User Reviews

This 18-minute short film from 15 years ago is basically two films in one. Each runs for 9 minutes and focuses on different aspects of the Christmas holidays and in both sections the Pokemon get left alone at the beginning by Ash, Misty and Rocco and collected at the end again. I preferred the first film. It's a charming little tale on how the Pokemon discover Christmas trees, Christmas music and the whole ambiance in their very own ways. Of course, they're as carefree as always, so Pikachu has a rough time keeping the damage low and he sure needs all his training to keep that brightly decorated tree from falling.

The second section is really more a winter journey than a Christmas film, which is good, because you can easily show this one to your children also in January or probably any other time of the year and it won't miss its effect. I've seen some Pokemon episodes quite some time ago and my favorites were always more the parts where they communicate with each other or find new Pokemon and not really the fight sequences. Maybe that's why I liked this short as much as I did. As it's set in the harmony of the Christmas holidays, there's no fighting involved this time. I also like that, of course judging from the date, this has basically only Pokemon from the very early days and I know they've added hundreds over the years, which just doesn't captivate my interest. "Pikachu's Winter Vacation" is a decent little short-film and I recommend it to those who are young and those who are still young at heart.

Quite boring Christmas Pokémon special consist of two parts: In part one, humans go to have fun alone and Pokémons are left to their own. Baby-Pokémon Togepi discovers the open door and room with a Christmas tree. Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Psyduck eventually destroy the whole room and Pikachu is unable to stop them. He finally bursts in anger and shuts the electricity off. Then he discovers a music box with a small Christmas tree; They repair the whole room and when people come back, they start to celebrate.

The second story is located in the forest and features (except the previous) also the Meowth and Kangaskhan mother.

Before I talk about the short, I want briefly talk about the First Movie and the Pikachu shorts. Pokémon The First Movie is just fine. I grew up on this movie, it's one of the earliest cinematic experiences I've had (much to the detriment of my parents). While The First Movie hasn't aged well growing up, seeing it's writing as hacky and cheesey, it's still a nostalgic guilty pleasure with a surprisingly complex antagonist (it's a 6/10, if you're curious).

But then there is the Pokémon shorts preceding each movie. Similarly to the first movies, I grew up on the Pikachu shorts, I actually love them (probably more so than the movies themselves), I think they're charming, they have unique locations, and I love how adorable and slice of life it all is.

With all that said: Pikachu's Vacation, despite being the very first entry, is not just the worst of the Pikachu shorts nor the Pokémon cinematic universe, it is quite possibly the worst short movie I've ever seen. I hated this short when I was a kid, and I still vehemently hate it. It is so boring, brainless, and it makes the runtime feel like an eternity. Pikachu's Vacation is literally a short about nothing: Ash Ketchum's Pokémon go to a playground, Togepi gets upset for like most of the short, the Ketchum monsters deal with a rival gang, Ash's Charizard gets stuck in a pipe, and everyone has to tag in to help him get out. That's it. I don't expect something grand like Lord of the Rings, but if Wallace and Gromit can tell a charming and entertaining short in 30 minutes, there's no excuse. Pikachu's Vacation is not fun. It is so pandering and obnoxious. Everything is handled in the most juvenile and anodyne ways possible. Togepi is really annoying, all of the Pokémon voices are grating in this short, and the transitions, oh god the transitions. So for whatever reason Pikachu's Vacation has these really bizarre transitions that are of these Pokémon... doing something. These transitions really break the flow of the short, they eat up the run time, and don't really have a reason to exist outside of filler. They are terrible, elongated and it feels like a pair of keys are being jangled in my face. And key-jangling is the one word to perfectly sum up Pikachu's Vacation. What my parents felt watching the movie, I feel the same way about the short. I know that Pokémon is aimed mostly for kids, but Pikachu's Vacation is too obnoxious for adults, too boring for kids, and really, is made for no one.

2/10 (The Pikachu shorts do go up from here.)