Pokémon Heroes

Pokémon Heroes is a 2002 animated, action, fantasy film by OLM, Inc. It is the sequel to Pokémon 4Ever, is the third and final installment of the Pokémon Johto film Trilogy and is overall the fifth Pokémon movie. It was distributed on limited release by Miramax Films, it opened in select American theaters on May 16, 2003. It was released on VHS and DVD in the United States on January 20, 2004. It was the last Pokémon movie released in cinemas in North American and Europe, and starting on Movie 6, all future Pokémon movies will go on home media releases starting in 2004.

Plot
The main film's setting is in the water-themed city of Alto Mare, Johto. The city is watched over by two Legendary Pokémon, Latias and Latios. The story behind the two involves an evil Pokémon Trainer using a Kabutops and an Aerodactyl to terrorize the citizens, until the original Latios came to the city, using his powers to drown the evil Pokémon and turning the streets into canals.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The story focuses on Ash very well, and it has an interesting story about Alto Mare on how it is watched over by two Legendary Pokémon.
 * 2) The intro to the film is super engaging, as it starts off with Ash and Misty in a boat race as the main theme some from Pokémon Master Quest plays in the background.
 * 3) Latios and Latias are great Pokémon who have a uneck charm in them.
 * 4) The setting of Alto Mare replicates Venice, Italy very well judging by the fact the writers of the film had done some research. (See in Trivia for evidence). This was incredibly smart of OLM to do some research on the town like Game Freak with their Pokémon regions and even predates when the series switched from Japan exclusive regions to regions that are based on other countries aside from Japan like UK or USA.
 * 5) Many memorable moments such as the scene were Latias (who was in the form as Bianca at the time) staring at Ash very curious when she meets him for the first time, or the scene were Ash and Pikachu entering the secrete garden after Latias lures them and later on a scene were Latias saves them from Latios.
 * 6) Great animation as usual.
 * 7) Well written plot.
 * 8) The villains, Annie and Oakley, are very cool and surprisingly threatening antagonists.
 * 9) The darker tone of the movie is unpredictable, it's really chilling, and unlike other Pokémon films, it does it very well.
 * 10) Talented voice acting in both Japanese and English dubs.
 * 11) Amazing soundtrack throughout, that includes "Search for the Girl".
 * 12) It uses two extinct Pokémon in a clever manner that goes very well with the story.
 * 13) Its climax is incredibly epic.
 * 14) For once in the Pokémon movies, Jessie, James, and Meowth never get to interact with Ash or his friends as they get a separate plot of their own. Just like in the main show.
 * 15) Has an emotional ending that ended the movie on a positive note. Bianca/Latias (nobody knows which) kisses Ash, gives him a sketch of him and his Pikachu before disappearing, and both Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Togipi and Brock all ride back home on a boat as they notice more Latios and Latias flying above them.
 * 16) Ending aside, the sketch drawing of Ash and Pikachu looks really good.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The part where probably a Latias kissing Ash is confusing to some fans because it's unknown if Bianca or Latias kissed Ash, not helping the fact that Bianca's beret was last seen on her easel prior to the kiss, which makes it even more confusing on who is who.
 * 2) The film was a huge box office bomb and a critical failure in the United States. It is the last time a Pokémon film would be shown in theaters until 2017 with the release of Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!.

Trivia

 * Venice is the first location where director, Kunihiko Yuyama and staffs had traveled abroad to establish ideas for the movie franchise.
 * For the English dub's home video release, an intense blue palette was added to the film to make it darker than in the original. Fans often criticized this decision because they felt the palette "ruined" a particular scene during the film.
 * The film contradicts a practice set by 4Kids that characters do not die on-screen or are mentioned as having passed away.
 * This is the last Pokémon film to debut in nationwide in American and non-Japanese theaters and (for so far) the last one to be rated G by the MPAA. The following animated Pokémon films from Pokémon - Jirachi: Wish Maker onwards would no longer receive MPAA ratings at all, especially due to many of them being released either direct-to-video or straight-to-television.
 * However, the live-action film Pokémon Detective Pikachu became an exception with a PG rating received from the MPAA. The Power of One was also another exception as it had limited theater showings in the United States from November-December 2018, the same went with Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution, as that film was released in Los Angeles theaters during the 4th of July in America in 2019 until in 2020, it went to streaming services on Netflix. However, it got it's own DVD release on November 2020 in the US.
 * For the English version several things are changed including the original prologue, Annie and Oakley being members of Team Rocket (they are not in the Japanese version).
 * This is the last film to be recorded at TAJ Productions that was dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment. 4Kids would fully take control of the voice recording rights without the need of TAJ Productions' help starting in Season 6 (Advanced) after Master Quest/Season 5's English dub production ended (though the first two episodes of Pokémon Advanced are dubbed by TAJ due to them being episodic previews for the US at the time, making them the last two episodes of the Pokémon anime dubbed by both 4Kids and TAJ before being replaced with just 4Kids). That maintained up until December 23rd, 2005 from when it was announced from 4Kids Entertainment that they will no longer be in charge of the merchandising and dubbing rights to the Pokémon series due to the agreement expiring on December 31st, 2005. TAJ Productions was needed to dube Pokémon again starting in the 10th anniversary special, "The Mirage of Mastermind Pokémon", and Season 9 (Battle Frontier) up until TAJ Productions' bankruptcy in Early 2009 after completing all the English dubs for all of Season 10 (Diamond and Pearl).
 * Recent UK DVD releases of this film have excluded all its special features including "Camp Pikachu", even though they are still listed on the DVD cover and a still shot from "Camp Pikachu" still remains on the back of it.
 * This was also the last Pokémon VHS to be released in the UK.
 * Bianca is the second person to kiss Ash, but this is unconfirmed as it could have been Latias.
 * This was Misty's last full appearance in a Pokémon film until the fully computer-animated remake of the first film entitled Pokémon - Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution.