| Pokémon the Movie Black—Victini and Reshiram and White—Victini and Zekrom | |||||||
| Native Name: |
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| Director: | Kunihiko Yuyama | ||||||
| Producer: | Takemoto Mori Choji Yoshikawa Yukio Kawasaki Junya Okamoto Koichi Kawase | ||||||
| Starring: | See below | ||||||
| Music: | Shinji Miyazaki Akifumi Tada Kazuhiko Sawaguchi | ||||||
| Cinematography: | Shinsuke Ikeda | ||||||
| Editing: | Toshio Henmi | ||||||
| Studio: | OLM, Inc. OLM Digital Production I.G Xebec | ||||||
| Distributor: | Toho | ||||||
| Runtime: | 95 minutes (each), 190 minutes (total) | ||||||
| Country: | Japan | ||||||
| Language: | Japanese | ||||||
| Gross: | $57.1 million[1] | ||||||
| Italic Title: | no | ||||||
and are a pair of 2011 Japanese animated films produced by OLM, Inc., Production I.G, and Xebec and distributed by Toho. The film was directed by Kunihiko Yuyama from a screenplay by Hideki Sonoda. The two-parter film is the 14th animated installment in the Pokémon film series created by Satoshi Tajiri, Junichi Masuda, and Ken Sugimori.
The two films follow a similar plot. Both films follow a man called Damon, descended from the residents of a dead kingdom called the Kingdom of the Vale. In Black—Victini and Reshiram, he finds Zekrom, a dragon-like creature known as a Pokémon to fulfill his ideals. In White—Victini and Zekrom, he finds the Pokémon Reshiram to find the truth. In both films, the dragon leads Damon to pilot the town's floating castle with the powers of the Pokémon Victini in an attempt to restore his old kingdom and reunite the People of the Vale that have scattered over the past thousand years.
The films were released on July 16, 2011 and grossed over $57 million in Japan. The two sides of Every Little Thing's double A-side single serve as the ending songs for the two films;[2] "Sora" is the theme for the Zekrom version and "Koe" is the theme for the Reshiram version.[3]
The two films follow a similar plot with some major and minor changes, notably the Pokémon that appear and where they appear. In Black—Victini and Reshiram, Damon finds Zekrom under the castle to fulfill his ideals, while Ash finds Reshiram to find the truth. The roles are swapped in White—Victini and Zekrom. Damon has a Gothitelle in Black—Victini and Reshiram and a Reuniclus in White—Victini and Zekrom.
1,000 years ago, Victini, a Pokémon which can boost the power of other Pokémon, was friends with the king of the Kingdom of the Vale, who ruled over the People of the Vale. The people and Pokémon in the kingdom used an energy source called the Dragon Force to live in harmony with nature. The king's sons were accompanied by the black and white dragon Pokémon, Reshiram and Zekrom, but the princes became enemies leading to a war between Reshiram and Zekrom, who mortally wounded each other, transforming into stones and fell into a long slumber. The Dragon Force grew destructive. To contain the energy, the king created a dark magical barrier around the castle using the Pillars of Protection to use Victini's powers to make the Psychic type Pokémon move the castle known as the Sword of the Vale to the mountaintop where Eindoak Town now stands. The king used up his magic power and died and Victini was trapped in the barrier isolated by the Pillars of Protection. Over time, the People of the Vale scattered, leaving Victini inside the barrier. Eventually, the chaos within the Dragon Force subsided. The two princes were filled of deep remorse, and they moved the stoned Reshiram and Zekrom to a cave beneath the castle.
In the present, the vale has become inhospitable. Damon, a descendant of the People of the Vale, hopes to restore the vale using Victini's powers and reunite the scattered People of the Vale, based on his mother Juanita's wish during his childhood. He finds either Zekrom or Reshiram after hearing the dragon Pokémon's voice in the caves beneath the castle. Unaware that doing so would threaten the Dragon Force to destroy the entire world, Zekrom or Reshiram shows Damon how to move the castle and use the Dragon Force's energy.
At Eindoak Town's harvest festival, the Pokémon trainers Ash Ketchum, Iris, and Cilan take part in a Pokémon battle competition. Damon's sister Carlita notices Victini has been giving Ash's Tepig and Scraggy power boosts. Ash offers Victini some of Cilan's macarons and he and his friends befriend Victini. The next day, Ash promises to take Victini to the ocean, but Damon then forces Victini to use its power to help move the castle and redirect the Dragon Force's power to the vale. Ash and Juanita try to stop Damon from harming Victini, but their attempts are thwarted by Zekrom and Damon's Gothitelle or by Reshiram and Damon's Reuniclus. Ash ventures into the caves and finds Reshiram or Zekrom to help Victini. As Reshiram and Zekrom duel, both spot the destructive Dragon Force and join forces to stop it.
