FILM 2020: DETECTIVE PIKACHU

FILM 2020: DETECTIVE PIKACHU

TRIVIA: Tim mentions a gangster film on TV is an "old detective movie." The clip being shown is actually "Angels With Filthy Souls", a movie-within-a-movie which was featured in the original Home Alone (1990).

The realistic style of the Pokémon were based on the artwork by RJ Palmer. The movie's production designer discovered him while he was looking for realistic Pokémon designs on the internet, and he was so impressed by Palmer's artwork that he gave him a job as the concept artist for the movie.

The day before the film's theatrical release, the entire movie was "leaked" onto YouTube. In reality, clicking this video will play a minute of the film, before cutting to a loop of Pikachu dancing for an hour and forty five minutes.

Despite having six distinctive cries (according to both sound bites and Build a Bear) the voice for Psyduck is unlisted and unnamed.

The first movie based on a video game to have a fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, at 64%.

A petition was made to have Danny DeVito voice Pikachu.

At one point Pikachu looks to ensure that Psyduck stays calm by repeating the term "Serenity Now" a number of times. "Serenity Now" is a famous catchphrase from Seinfeld Season 9 Episode 3

It was The Pokémon Company's idea to have Ryme City ban battling and using Pokéballs, wishing to show a different and "more elevated" relationship between Pokémon and people. They were also very protective of Ash Ketchum and forbade any reference to him from being made. Going as far as even forbidding Tim from wearing a cap.

Ryme City is very obviously London, complete with distinctive Routemaster buses and cars driving on the left-hand side of the road (and Pret-A-Mangers). Other landmarks that prominently appear include the Gherkin and King's Cross Station as Tahnti Station.

In a world full of Pokémon with different kinds of powers, of course people are going to put that to use. For example, in the night market, one man uses a Charmander's flame tail to flambe the food in the wok, and the laboratory people are using Greninjas as hitmen to take Detective Pikachu and Tim down. Demonstrated more in earlier scenes, a Machamp is directing traffic, a squad of Squirtles help put out a fire, the police force has a lot of dog-type Pokémon, and a Braviary is flying around the city to deliver a construction worker on a crane his lunch. It also makes sense for certain Pokémon types to have their own occupations, like Octillery cutting up sushi and Loudreds being used as loud speakers in the round house.