Source: Toho Co., Ltd.
Official Site: pokemon-movie.jp (Japan)

A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

Toho has provided SciFi Japan with press notes and a gallery of high-res images from the next feature-length Pokémon anime, POKÉMON THE MOVIE: COCO (劇場版ポケットモンスター ココ, Gekijō-ban Poketto Monsutā Koko), opening in theaters across Japan on Christmas day.

INTRODUCTION

The Pokemon movie series that started in 1998 with POKÉMON: THE FIRST MOVIE – MEWTWO STRIKES BACK (劇場版ポケットモンスター　ミュウツーの逆襲, Gekijō-ban Poketto Monsutā Myuutsū no Gyakushū) is celebrating its 23rd entry this year. The children who watched that first movie in a theater have become parents and now take their own children to see the new Pokémon movies together. For 22 years, each new Pokémon movie has been released in theaters during the summer; inspirong the slogan “Summer is Pokémon!” But this year POKÉMON THE MOVIE: COCO was delayed to December 25 by the pandemic, making it the first winter release in the history of Pokémon movies.

Set in a forest, the movie reveals the incredible story of a boy named Coco who was raised by Pokémon. Actress and singer Moka Kamishiraishi will play the role of the Coco, and Kankuro Nakamura provides the voice of the phantom Pokémon Zarude who raised him. In director Mamoru Hosoda’s movie MIRAI (未来のミライ, Mirai no Mirai, 2018), Kamishiraishi gave a splendid performance as a 4-year-old boy… here she will play a 10-year-old boy who is torn between Pokémon and humans. Kankuro Nakamura is a member of a famous family of kabuki actors. He delighted audiences with his physical performances in the live-action GINTAMA movies and the NHK historical drama IDATEN (いだてん〜東京オリムピック噺〜, Idaten: Tokyo Orinpikku-banashi, 2019), and now makes his Pokémon debut as Zarude, who break the rules of the forest by raising a lost human baby. This winter, fans will be
overwhelmed by the love between parents and children that transcends the species of Pokémon and humans!

In addition, Koichi Yamadera (KYORYUGER VS GO-BUSTERS, ULTRAMAN ORB THE MOVIE) continues his streak of Pokémon voice roles as Professor Zed of the Biotope Company, who meets Satoshi while studying cutting-edge technology in the forest. Shoko Nakagawa (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT, KITARO AND THE MILLENNIUM CURSE) also continues her Pokémon movie streak by providing the voice for a young researcher named Karen.

POKÉMON THE MOVIE: COCO features 6 songs (including the main theme) which are all written by Taiiku Okazaki. This will be the first time in a Pokémon movie that multiple songs by a single artist will be used! Okazaki, known as a big Pokémon fan, created both the opening and ending themes for the TV anime POKÉMON THE SERIES: SUN & MOON (ポケットモンスター サン&ムーン, Poketto Monsutā: San & Mūn, 2016-17), but this is his first work on the film series. He has recruited several famous artists as vocalists for the Pokémon songs, with Tortoise Matsumoto of the rock band Ulfuls singing the main theme, “Wonderful, Marvelous Creatures.” Taiiku Okazaki and Tortoise Matsumoto have been close friends for some time, but this is their first collaboration.

STORY

Deep in remote a jungle, far from human civilization, there exists Okoya Forest, a paradise for Pokémon protected by strict rules outlawing outsiders. One day, Zarude, a stubborn Pokémon who lived with his friends, found a baby at the riverside.

“Human, this is …”

Contrary to the law of the forest, Zarude, could not abandon the baby. He decides to leave his fellow Pokémon and raise the baby he names Coco on his own.

10 years later, Coco meets Satoshi and Pikachu when they journey to Okoya Forest. Satoshi is the first human Coco has ever seen. Coco always believed he was a Pokémon, but now doubt begins to grow in his heart.

“Dad, am I a Pokémon? Or am I human?”

As Coco questions who he is, the sounds of uninvited human footsteps are heard in the forest, bringing an end to the peaceful days…

CREDITS

Japanese Theatrical Release: Friday, December 25, 2020 (Nationwide Roadshow)

Cast
Satoshi (Ash Ketchum): Rica Matsumoto
Pikachu: Ikue Otani
Musashi (Jessie): Megumi Hayashibara
Kojiro (James): Shinichiro Miki
Nyarth (Meowth): Inuko Inuyama
Coco: Moka Kamishiraishi (Special Appearance)
Professor Zed: Koichi Yamadera (Special Appearance)
Karen: Shoko Nakagawa (Special Appearance)
Zarude: Kankuro Nakamura (Special Appearance)
Narrator: Kenyu Horiuchi

Staff
Director: Tetsuo Yajima
Original Concept: Satoshi Tajiri
Screenplay: Atsuhiro Tomioka, Tetsuo Yajima
Excecutive Producers: Junya Okamoto, Hidenaga Katakami
Producers: Satoshi Shimodaira, Yuta Uchiyama, Ayaka Sekiguchi
Animation Producer: Hiroyuki Kato
Character Design: Hirotaka Marufuji
Chief Animation Directors: Yasushi Nishitani, Hirotaka Marufuji
Recording Director: Masafumi Mima
Music: Taiiku Okazaki
Theme Song: “Wonderful, Marvelous Creatures” by Taiiku Okazaki featuring vocalist Tortoise Matsumoto (Ulfuls)

Production: Pikachu Project (Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, TV Tokyo, Takara Tomy, OLM)
2D Animation Production: OLM/Wit Studio
CGI: OLM Digital
Distributor: Toho
World Sales: The Pokémon Company International

© Nintendo · Creatures · GAME FREAK · TV Tokyo · ShoPro · JR Kikaku
© Pokémon © 2020 PIKACHU PROJECT

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About Toho Company. Ltd.

Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Tokyo, Toho Company, Ltd. is one of the leading entertainment conglomerates in Japan. Toho is best known worldwide as the producer of twenty-eight Godzilla motion pictures, based upon a character the company unleashed on the world back in 1954, and masterpiece films directed by Akira Kurosawa. Toho has been the number one distributor of motion pictures in Japan (both domestic and foreign) for over ten consecutive years since 2003.