The sixth Pokemon movie is a direct to video affair (in the US at least.  I expect that it was released theatrically in Japan, though I can't confirm that.)  My children have grown out of Pokemon for the most part, and consequently I haven't been keeping up with the TV show.  I managed to miss the last two Pokemon movies too.  While I really disliked the first movie, the next too weren't that bad.  By the time the sixth movie rolled around, I was sure that the franchise would have lost its steam.  I was wrong.  While there are some problems with the film, it's a pretty entertaining movie for Pokemon fans.

Ash, Brock and the siblings May and Max decide to travel to a carnival that is erected in celebration of the return of the Millennium Comet, a celestial body that appears in the night sky for seven days every thousand years.  They attend a magic show where Butler, the magician, makes his lovely assistant Diane appear holding a large rock.  The rock is actually a Pokemon, Jirachi.  This creature only emerges from its rock when the Millennium Comet is in the sky, and only if he has a friend.  It is rumored that Jirachi can grant wishes, hence the name of the movie.

While at the show, Max can hear the rock talking to him telepathically.  He goes up to the stage to inspect it, and Butler and Diane realize that he is destined to be the friend that Jirachi needs, and they let him stay with the rock.  That night the mysterious Pokemon emerges.

Jirachi. a cute and powerful Pokemon, has the ability to teleport.  He can also absorb energy from the comet in the night sky.  That is what Butler wants.  He wants to use Jirachi as a battery and harness the energy of the comet.  But Jirachi just wants to go home, back to the place where Butler found him.   So the gang, with the help of Diane, eludes Butler and travels back to the Hoenn region with their new found friend.

They get there on the last day of the comet, just in time for Jirachi to turn back into a rock for the next thousand years.  But Max has grown very fond of the little Pokemon and doesn't want him to go.  They may not have a choice though, because Butler shows up and snatches Jirachi.  Butler has a plan to create a very powerful Pokemon by using the energy from the comet, but this creature he makes is too powerful for him to handle.  What can Ash, Pikachu, Max and Jirachi do against a Godzilla sized monster?

This movie started off a little slow.  Team Rocket, who I was thoroughly tired of ages ago, make a brief attempt to snatch Pikachu early in the film and are thankfully regulated to the sidelines after that.  There is not a lot of action in the first half of the film, with most of the time being taken up with 'hatching' Jirachi and he and Max bonding.  While the early parts of the movie weren't necessarily boring, they weren't exciting either.  I noticed my two sons (ages 11 and 8) getting a little restless, but they didn't complain.  The last half hour of the film things really get moving though.  The giant monster attack was great, with a lot of action and suspense.  Both of my kids were on the edges of their seats during the whole battle.  It made up for the slower start.

There were a couple of things about this movie that I really liked.  First off the whole story wasn't about Ash.  Yes, he is the star, but he wasn't in the center ring during the whole movie like he often is.  It was a nice change.

Another thing that I liked was that there were a couple of plots going on in this movie, one involving Max and Jirachi, and the other concerning Butler and Diane.  These two story lines dovetailed nicely together at the end, and made a nice story.  It was a little more involved than your average Pokemon movie.

Overall this movie is a solid entry in the series, one that Pokemon fans are sure to enjoy.

Audio:

The 5.1 English soundtrack sounded great.  There was a good dynamic range, with the explosions sounding forceful and the higher pitched sounds coming through clearly.  There was good use of the soundstage with effects coming from all around.  At the carnival the sounds of the rides and crowd come from all corners of the room.  They put more effort into the soundtrack than I thought they would.

Video:

Unfortunately, this movie is a pan and scan hack job.  The credits are matted to a widescreen image, but the movie itself is fullscreen.  I think this is a shame.  I personally know many children who are not bothered by the black bars on the screen.  I wish they would at least put the WS version of the film on one side of the DVD.

Aside from that major (for me at least) flaw, the picture quality is very good.  The colors are bright and there are very few digital artifacts, none that children will notice.  The image was a little soft, but I suspect that this is what the creators were going for.

The Extras:

This DVD is packed with extras:

Pokemon Card:  There is a Jirachi card that can be used in the Pokemon card game included with the DVD.  For those that are interested, Jirachi has 50 HP, one colorless retreat cost and has two attacks.  For one colorless energy you can discard an energy card attached to Jirachi and draw three cards.  The other attack costs one psychic energy and does 10 damage for every energy card attached to the defending Pokemon.

Gotta Dance short:  All of the Pokemon movies have a short with them, and while this one doesn't automatically play before the movie, you'll want to check it out.  This 20+ minute cartoon is the funniest Pokemon film that I have seen.  It is much better than the movie.  I was laughing out loud (something that usually doesn't happen with Pokemon) and my kids were rolling.  My seven year old literally fell of the couch he was laughing so hard.

Team Rocket have built a new headquarters for the boss, and have left Meowth in charge while they go to fetch him.  Big mistake.  Big BIG mistake.  Meowth has a baton that causes all Pokemon to dance when he turns it on, and he decides to practice the dance he has planned for the boss' arrival.  Pikachu and some other Pokemon stumble in and get the wand, and Meowth wants it back.  It quickly turns into a fight with the baton starting, and the Pokemon breaking into dance, at the most inopportune times.  This is a laugh riot.

Trivia Game: A short series of questions about the movie.  If you get them right, you are rewarded with a clip from the movie.  There is no prize at the end for a perfect score.

Message from director Mr. Yayama: a 45 second interview.  Pretty useless in my opinion. He doesn't say much besides that fact that he is in Canada scouting locations (?) for the next Pokemon film.

Make a Wish music video:  Video for a song featured in the movie.

Pokemon Characters: Pictures and stats for Pokemon featured in the movie.

Original Artwork: A series of production paintings and drawings.

Final Thoughts:

While the movie started off slowly, the end was well worth the wait.  The ending battle and the nice way the two storylines merged were high points for me.  The short that is included on this DVD knocks the rating up some.  It was laugh out load funny, and well worth the price of admission.  I enjoyed it even more than the movie.  This DVD is well recommended for Pokemon fans. Check it out.