that she may be too young to be a Trainer. Entei says 'you can be if you believe you are' at that moment, she begins glowing and she appears to have aged to be much older, possibly 16 or 17. This design is amazing for Molly. She has the hair bow on her cape, which is white like her younger self's outfit. The blue dress now fitting to her body's shape and to complete the look, she has an Unown earring in either ear.

The area changes from the dark gloomy castle to an open field as the two confront Ash, Brock and Misty. The group don't recognize her and immediately, Ash demands to know where his mother is asking Entei. Specifically saying Entei's name prompts Molly to say there's no Entei here, just her mama, her papa and herself. The gang realize this is Molly, but are cut off by Molly challenging whoever would speak up first to a battle. Ash stepped forward, but Brock said he'd take her on and he and Misty should find Delia and the real Molly.

Brock Vs. Molly

The battle between Brock and Molly is a standard 3v3 match, with a neat touch added in for Molly is that she used a special type of Pokeball. It's name and effects are unknown, but it looks a lot like a Dive Ball.

Molly begins with Flaafy as Brock starts off the battle with his Zubat. Zubat opens with a Supersonic, which hits Flaafy, confusing it as Zubat goes in for a Wing Attack. Molly instructs her Pokemon to avoid, which it does perfectly, and goes for a Thundershock, which defeats Zubat. 

The next part of the fight is Brock's Vulpix vs. Molly's Teddiursa. Immediately, Molly orders Teddiursa to use DynamicPunch and it hits Vulpix hard. Vulpix survives this and goes for it's Tackle. Teddiursa avoids and throws it off, knocking it out.

The final matchup is Brock's Onix vs. Molly's Phanpy. This was a funny matchup as we'd expect Onix to win, but Phanpy takes it out with a single Rollout.

Misty Vs. Molly

This fight. Oh my god, I tell you, I can watch this fight over and over and not get bored. I love this fight. As Ash and Misty climb the tower, they are met with a beach, exactly like the one seen in the book, and Molly and Entei meet them on this beach. Molly challenged either one again, this time Misty say she would fight as Ash needed to find his mother. Ash leaves them and Misty tells Molly she's the Cerulean City Gym Leader. Molly, shocked by how young Misty is, wishes to be the same age as Misty, and as such, her wish is granted. This design is exactly how I'd expect Molly to look aged up by 2 or 3 years. she keeps the ribbon in her hair, and the white now becomes a light teal. Molly, stating she too is a water type Pokemon Trainer, floods the area as she and Misty now must battle underwater. Before the battle starts, we see Ash find Delia with the real Molly. Not much more happens here until the next scene.

The first matchup is Molly's Kingdra Vs. Misty's Goldeen. Kingdra begins with Smokescreen to obscure Goldeen's view, and charges at it with Headbutt. Easily avoiding Goldeen's Horn Attack, Kingdra strikes Goldeen again, knocking out.

The next and final part of the fight is Molly's Mantine Vs. Misty's Staryu. Mantine opens up with Whirlpool, trapping Staryu inside it's watery vortex as it then swims off to use BubbleBeam, all of which hit Staryu. The two trade blows with Tackle untile Mantine ultimately overpowers Staryu.

These battles are incredibly played out, despite Entei making the outcomes as they were, with this movie it should be expected. 

The Climax Part 2; The Showdown against Entei

As Ash explains to Delia the situation about the Unown, Delia wakes Molly up to tell her they have to to go. Molly is obviously confused by this and backs away. Delia and Ash try explaining the situation but Molly is happy in what she thinks is her home. She screams, which causes crystals to rise up around her, protecting her from anyone she sees as a danger to her home. At that point, Entei arrives and stops Delia from leaving by using the same Crystals to trap her, and warns Ash he should leave. 

