Pokemon: Pikachu's Summer Vacation - Reviews

Do you like simple pure fun? If so, go ahead and watch this 20 min Pokémon short.

The story focuses on some Pokémon having fun within a summer resort without their trainers, all by themselves. We never see Ash, Misty or Brock directly (at most a shot of their legs at the start) and while there is a narrator, it only says a few lines and hardly matters. The bulk of the story is carried by the Pokémon and while they cannot talk (except for saying their own names) the short manages to make the events that are transpiring extremely clear thanks to the incredibly expressive animations.

The pacing of this little movie is nothing short of phenomenal, within the 20 minutes of runtime there are an incredible number of memorable scenes. From Bulbasaur singing a song to Togepi to Squirtle and Snubbull having a little battle on who can hold their breath the longest. To then Pikachu running against Raichu on top of waterslides, running upwards some waterfalls and accidentally messing with some other Pokémon that are just chilling around. You have no time at all to get bored before something new and exciting happens.

The excitement of the scenes is enhanced by the amazing use of the soundtrack, that just like the companion movie, features some late 90s catchy pop song. The opening of the show" Vacation" by Vitamin C and "Catch Me If You Can" by Angela Via that plays when Squirtle and Merill are having a swimming race really give the show a fun summer vibe.

While some may call the final climax and associated moral of the show cliché, I prefer to call it simple. “Let’s help each other instead of fighting” is not revolutionary but it helps tie all the different little adventures we had during the show in a perfectly coherent message that gives the short a nice thematic angle. It also makes it perfect if you want to show it to a younger audience while still being entertained yourself.

Man does this make me feel nostalgic! Reminds me of being a kid. No worries in the world, just fun. This is simple, cute, short and sweet.