Zekrom or Reshiram releases Victini and Damon is shown the Dragon Force, prompting him to use the castle to contain the unstable power with help from Reshiram and Zekrom. The group evacuate the castle, but Damon wants to try and fix the mess he has made and Victini remains trapped by the barrier with Ash and Pikachu not wanting to leave Victini, as the Dragon Force's power grows deadlier and the castle floats up into the sky. Victini appears to sacrifice itself to blast apart the barrier by using its signature move V-Create, the contained Dragon Force energy being fired into space. Damon, Reshiram, and Zekrom guide the castle to the edge of the sea, and seal away the Dragon Force once again.
Later, Ash, Iris, and Cilan visit a nearby beach in Victini's memory, tossing one of Cilan's macarons into the ocean. Victini appears and eats it, now free of the barrier (and somehow having survived the ordeal of using V-Create to destroy the Pillars of Protection and the barrier) and has plans to restore the valley its own way. Damon begs for forgiveness, receiving it from Juanita.
| Character | Voice Actor (Japanese) | Voice Actor (English) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ash | Rica Matsumoto | Sarah Natochenny | |
| Pikachu | Ikue Ōtani | ||
| Iris | Aoi Yūki | Eileen Stevens | |
| Cilan | Mamoru Miyano | Jason Griffith | |
| Jessie | Megumi Hayashibara | Michele Knotz | |
| James | Shin-ichiro Miki | Carter Cathcart | |
| Meowth | Inuko Inuyama | ||
| Narrator | Unshō Ishizuka | Rodger Parsons | |
The production team visited locations of the Alpes-Maritimes department of Southern France, including Nice,[4] Gourdon,[5] Tourrettes-sur-Loup,[6] [7] Èze,[8] Roquebrune-Cap-Martin,[9] [10] Sainte-Agnès, Peillon, and Cagnes-sur-Mer,[11] [12] as well as visits to the French Riviera, Normandy, Paris,[13] and Mont Saint-Michel,[14] as inspiration for the setting of the films.
To promote the films in Japan, players of Pokémon Black and White were able to download a Victini for their games. This Victini was different from the one that was given to initially promote the video games' release, as it was given several attacks that it would not be able to learn throughout normal gameplay. This included its signature moves Searing Shot and V-Create (unobtainable in gameplay), as well as Reshiram and Zekrom's unique moves Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt.
To promote the movie release in the US, it was announced on the official US Pokémon website that starting on December 3, 2011 to December 31, 2011, players of Pokémon Black and White could download Victini to their games through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This Victini also included its signature moves Searing Shot and V-Create (unobtainable in gameplay), as well as Reshiram and Zekrom's unique moves Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt and held a Fire Gem.[15] A bonus manga sampler of Pokémon Black and White was also given away at theaters playing Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom. A sweepstakes also took place on the official site as a promotion for the movie.[16] A second promotion was released in the US for the DVD release of the movies. Between March 10, 2012 and April 8, 2012 players were able to download a level 100 Reshiram or a level 100 Zekrom depending on which version the player had through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. When players who "tucked in" Reshiram or Zekrom using the Game Sync in their game both Pokémon unlocked a special C-Gear skin of the Pokémon they received, as well as a special place in the Dream World on the Pokémon Global Link site where a special password could be obtained to get a special Victini doll for the user's house in the Dream World.[17]
Pokémon The Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom received a limited theatrical release in the United States by the digital cinema developer and distributor, Cinedigm, on December 3 and 4, 2011. This made it the first Pokémon film to be screened in American theatres since Pokémon Heroes.
Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram aired on Disney XD in the United Kingdom and Cartoon Network in the United States on December 10, 2011. Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom aired on Cartoon Network on February 11, 2012.[18]
A two-disc DVD set was released in the United States on April 3, 2012.[19] The movies were released in the UK by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on April 9, 2012.[20] They were both later re-released in the UK on DVD by Manga Entertainment. On April 17, 2019 as part of the Black and White Movie Collection, along with the other two Black and White movies; and , before both being re-released again as a separate single disc release on September 2, 2019.