Pokémon’s first movie,Mewtwo Strikes Back, is often considered one of the best films in the series, but it only became that way due to a major tragedy. While nothing could justify the tragedy itself, this fact does offer a silver lining to what was otherwise a terrible incident.
The tragedy in question was the “Pokémon Shock” in 1997, when the episode “Electric Soldier Porygon” featured a series of flashing lights which accidentally triggered epileptic seizures in hundreds of children across Japan. The series was pulled from broadcast, and the episode was never aired again, becomingthe first bannedPokémonepisode.
How could this terrible event have had such a positive impact on the production ofMewtwo Strikes Back? According to the film’s writer, Takeshi Shudo, it did, as it allowed him to make the movie he truly wanted to make.
The “Pokémon Shock” Distracted Executives
The Tragedy Kept Executives Busy and Prevented Them From Interfering
According to information from Shudo’s blog, which was translated and made available byLava Cut Content, Shudo described the situation thusly:
…Right before Mewtwo Strikes Back, an unfortunate incident occurred — a flashing sequence in the Pokémon anime caused a substantial number of viewers to have seizures. So I think the film management team was so busy dealing with the seizure situation, that they didn’t have time to worry about the script of the first movie.
Essentially, due to the Pokémon Shock situation, there were many problems that producers and other executives had to deal with, which let Shudo write the script for the film the way he wanted to.There was no interference from executives demanding the film’s themes be toned down, or that violent scenes be cut.
The film’s deep themes about what it means to exist, and how the nature of one’s birth is irrelevant compared to what they do with the life they’ve been given, were also likely a bit more cerebral than executives trying to make a kid’s movie would like.
Looking at the movie as a whole, it’s easy to see some of the points which might’ve been on the chopping block, had executives been paying closer attention. Mewtwo’s destruction of the lab where he was created meant that he, a Pokémon, killed many humans, something that executives safeguarding the IP might’ve objected to.
The film’s deep themes about what it means to exist, and how the nature of one’s birth is irrelevant compared to what they do with the life they’ve been given, were also likely a bit more cerebral than executives trying to make a kid’s movie would like. And yet, these very elements that would’ve been cut are whatmakeMewtwo Strikes Backa classic.
Mewtwo Strikes Back Could’ve Been a Very Different Film
Would Pokémon’s First Movie Still Have Succeeded With Executive Meddling?
Mewtwo Strikes Backcertainly features a lot of death for a children’s film, but the material was handled well, so it didn’t leave kids scarred. It’s proof of Shudo’s skill as a writer, and it goes to show that executives don’t always know what’s best when it comes to the films they’re overseeing.
It’s hard to imagine whatMewtwo Strikes Backmight’ve turned out like without the Pokémon Shock essentially blocking executive meddling.Mewtwo would no doubt have been a far less tragic and troubled character, which likely would’ve hurt its popularity in the long run; Mewtwo is so defined by the film that even today, it’s the first thing people think of.
While aPokémonmovie in the 1990s, at the height of thePokémoncraze, likely would’ve done well regardless of its quality, the movie probably wouldn’t be so well remembered today had it been meddled with and driven in a different direction. While the Pokémon Shock was a tragic event, it bizarrely had at least one positive impact.
