POKEMON 3: THE MOVIE
A cute short cannot redeem an occult, pagan main adventure.
Should You Watch It?
The 22-minute “Pikachu and Pichu” short is funny and lively. It captures much of the humor found in the television series and contains little of the objectionable material that concerns many parents, including Christian parents.
The main adventure is another matter. Its battles seem to go on forever, with little humor to break the monotony. More seriously, the story centers on mystical creatures with God-like powers, hypnotism, wish fulfillment, magical thinking, and a strong pagan worldview. Its positive themes about reality, friendship, growing up, and resisting exploitation are overshadowed by those elements.
The practical answer is simple: SKIP IT and choose something else for family viewing.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESLittle Molly Hale’s father disappears while investigating mysterious creatures called the Unown. These 26 alphabet-shaped beings can apparently read dreams, thoughts, and emotions and transform them into reality.
When Molly longs for her missing parents, the Unown create a crystal world around her and send Entei, a lion-like Pokemon, to become her guardian. Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, and their friends set out to rescue Ash’s mother and help Molly return to the real world.
Is It Any Good?
One star means this film is a poor entertainment experience. The short preceding the main feature is funny and lively, but the central adventure is excruciating.
The battles between Ash and Entei seem to continue endlessly. The movie offers little of the famous POKEMON humor to relieve the monotony, and it misses an opportunity to build an exciting, tearful reunion into the climax. The source review also describes the audience at a preview screening as largely motionless and unenthusiastic when the film ended.
The Worldview
The film does stress some positive ideas: growing up, preferring reality and friendship over wish fulfillment, and resisting the exploitation of weaker people. The story also presents teamwork as important. But these moral elements are overshadowed by a strong humanist message and a pagan, New Age worldview.
The Unown and Entei possess mystical, God-like powers. They hypnotize people, make dreams come true, and reshape the world according to human wishes. The desire to access and capture such powers for personal gain, knowledge, and enjoyment is never fully rejected. Even the heroes’ appeals to Molly are framed in humanist terms rather than in devotion to the One True God.
The source review connects this fascination with mystical creatures and occult powers to the broader New Age movement’s interest in Eastern mysticism, psychic practices, fortune-telling, and gurus. The film’s imaginative fantasy does not remove the concern, because the Bible warns people to stay away from occult and pagan practices.
Human creativity is a gift from God, meant for fellowship with Him and love of neighbor. Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong New Age pagan worldview coupled with a solid humanist message or premise, plus many occult elements & some moral elements, including a preference for reality & friendship over wish fulfillment & exploitation, boy endangers himself to save his kidnapped mother, & creatures work together to prevent their junkyard playground from toppling; no foul language; much cartoon violence, such as dog creature chases creatures that look like rabbits, fantasy creatures looking like turtles, plants, dogs, cats, lions, dragons, & other animals battle one another with special weapons such as fire, water sprays, electric shocks, & more, plus mystical alphabet blocks fly through the air in geometric formations communicating with one another while they turn landscape & village into crystal & make large sharp crystals sprout from the ground to attack other people & creatures; no sex; no nudity; no alcohol use; no smoking; and, kidnapping, mystical creatures with God-like powers hypnotize people & strong magical thinking mostly rebuked.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film contrasts reality with wish fulfillment. Why can getting what we want fail to give us what is truly good?
Proverbs 14:12 · Philippians 4:11–13The story presents mystical creatures as sources of extraordinary power. What does Scripture teach about where we should seek guidance and power?
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 · Psalm 119:105The film values friendship and teamwork. How can cooperation honor God without replacing individual responsibility?
Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 · Galatians 6:5Jesus says He is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” How does that claim differ from the film’s many paths to power and reality?
John 14:6 · Acts 17:22–31The Final Word
The lively Pikachu short has charm, but the main adventure is both poorly paced and spiritually troubling. Its occult powers and pagan worldview overshadow its positive themes. For your family, the answer is SKIP IT. Consider these alternatives instead:
