Released when the Pokémon multimedia franchise was at the zenith of its initial mania, Pokémon: The First Movie received critical scorn but easily became an unqualified smash due to its passionate international fanbase of 6-11 year olds. Very much in this demographic is Latisha, who joins Ryan for an in depth talk about this interesting time capsule of late-90's pop culture. Ryan and Latisha do go into Pokémon's origins in gaming and how it was quickly spun off into manga, anime, trading cards, and lots of other mediums, but much of the thematic conversation touches upon the film's commentary about animal cruelty, the then-recent advent of cloning, and existentialist philosophy. There's also discussion about what the central appeal of Pokémon could be, why it endured past its fledgling years as a fad, and what its influence on the wider world may be. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ryan-valentine3/support