‘Detective Pikachu’ Reveals Number of Pokemon in Film

Approximately 60 live action Pokemon will appear in Detective Pikachu, according to a producer of the film. Speaking to Pokemon.com on the set of the upcoming live action Pokemon movie, producer Mary Parent said that about 60 Pokemon were adapted from their traditional look to the unique 3D style used in the film. “From the beginning, our idea is that this has to be the highest-quality animation possible,” Parent told Pokemon.com. “These creatures really need to feel like they’re standing next to you in the real world and that’s going to be the success of this movie.”

One of the biggest challenges was finding a balance between the real world features of animals and the bright colors and cartoonish expressions of the Pokemon. Visual Effects producer Greg Baxter expanded on this process. “It’s supposed to feel like all these creatures that you’ve seen mostly in very bright colors and in anime style are sitting in the room with you,” he explained. For every Pokemon adapted in the movie, the visual effects team took real-world animals and drew from that. “Even though they’re a creature that doesn’t exist in our world, all the elements of what makes them up in this movie are taken from animals that do.”

This explains why Pikachu is noticably fuzzy or why Charizard has tough, leathery skin instead of his usual smooth orange color. The visual effects team also tried to balance the roles that the Pokemon played in the movie with their traditional depictions. “It’s been a real chellenge, and I think our visual effects team has really risen to that, and people are going to be very excited about what they see.

Although only 60 Pokemon got the live-action treatment in the film, dozens of other Pokemon will appear in the form of neon signs and other Easter eggs scattered throughout the city. Detective Pikachu producers also noted that other Pokemon could appear in future spinoffs and sequels based on the success of the upcoming film.

Detective Pikachu hits theatres on May 10th. Let us know if you’re surprised about the number of Pokemon in the movie or find me on Twitter at @CHofferCbus to talk all things Pokemon!