Entei Vs. Ash

Instead, Ash confronts Entei and the two begin to battle. Ash starts with his Totodile and tries to hit Entei with it's Water Gun. This turns out to be futile and Entei easily defeats it. The next is Cyndaquil who, like Totodile, managed to do absolutely nothing to the Legendary Pokemon, and was easily defeated. 

Ash admits that Entei is strong, but says that he refuses to lose to an illusion from a little girl's imagination. Entei yells that it is no illusion, roars, and stomps the ground as a blizzard starts to blow inside of the mansion. The crystal pillars grow larger, the Unown's red light grows bigger, and the pages of the storybook start flipping. Entei says that it is Molly's father and must protect her. Entei charges as Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, which has no effect on Entei. Entei uses Flamethrower, and they keep attacking each other back and forth and dodging. Delia realizes that only Molly can stop everything by remembering her real mother and father.

Entei uses Fire Blast against the exhausted Pikachu, but in true Ash Ketchum fashion, he jumps in to save Pikachu. The two take the full attack and are blasted through a wall. In a moment that shocked many viewers at the time, Ash get saved by none other than Charizard. Entei is surprised Ash was saved by a Pokemon, to which Ash replies, Charizard is like family. Entei, seeing that he must protect Molly, simply states he shall defeat Ash's family too.  

He clashes with Charizard, knocking it into Ash. He is nearly sent off the edge, but his friends and Team Rocket grab him before he falls. Ash says to Molly that if she comes with them, that she would be able to have her own Pokémon, but she says that she already has real Pokémon of her own (as her illusionary Pokémon appear next to her) and tells them to go away. This prompts Entei to attack, but Ash jumps on Charizard's back and flies out of the way.

The clash between the two rages on, and after being hit with a Flamethrower, Entei uses Fire Blast to break through a wall and leaps outside. Ash and Charizard follow Entei and continue to battle. The two land an attack on Entei that knocks him back, but Molly reacts calling out Entei's name, this in turn cause a crystal spike to form under Entei, saving him. 

After many Fire attacks, Entei is caught in a Flamethrower and launched onto another pillar. Ash tells Entei that he should not keep Molly captive, and Entei responds that he must do as she wishes. Another clash of Fire Blast and Flamethrower ignites a frightening explosion. Entei uses Fire Blast once more, hitting Charizard and sending it crashing through the ceiling and back onto the floor of the room. Entei presses on Charizard's neck and prepares to finish it off with Fire Blast, but Molly steps in and asks Entei to stop fighting.

Such an intense fight between these two, I love it. Especially the appearance of him really makes this scene one of the most epic parts of  the movie.

Finale

After stopping the fight, Brock and Misty say Molly is a great Pokemon Trainer, explaining that it is important to know when to stop a battle. Misty adds on by saying with her instincts, she could become a Gym Leader some day. Ash steps in to say that no matter how hard battles are, he and his Pokemon are still friends. Even though the battles are tough, the friends are real and no matter what they all love Pokemon. Ash then holds out his hand, asking her to come with them, to which Delia says, after looking at Entei, "It's what your...Papa would want." Molly agress, and wants everything back to normal.

Havoc begins as crystal spikes appear everywhere, and the Unown begin to lose control of their power. Ash was called by Oak at that point, informing them to get out of the tower  immediately, however, he couldn't speak long, as he and everyone else in Greenfield were evacuating because the crystalization was spreading. Entei creates a pathway to the stairs so that they can exit through the hole that they came in through. Amid the dangerous crystal spikes and destabilizing surroundings, the group continues running down the stairs.

Ash and the others find all of the Unown blocking the way out. Ash tries to run through, but an invisible wall makes him fall back. Charizard tries to go through, but the same thing happens. Charizard tries to blast his way through, but the wall just patches itself back up. Pikachu uses thunder, and it creates a hole, but it too is quickly patched up. The Unown start to get mad, and they make crystal go all over, almost impaling Ash, and some of the others. Entei comes through a wall, and decides to help Ash and the others. He destroys some of the crystal, and tells them that he was happy that he was Molly's papa, but he is still just as happy helping her instead.


