The 12-year-old hero of the story, Ash, yearns to be a master Pokemon trainer, and to do so he vows to capture all the creatures. The Pokemon, or pocket monsters, are 151 animal-type creatures (three new ones are introduced in the new film, bringing the total to 154), each with its own personality and powers and the ability to evolve into other creatures with enhanced powers.
POKEMON CARTOON VIDEO SERIES
Tilden said.įor those unacquainted with Pokemon, it is a series of products that revolve around a fantasy world created by Japanese animators and game creators in which there are two kinds of creatures, humans and Pokemon. ''We are trying to mirror the property very well, not just put the Pokemon theme on anything,'' Ms. Tilden monitors the rolling out of new Pokemon characters in a deliberate way to stimulate the collecting side of the craze: not so few characters that they are too easily collected nor so many that collecting them all, the goal of all true Pokemoners, seems unrealizable.
And there are dozens of related consumer items from clothes to toothbrushes. Packs of trading cards featuring the characters go for $7 to $9 a pop.
Tilden is responsible for making sure that all the Pokemon products adhere to the basic theme, that none of the products are marketed to preschoolers or toddlers (because if babies play with it, older children will want nothing to do with it), that Pokemon characters are attached to compatible toys (a water-related Pokemon on a water toy, for instance).
POKEMON CARTOON VIDEO MOVIE
The movie did not open in Japan until the summer of 1998, two years after the video game was introduced and the second film (yes, there is already a second, and it is to open in the United States next summer) opened in Japan just three months ago. When Pokemon was initially rolled out in Japan, beginning with the introduction of the video game in 1996, it was a much slower process. ''We put a considerable amount of attention into that,'' said Gail Tilden, vice president for product acquisition development at Nintendo and the queen of all things Pokemon, responsible for shepherding the Pokemon brand through its many American manifestations.
The idea is to use the lessons to build something that will not only resonate with children but also survive longer than the 18 months to three years that these crazes normally last, perhaps even attaining the Holy Grail of Toydom, legs as long as Barbie's. Even those who are promoting the phenomenon, and reaping the astonishing rewards, are a little stunned by how deftly it has attached itself to the hearts of millions of American children, especially boys aged 5 to 12.īut while luck has certainly played a role, Pokemon mania is also a result of a calculated series of creative and marketing decisions aimed at learning the lessons of previous toy fads like Beanie Babies, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The Pokemon craze can seem impenetrable to those - adults, for instance - who are not conversant with its intricate fantasy world. People collect them and they have these different battles.'' Finally, he gave up. Anthony struggled to explain what all the fuss was about. No doubt, some had Pokemon video games in their knapsacks. Nearby toy shops sported prominent Pokemon displays children clutched their precious Pokemon figurines and many wore Pokemon T-shirts. By Monday, its earnings are expected to exceed $50 million. The 90-minute feature earned $10.1 million its first day, a school day (''Pokeflu,'' it was called), the largest Wednesday opening of any animated film, ever, and the biggest Wednesday opening for any film in the history of Warner Brothers. Anthony Ruiz was celebrating his 8th birthday at the Cineplex Beverly Center here, joining the hundreds of children and parents taking in ''Pokemon: The First Movie'' on four screens at the center, one of 3,000 theaters that presented this animated film on its opening day, Wednesday, and haven't had a quiet moment since.
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