Detective Pikachu (2019) – Why I Loved It October 16, 2023

Time for a new video series! Welcome to Why I Loved It, where we’re going to talk about gaming documentaries or gaming related movies that I…loved. In 2019, Warner Bros released Detective Pikachu, a film adaptation of the 3DS-exclusive adventure game set in the Pokémon world. Reviews on the film were mixed at the time, but despite being the first live-action adaptation from the most dominant consumer franchise on the planet with a unique art style no other movie had at the time, not too many people have spoken about it over the past few years.

The film followed the story of Tim, a boy who discovers his father has gone missing while working on a case in Ryme City. When examining his father’s apartment, he discovers a Pikachu who was his father’s Pokémon partner, and Tim (and only Tim) can understand everything he’s saying as if he’s speaking english. Only together can they discover what happened to Tim’s father.

Since the release of The Super Mario Bros Movie, Hollywood has decided that video game adaptations could become the next major phase of Hollywood, just as superhero films were for the past twenty years. However, despite Detective Pikachu coming at just the right time, and the film being four years old, and a new game in the Detective Pikachu franchise recently getting released on the Nintendo Switch, not too many people have been speaking about this movie. So why did I love it? Well, here’s an unscripted thirty-five minute video where I tell you why I believe it is the gaming generation’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Just be aware, there will be spoilers.

Detective Pikachu can currently be watched on Freevee.