Spoilers for the original Mewtwo Strikes Back are unmarked.
- Broken Base: This film has split the base in half for (intentionally) being the least original movie in the series. Fans of the movie praise its animation and the high-quality, more faithful English dub that preserves many nuances lost in the 4Kids dub of Pokémon: The First Movie, including retaining the Japanese soundtrack without replacing it with unfitting American pop songs. Detractors criticize that very same animation for its uncanny qualities and lambast the movie for being an unimaginative remake of the original, to the point that not even the English dub adjustments make it feel very different.
- He Really Can Act:
- Billy Bob Thompson has been a longtime Pokémon dub cast member, with many of his roles being hit or miss; his most famous role, Greninja, has been disputed but well-received overall (albeit limited by its Pokémon Speak) while his role as the male Pokémon Trainer (Red) in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been universally mocked and panned. However, he portrays Dr. Fuji in this movie's dub, delivering an excellent performance in an already stellar dub and sounding completely different from some of his prior roles, conveying the good doctor's mystery and experience as well as his mix of awe and desperation once Mewtwo turns against its creators.
- While Ikue Otani has always been phenomenal with her performance as Pikachu, her performance when Pikachu is crying over Ash's death is just devastating, as this is one of the few times where Pikachu expresses more than just its typical "Pika" lines.
- It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: The main complaint of the film is that it's a near-identical remake, just as an All-CGI Cartoon. Barring a few touch-ups, the Japanese version neither adds nor fixes anything from the original. Despite the improved English dub leading to a more coherent final product, the movie has a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,note with this trope being the main criticism of the film.
- Memetic Mutation:
- Pokémon TCG: The MovieExplanation
- The new Jump Force DLCExplanation
- Superlative Dubbing: The English dub uses a new script, faithfully based on the Japanese original and retaining its score while harkening back to the nostalgic (if contested) original dub on multiple occasions. Much like with Dragon Ball Z Kai and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions, it lives up to the standards of modern anime dubs and provides for a different viewing experience from the first movie's dub - justifying the movie's existence more than the Japanese original, for which the script remains largely the same. A handful of 4Kids voice actors, most notably Dan Green as Mewtwo itself, reprise their roles (though from Mewtwo Returns).
- Tainted by the Preview: The film's first full trailer confirms it as a scene-by-scene CG remake of the original film. This upset many fans who were expecting the film to either have a new/updated story or take place in the Pokémon: I Choose You! continuity. The CG on the human characters has also been met with a rather unimpressed reaction from fans.
- Tear Dryer: Ash is caught between Mew and Mewtwo's Kung-Fu Sonic Boom and turns to stone. Pikachu wails over him, and so do the rest of the Pokémon. Ash is then brought back to life and everyone else is relieved and ecstatic, especially Pikachu.
- Tear Jerker:
- Pikachu trying and failing to revive Ash near the end is perhaps worse to handle in this version compared to the original.
- Since the animation style allows more details regarding faces, it's easy to pick out which is the original Bulbasaur and Squirtle during the close ups of the Pokémon crying over Ash's sacrifice.
- They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
- Many fans were upset when it was revealed that the voice cast from the Pokémon 4Kids dub won't be reprising their roles as the main cast in this movie's English dub like they did in the original movie. What also puzzled fans is that the movie's dub had no trouble with bringing in voice actors that did voice work in the Pokémon 4Kids dub like Dan Green and Lisa Ortiz, and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions didn't have trouble with bringing back the voice cast from the Yu-Gi-Oh! 4Kids dub. This was likely due to contractual obligations, as Yu-Gi-Oh! never switched English dub casts in the US. In the end, this movie's English dub done by TPCI got a lot of praise in its own right, although some fans of the 4Kids dub found it to be less entertaining without the original voice cast.
- The Truer to the Text English dub receives a lot of praise, but there have also been complaints about some line changes (such as Dr Fuji's "We dreamed of creating the world's strongest Pokémon, and we succeeded" line and Meowth's sky monologue with his clone).
- The film omits the Amber sequence used in almost every version of the first film. This is disliked because it leaves no explanation for how tears bring Ash back and because Mewtwo still references Amber.
- Unintentional Uncanny Valley: While the Pokémon look just fine, the human models look a bit unsettling
, with inexpressive eyes that make them look more like living puppets. - Uncertain Audience: As summarized by Dogasu in his review of the English dub the dubbers appeared to have trouble deciding who the English Dub is made for. Those who want a faithful recreation of the Japanese version will groan at the lines lifted from the 4Kids dub and find the film's dub well below the standards of what's expected in 2019 thanks to needless rewrites and replacing vocal themes. At the same time, those who enjoyed the original 4Kids dub will be annoyed by the numerous changes to Mewtwo's character and how most of the cast retains the divisive voice actors that have been around since 4Kids lost the license. Those who enjoy the dub claim that it represents a good enough middle ground between both, faithfully translating the intended message and characterization of the Japanese version but retaining some of the quips and quirks that fans loved about the 4Kids dub of the original.
- Visual Effects of Awesome: Say what you want about the human designs, but the CGI used for this reboot looks very bright and full of color.
- Win Back the Crowd:
- The use of Masachika Ichimura's voice in the trailer helps to assuage fans who were burned by Pokémon: Genesect and the Legend Awakened and its very controversial second Mewtwo.
- The return of Brock and Misty as Ash's companions.
- Fans who were disillusioned with the movie being a near-identical remake of the original had their interest piqued when the English dub was revealed to be a more faithful translation of the thoughtful Japanese original than the edited translation of the 1999 movie - along with Dan Green reprising his role from Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns as Mewtwo and cementing himself as the definitive English voice for the character.
- Woolseyism:
- In the original, when Mewtwo questions if it was created by God, the English dub instead has it question if it was creatured by "nature", providing for a more secular and universal adaptation.
- During Brock's impassioned declaration of love to Neesha, he mentions - what else? - his "world-famous jelly donuts" in the English dub.
