Gekijouban Poketto monsutâ: koko

Pokemon movies are generally not known for how good they are. It's merely passable entertainment at best. But when "I Choose You" and "The Power Of Us" came out, it felt like a breath of fresh air in a pretty stale and formulaic series of films. And just like in The Power of Us; where I felt like the storytelling was really well done, and thus being one of the best Pokemon movies out there, I felt like this movie too uses its storytelling to its advantage.

Secrets of the Jungle tells a pretty different story for a Pokemon movie and it's told right. The focus of the movie was very rightly on the narration with each emotional beat, having the intended impact on the audience. It does have its weaknesses however, with the lack of depth in how certain characters were developed, and moments of structural cliches, but it never felt like it weighed the movie down.

Storytelling apart, the movie is also an absolute treat to the eye. It's so beautifully crafted, with the visuals and the animations being so much better than what I expected. And surprisingly, the music too was pretty memorable, with the opening "Always Safe" track being a refreshingly nice way to kick things off.

I'm genuinely surprised by how much I liked this, because I usually don't go into a Pokemon movie expecting anything. It was a pleasantly enjoyable movie with a lot of heart and a lot of charm, and I only hope the Pokemon movies of the future will build off of its formula here.