Entei attempts to destroy barrier, with his Flamethrower and even charges into it. Neither of these attempts work. He turns to Molly, saying so long as she wished it, there was nothing he cannot do. Molly watches as Charizard, Pikachu and Entei all attempt to break the barrier, and finally realizing the situation, says "You can do it, Entei!" and with one final Flamethrower, Entei bursts through the barrier. A bright light floods the room, eventually dimming as Entei appears in a green aura, saying that he must go, and that Molly should always keep him in her dreams. Entei, the Unown and the crystalization disappear from the Greenfield as Molly, Ash and his friends leave.  

The Unown return to the ruins where they were discovered, and enter the portal to their own dimension. This frees Professor Hale, sending him back into the ruins where he disappeared. Everyone heads outside of the mansion and basks in the true beauty of Greenfield. Police cars containing everyone that was in the Pokémon Center approach the house. Molly looks up to the skies, sees a cloud shaped like Entei, and quietly thanks it for everything.

As the credits roll, Professor Hale returns to the mansion, Charizard and Lisa depart, and Ash and his friends go on the road again. Molly plays with a real Teddiursa by the mansion's pond, and then sees that her papa has returned and brought along her mother as well. The Hale family happily reunites.

There you have it. My review of Pokemon The Movie 3: Spell Of The Unown. It is a wonderful Pokemon Movie, breaking tradition by having our antagonist be a child, granted she wasn't even aware of the danger she was causing, having Molly in this state was perfect. If a Pokemon could grant your wishes as a Child going through the loss of a loved one, I'm sure you'd want a Pokemon like Entei there to be a comforting figure too. This movie, while not perfect, stands as one of the greatest Pokemon movies ever made, and my personal favorite. So as most reviewers do, I guess I should rate it now.

So for overall story, I give the movie a 5/5. The story is excellent, it really reaches out to kids who are struggling with a similar situation of losing someone.

Characters. The only character I didn't like in the movie was Lisa. So, 4/5 for that one. Character interactions were well written and played out. 

The animation was beautiful. I absolutely enjoy the visual effects, there were no notable graphical errors I could see, like in the Mewtwo movie. 5/5.

Overall this movie was amazing, and I recommend it to anyone who has or hasn't watched a Pokemon Movie before.

Extra
The OST in this Movie is really good too, definitely check it out;

My favourites
Pokemon Johto! - Movie Version: Link 
Underwater Battle! Misty Vs. Molly: Link 
Entei's Last Stand! (Mashup): Link 
To Know The Unknown (Credits): Link

This is the first time I've ever done some kind of review, so what did you think? Was it written well? Should I do more? R8 H8 be GR8 you know the deal. 

Kris out.

[TheAlmightySancho]

The Unown scare me...

[wartty]

Its just done so beautifully too, the production company had such an interesting style back then </3

[Chansey]

I really like this review. I'd like to see more of them for the movies tbh.

[RetroTyphlosion]

BOOOOOOO -3/10 ARCEUS AND THE JEWEL OF LIFE IS A GOOD MOVIE BOOOOOO

[Kris]

@RetroTyphlosion The story actually makes no sense

[Mr. Ultracool]

In my opinion, Arceus and the Jewel of Live was so-so. It was only after that the movies stopped making sense. Seriously, Keldeo never actually defeated Kyurem, making the entire journey moot, and everybody died only to reappear unharmed without an explanation as to how! Also, why couldn't they simply reuse the same Mewtwo? It makes no sense whatsoever to simply introduce a new Pokemon of a one-of-a-kind species

[PokemonRules]

Love the review, definitely want to see more @Kris!

[Kris]

Pokemon The Movie Mewtwo Strikes Back amirite?

[RetroTyphlosion]

(Feb 1, 2018, 05:32 PM)Kris Wrote: Pokemon The Movie Mewtwo Strikes Back amirite?

@Kris Urrite