Gru Gun

2019 Detective Pikachu
Pokémon is a media franchise created by video game designer Satoshi Tajiri that centers on fictional creatures called Pokémon. As of 2020, there have been 23 animated films and one live action film. The first nineteen animated films are based on the anime television series of the same name, with the original film being remade into the 22nd. The 20th, 21st and 23rd animated films are set in an alternate continuity to the anime. The films are produced by the animation studios OLM, Production I.G, Xebec, and Wit Studio, and distributed in Japan by Toho, with various studios distributing the films in North America. They were directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and Tetsuo Yajima, and written by Takeshi Shudo, Hideki Sonoda, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Shōji Yonemura, Eiji Umehara, and Aya Takaha. The first Pokémon animated film, Pokémon: The First Movie, was released in Japan in 1998, which was remade into Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution. A live-action film, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, was produced by American studio Legendary Entertainment, directed by Rob Letterman, and written by Letterman and Nicole Perlman.[1] It is distributed in Japan by Toho, and outside of Japan and China by Warner Bros.[2] It was released on May 10, 2019.[3]

The films star the Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum and his electric mouse partner Pikachu. Detective Pikachu film is based on the 2016 video game Detective Pikachu and stars Ryan Reynolds as the motion capture role of Detective Pikachu,[4] with Justice Smith and Kathryn Newton as the lead human roles.[5]

There are also two animated television specials that were broadcast on TV Tokyo featuring Ash and Ash's Pikachu and ten short animated films. Warner Bros. licensed the first three animated films in North America, and Miramax Films licensed the following four films (with Studio Distribution Services, LLC, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, handled North America home video distribution of the first three animated films (including under the both Kids' WB and Viz Media labels), and Paramount Home Entertainment (via Miramax) handled the U.S. home video distribution of the following four films). In Canadian releases, they were licensed by Alliance Atlantis (now known as Entertainment One, a subsidiary of Hasbro), which was responsible for Canadian distribution of Miramax Films (with Studio Distribution Services, LLC, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

handled Canadian home video distribution of Miramax Films (including the following four films)). In these four movies distributed by Miramax, there were partly or completely different dubbing casts than in the TV series in many countries. Starting with Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, Viz Media is the only North American licensee (with Studio Distribution Services, LLC, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, handled North America home video distribution of Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew onwards).

The 23rd and most recent animated film, Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, was originally set for release in Japanese theaters on July 10, 2020, but delayed to December 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it was released on October 8, 2021, in the United States.[6][7]

The anime franchise consists of eight sequential series in Japan, each based on a main installment of the Pokémon video game series. In the international broadcasts, these series are split across 26 seasons. The show originally followed Ash Ketchum, a young trainer of fictional creatures called Pokémon. Joined by his partner Pokémon Pikachu and a rotating cast of human characters, Ash goes on a journey to become a "Pokémon Master", traveling through the various regions of the Pokémon world and competing in various Pokémon-battling tournaments known as the Pokémon League. However, by the 26th season, a new cast is featured, with brand new protagonists Liko and Roy.

The anime series is accompanied by spin-off programming; including Pokémon Chronicles, a series of side stories; and the live-action variety and Pokémon-related news shows; such as Pocket Monsters Encore, Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, Pokémon☆Sunday, Pokémon Smash!, Pokémon Get☆TV, Meet Up at the Pokémon House? and Where are we going with Pokémon!?

The Pokémon anime series was largely credited for allowing anime to become more popular and familiar around the world, especially in the United States and Asia, where many Pokémon films are among the highest-grossing anime films.[2] It is also considered to be one of the first anime series on television to reach this level of mainstream success with Western and Asian audiences, as well as being credited with allowing the game series to reach such a degree of popularity and vice versa. Pokémon is regarded as the most successful video game adaptation of all time,[3] with over 1,200 episodes broadcast and adapted for international television markets, concurrently airing in 192 countries worldwide and one of the most widely watched shows on Netflix, as of 2016.[4][5]

In Japan, Pocket Monsters is currently broadcast as eight sequential series, each based on an installment of the main video game series. The anime is aired year-round continuously, with regular off-days for sporting events and television specials. In its international broadcast, Pokémon's episodes have currently been split up into 25 seasons, as of 2022, running a fixed number of episodes, using a specific opening sequence and sporting a different subtitle for each new season.