Pokemon has been around for more than 20 years now, and it continues to thrive. From its video games to its TV shows, the franchise is on a global scale like never before thanks to its millions of fans. Of course, this means there is a growing interest in Pokemon‘s early years, and some of that juicy history has been lost to time. But thanks to the fandom, a major detail about Pokemon‘s first movie has come back to the light.
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The whole thing began after Twitter user vonMaandelbrot posted an excerpt from an older book on Japanese pop culture. The book, which Anne Allison penned over ten years ago, tackles the emergence of anime and manga in the west. And while reading Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination, a forgotten fact was shared with fans anew.
The story comes from Gail Tilden, a former employee at Nintendo of America who worked very closely with Pokemon. As Japan prepared to debut Pokemon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back in the late 1990s, the need for localization was left to the team in America. It was there Tilden confirmed Mewtwo’s famous line from the end of the film was added just for American audiences.
According to Allison’s book, the longer speech was added to not only give greater closure for U.S. children but to share a moral message as well. Tilden explicitly called the line a “feel-good” moment as Mewtwo does note that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant to their future. In the film’s original cut, Mewtwo simply indicates that his scheme is best left forgotten, and there is no resolution given about his big epiphany.
If you have ever seen the Japanese cut of the first Pokemon movie, you will know the ending differed since day one, but the reason behind the American edit is fascinating. As Tilden said before, “American kids need to be hit over the head” with the ending, and Mewtwo’s line did just that. So when you enjoy the following line from Mewtwo again, well – you know a bit more about its origins:
“I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.”
What do you think about this Pokemon tidbit? Did you already know this fact about Mewtwo’s epic line? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
