History YMMV / PokemonTheFirstMovie

** For the English version, this can either be subverted or played straight depending on your point of view, in that both Philip Bartlett and Creator/DanGreen (who took over the role in ''[[Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns Mewtwo Returns]]'') seem to be equally well-remembered as Mewtwo's voice. Eventually, the latter overtook the former as he reprised Mewtwo in [[Anime/MewtwoStrikesBackEvolution this movie's remake]].

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: The dub's anti-violence Aesop [[CluelessAesop doesn't make sense in a franchise that revolves around battling]], but works a lot better when viewed as about the distinction between safe, voluntary, properly regulated fighting and the brutal fights to the death that Mewtwo is forcing on the Pokémon.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The movie's Japanese ending theme, "Kaze To Issho Ni" (lit. "Together with the Wind") is a beautifully haunting ballade about growing up and striving toward your dream.

** The moral message. The movie's central theme—"Fighting is wrong, and we should all learn to live in harmony"—has been both praised and criticized. Some fans appreciate the movie's attempt to convey a pacifist message in a franchise centered around battles, while others argue that the message is hypocritical and poorly executed given the inherent nature of Pokémon battles. Part of it is that the pacifist message was entirely tacked on to the English dub of the film -- the Japanese version only had the "all life, regardless of origin, is valuable" moral that Mewtwo delivers at the end.

** Mewtwo is the first in a long line of legendary or mythical Pokémon movie stars that would have the ability to telepathically speak human language. The concept is definitely a novelty here in this first theatrical outing, it makes perfect sense for Mewtwo, the proclaimed "most powerful" psychic Pokémon, to have such an ability, and is one of the attributes that makes it stand out all the more. The concept would, unfortunately, go on to become the single-most overused in the entire movie franchise, with the overwhelming majority of these films having at least one or more of their legendaries being able to communicate in the same way for seemingly no other reason than for plot convenience. In some of these cases, the talking legendary is not even a psychic-type, making their having the ability that much more of an AssPull.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Fergus's comment about Gyarados being one of the most dependable Pokémon there is after getting over its high training curve. A small throwaway line in the context of the movie, but one that would nicely foreshadows Misty's character arc years later. At the time of the movie, the twerps' last encounter with Gyarados ended with them caught in its vicious storm, but Misty would eventually train a Gyarados of her own after getting over her fear of it in ''Cerulean Blues'', and indeed, it has become her most dependable fighter since.
* HilariousInHindsight: The gag with Team Rocket dressing as vikings, given that ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' would give Meowth a viking-based regional form.

* {{Macekre}}: The English dub of the movie was met with a lot of flak due to the changes that 4Kids made to the movie that heavily toned down the complexity and existential themes of the Japanese version and turned it into a generic kids film. From changing Mewtwo in an all-out bad guy instead of a morally ambiguous one, to changing the message of the movie even though near the end a piece of dialogue from Mewtwo shows that they didn't need to, and shortening Mewtwo's backstory and making it difficult for fans and newcomers to follow the plot. While the later films are more faithful to the Japanese versions and tone down the changes, this was still a big loss for the film since it is one of the most complex and emotionally impacting films of the ''Pokémon'' movie series that had most of its potential go down the drain for non-Japanese audiences thanks to the ExecutiveMeddling from a dubbing company that tried to make the movie more marketable to kids even though the Japanese version was intended to be for both kids and adults.

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: Everything fans and non-fans think about Mewtwo (from its brooding, misanthropic personality, to its origin as a Team Rocket-created bioweapon) stems from this movie's depiction of it. Not bad for what was, in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', just a weird Pokémon squatting in an endgame cave with no defined personality and little backstory aside from an ApocalypticLog. It even crept into other ''Pokémon'' media: ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' has Mewtwo's portrayal directly inspired by this movie, ''Film/DetectivePikachu'' [[spoiler:is a StealthSequel featuring the same character]], and ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' [[spoiler:gives Giovanni a Mewtwo on his team]].

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/BilliePiper (credited simply as Billie) sings one of the end credits songs, "Makin' My Way (Any Way That I Can)." That's right, [[Series/DoctorWho Rose Tyler]] was in a ''Pokémon'' movie.

** The moral message. The movie's central theme—"Fighting is wrong, and we should all learn to live in harmony"—has been both praised and criticized. Some fans appreciate the movie's attempt to convey a pacifist message in a franchise centered around battles, while others argue that the message is hypocritical and poorly executed given the inherent nature of Pokémon battles.

* CantUnhearIt:

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: Everything fans and non-fans think about Mewtwo (from its brooding, misanthropic personality, to its origin as a Team Rocket-created bioweapon) stems from this movie's depiction of it. Not bad for what was, in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', just a weird Pokémon squatting in an endgame cave with no defined personality. It even influenced ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', where Mewtwo's portrayal was directly inspired by this movie, as well as [[spoiler:''Film/DetectivePikachu'', which is a StealthSequel featuring the same character]], as well as [[spoiler:''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'', where Giovanni owns one]].

** Near the end of the movie, Ash gets turned to stone after being caught in the crossfire between Mewtwo and Mew's psychic attacks. He is then revived by the tears of the Pokémon present, which are said to have healing powers. Many fans find this scene touching and powerful, while others see it as a contrived way to bring Ash back to life and criticize it as a [[DeusexMachina]].

** Near the end of the movie, Ash gets turned to stone after being caught in the crossfire between Mewtwo and Mew's psychic attacks. He is then revived by the tears of the Pokémon present, which are said to have healing powers. Many fans find this scene touching and powerful, while others see it as a contrived way to bring Ash back to life and criticize it as a deus ex machina.

** "The First Movie" carries a heavy anti-violence message, with Mewtwo realizing the error of his ways and renouncing violence after seeing the harm it causes to both Pokémon and humans. Some fans appreciate the movie's attempt to convey a strong moral message, while others argue that it feels forced and hypocritical given the franchise's focus on Pokémon battles.

* BrokenBase: Near the end of the movie, Ash gets turned to stone after being caught in the crossfire between Mewtwo and Mew's psychic attacks. He is then revived by the tears of the Pokémon present, which are said to have healing powers. Many fans find this scene touching and powerful, while others see it as a contrived way to bring Ash back to life and criticize it as a deus ex machina.
** "The First Movie" carries a heavy anti-violence message, with Mewtwo realizing the error of his ways and renouncing violence after seeing the harm it causes to both Pokémon and humans. Some fans appreciate the movie's attempt to convey a strong moral message, while others argue that it feels forced and hypocritical given the franchise's focus on Pokémon battles.

* BrokenBase: The movie's message. Some fans appreciate the anti-violence message, while others feel it's hypocritical given the franchise's focus on battling Pokémon.