Pikachu the Movie

Contents

1st Logo (July 18, 1998, November 10, 1999)	2nd Logo (July 17, 1999, July 21, 2000)	3rd Logo (July 8, 2000)	4th Logo (April 6-July 7, 2001)


5th Logo (July 13, 2002-July 10, 2010)	6th Logo (July 16, 2011)	7th Logo (July 14, 2012)	8th Logo (July 13, 2013)

1st Logo (July 18, 1998, November 10, 1999)

Visuals: On a black background, a sky blue circle zooms in. Pikachu then walks to the circle. The circle then moves to the left and Pikachu runs to it. The circle then moves to the center and Pikachu tries to squeeze through it. When he gets through, a flash reveals the words "PIKACHU THE MOVIE", with him inside the "O".

Technique: Traditional animation by Team Ota of OLM, Inc., who would animate every logo until the fifth.

Audio: As the circle appears, there is a rising sound effect. A slide whistle is heard when the circle moves. This is accompanied by the sounds of Pikachu, voiced by Ikue Ōtani, who voiced all subsequent logos. When Pikachu squeezes through, he happily goes "Pikachu!" followed by a pop sound and some quick synth arpeggios.

Audio Variant: The English dubbed version has a rising piece of music which plays as the circle appears and moves. The pop sound is replaced by an electrical buzz, and a string chord plays as the text appears.

Availability: Seen on the short Pikachu's Vacation.

2nd Logo (July 17, 1999, July 21, 2000)

Visuals: On a dark blue background, a yellow line appears, first bulged. It then turns into a rectangle when it lands on the center. Then Pikachu appears pushing the line outwards to form a 'V'. He then jumps out and the background changes to a blue gradient. Then the text "PIKACHU THE MOVIE" appears, with the "V" being the cut rectangle.

Technique: A mix of traditional animation and CGI.

Audio: The sequence starts with an echoey, synthesized whoosh, followed by a wood creaking sound when Pikachu tries to split the line, Pikachu shouting "Pika!" and a "Ding!" sound when he jumps out.

Availability: Seen on the short Pikachu's Rescue Adventure.

3rd Logo (July 8, 2000)

Visuals: A filmreel appears reading "Pikachu the Movie" and it opens up, Pikachu jumps into the reel while Pichu jumps into him, he later jumps into the right side of the logo and the two strike a pose while "2000" appears on the bottom right corner.

Technique: Traditional animation.

Audio: A whoosh, with bouncing sound effects and Pikachu saying "Pika!" and "Pikachu!".

Availability: Seen on Japanese prints of the short Pikachu and Pichu.

4th Logo (April 6-July 7, 2001)

Visuals: Over a sapphire background is the text "2001" in the same color as Pikachu's body, with a red border around, zoom in. Pikachu jumps on the number, and then he bounces off as the logo zooms out. The words "PIKACHU THE (the space where Pikachu's tail serves as the letter M) OVIE" appear with the year "2001".

Technique: Another mix of traditional and CGI, though all done in 2D this time.

Audio: A zooming-in sound comes in when the "2001" appears. When Pikachu jumps on the "2001", it makes a can-hitting sound, and Pikachu does his "PIKA!" as usual. When Pikachu jumps off the "2001", it makes a "doink" noise and Pikachu says one more "Pikachu!"

Availability: Seen on Japanese prints of the short Pikachu's PikaBoo and international prints of the short Pikachu and Pichu.

5th Logo (July 13, 2002-July 10, 2010)

Visuals: On a yellow background, the text "PIKACHU THE MOVIE", where Pikachu's tail is the "M", appears connecting while Pikachu fades in to the left of the text.

Early variant: During the earliest appearances, the animation starts with a round circle iris on a black background that can be seen for a split-second.

Anniversary Variants:

On Pokémon Heroes, "5th" is seen next to the logo.
On The Rise of Darkrai, after the logo animates as normal, it moves aside, and "10th" appears next to the logo.

Japanese Trailer Variants:

The Rise of Darkrai: Same as the movie variant, but, instead of the logo moving aside and "10th" appearing, the "10th" connects with the logo.
Arceus and the Jewel of Life: The logo is shown over a beach at night.
Zoroark: Master of Illusions: We see Zorua sleeping. He wakes up and sees a light shining bright. Then, Celebi flies from the light, the screen fades to white. A "flash" occurs as the logo appears.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: There are five themes:

2002-2003: Silent.
2004: Pikachu says "Pika!". This has been in use since Destiny Deoxys, with the exception of Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea.
2005-2006: A reversed crystal-shattering-like sound is heard while the logo forms. After it forms, an echoing "bling" sound (similar to the Game Boy startup sound) is heard. This theme was first heard on Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
2007: There is a slight pause in the theme and an electronic "WHOOSH" can be heard. Pikachu says "Pikachu!" instead of "Pika!"
2008-2010: Same as before, but the "bling" sound comes in earlier and the "WHOOSH" is shorter.

Availability: Seen on every Pokémon movie made at the time, starting with Pokémon Heroes and ending with Zoroark: Master of Illusions.

Legacy: The most commonly-seen of the logos, it is nostalgic to those who grew up watching the Pokémon movies.

6th Logo (July 16, 2011)

Visuals:

White — Victini and Zekrom: On a white background, there is a 3D version of the 5th logo in a glossy bronzish-gold-like color connecting. Then the text "DUAL" in white on a black box very, very quickly zooms out and shines briefly.
Black — Victini and Reshiram: It's the same as the White — Victini and Zekrom variant, but on a black background. Also, "DUAL" is now black on a white box.

Technique: CGI. Done by Team Kato of OLM, Inc., along with following three logos.

Audio: The 2008 music from the 5th logo with Pikachu's voice and a ting-like sound when "DUAL" appears.

Availability: Only seen on the Pokémon movies White — Victini and Zekrom and Black — Victini and Reshiram.

7th Logo (July 14, 2012)

Visuals: Over a black background, there's a still version of the 5th logo in a shiny golden texture. Then, a bright light shines from left to right quickly behind the logo while the "15th" appears after the light shines.

Variant: A non-anniversary variant has the logo in a yellow color, with the light shining faster.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: The 2008 music from the 5th logo with Pikachu's voice, but the electronic "WHOOSH" is louder and slightly longer.

Availability: Seen before the Pokémon movie Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice and the Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade short.

8th Logo (July 13, 2013)

Visuals: The animation is similar to the previous logo, but the "15th" is absent and the entire logo is rendered with a more tri-dimensional look in a dark gold color.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A redone version of the 2008 music from the 5th logo with Pikachu's voice.

Availability: Seen before the Pokémon movie Genesect and the Legend Awakened.

Pikachu the Movie

Pokémon the Movie

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