Legendary Entertainment Based on what we’ve seen so far, Detective Pikachu is looking like a genuinely great film that could be much better than a live-action Pokemon movie has any right to be.
The latest trailer, called “Casting Detective Pikachu“, gives us an adorable look at some of the monsters we’ll be seeing when the film hits theaters in May. I don’t know about you, but one of the biggest draws of this film for me is seeing the realistic takes on classic Pokemon, and this trailer delivers that in spades.
Take a look below:
Instead of being another trailer made up of footage from the movie, this latest look is essentially an audition reel showing us that even CG critters need to work hard to break into the business.
Through this, we get our best look yet at a number of the Pokemon we’d seen in previous trailers, including Charizard, Jigglypuff, Aipom, and a Squirtle that is just too cute for words.
What really struck me after seeing the new trailer is just how detailed and full of life these Pokemon actually are. I was kind of afraid they’d lose something in the transition to “realism”, but just look at the way Charizard’s belly wobbles as it turns around!
Legendary EntertainmentI also honestly can’t get over how Squirtle burps out a little bubble and looks on surprised as the little fella watches it float away before popping. I need a pet Squirtle in my life.
Legendary EntertainmentThe animation skills on display in this trailer really are astounding, and even if everything else in Detective Pikachu turns out to be a massive flop, I expect plenty of fans and critics are going to come impressed by the Pokemon alone.
We’re also treated to a look at a fearsome-but-lovable Venusaur, a hilariously agitated Dodrio, and a truly beautiful little Eevee. Man, I just love Eevee. I don’t think we’ve seen any of these properly in the previous trailers, so it’s great to see them accounted for.
My only hope is that the explosion of Pokemon we saw in this trailer is far from the final count. Like I said earlier, one of the biggest thrills of going to see this film for me will be trying to spot as many ‘mon as I can.
I can’t imagine every single critter planned for the film was just shown off in a two minute trailer of course, so I’ll still be first in line and elbowing kids out of the way the day Detective Pikachu arrives.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.