Rarely has Pokémon ventured into territory that is either unfamiliar or done anything super different in their formula for film entries. This base template was adequate for a while and had some variations to it along the way. Now though with more than ten films in, it has begun to feel very much the same and unoriginal. Having multiple entries lined up to be released after every season doesn't seem to help with its freshness. Perhaps releasing a film after every region Ash and friends visit would have been a more reasonable approach. That way there would be more time in between films to develop a better story and make it worthwhile for the fans. Cranking out a film that is basically a copy of the last really does nobody a service. This one still falls in the same trap with some very small differences.

This entry finds Ash and company on their way to another random city, this being inspired from the look of Dubai. There they randomly encounter a new Pokémon by the name of Hoopa (Lori Phillips). Believe it or not, this Pokémon not only knows English but speaks it this time too, wow! Of course it still has the small big eyed cutesy look to it. Hoopa belongs to Baraz (Daniel J. Edwards) and Meray (Emily Woo Zeller) and are looking to restore Hoopa's power by giving its unbound power back (Ryan William Downey). Currently Hoopa exists in its confined state due to lack of maturity and understanding. Surprisingly this entry is not handled by that usual duo always being mentioned. Yes, it is still directed by Kunihiko Yuyama but the script was written by Atsuhiro Tomioka in their first Pokémon movie credit. Maybe Hideki Sonoda finally took a needed break from doing that last several entries. Unfortunately, Tomioka only adds some new things to this entry.

The pluses to this film are the usual categories pointed out for several films before this one. Voice acting works just fine for this project. The main cast of actors all voice their characters like they should and emote properly when the scene calls for it. Even for the supporting characters, Daniel J. Edwards and Emily Woo Zeller have experience working on other animes. Of all the voices Ryan William Downey who plays the unbound version of Hoopa is pretty cool sounding, even though he has lesser credits to this name. Lori Phillips is also fine as the confined version of Hoopa although the Pokémon is very much a copy of Zorua; laughing and smirking thinking it's clever. Actually it's annoying, can't something more unique be made with these focal point Pokémon's personalities?! The character arc for Hoopa is okay to be clear, that at least isn't the usual super power Pokémon in need of saving.

This doesn't mean the rest of the writing works though. The continuity to this narrative doesn't make sense. The reason why the title says "Clash of Ages" is due to it involving the many legendary Pokémon on screen. However, some of the legendaries called into question are ones that either should appear and don't, ones that shouldn't appear but do, and ones that look nothing like they've been depicted before. It's very confusing because this is obviously supposed to take place as the latest point in time in Ash's journey. Yet with these discrepancies, it's very difficult to understand why things are the way they are. Then again, being that Ash and friends have done some time traveling in various stories, maybe that's what's causing these changes? It's really not clear and doesn't make sense why these loose ends can't be tied up.

Visually though the animation is still very good looking. The 3D CGI images against the digital 2D animation blends well together with nothing that looks like an eyesore. Cinematography was handled by Tatsumi Yukiwaki who seems to be taking over this role for Hisao Shirai. Of course, the clarity of the role goes unknown. Music on the other hand was another interesting listening experience provided once again by Shinji Miyazaki even though Ed Goldfarb is credited for some reason. Because the location of the story takes place in the area closely resembling the middle east, Miyazaki incorporates a lot of instruments and cues that match the setting and it gives the scenes a much more engaging feel. And as expected there is a Japanese album release but that is all. As we all have come to know and expect.

The franchise is still languishing in the average viewing experience realm. Aside from some minor changes in screenwriter, change in musical sound, standard animation and credible voice acting it is still a regular ho-hum entry. The main Pokémon still isn't that interesting and continuity is baffling to say the least.

Right, Hoopa & The Clash Of Ages, 18th film in the Pokémon series, grab me a pack of Wotsits and let's a go.

One thing I'm gonna get straight outta the way is, it is sort of (and I mean sort of since this film is also plagued with problems) better than the Diancie film which in my silly little humble opinion felt like an overlong episode of the show... and a boring one too. Here it doesn't feel like that, it has a bit of an epic feel to it, there are at least some stakes here and not endless padding.

So the plot is Ash and pals (if you're living under a rock that's the XY companions who are Serena, Bonnie and Clemont) have gone to Dahara City and in no time at all they soon meet a Pokémon named Hoopa who has a fetish for donuts and loves surprising people. Taking care of this chum is Barza and Meray. Fortunately for everyone, Team Rocket (being the clumsy fools they are) accidentally release the giant form of Hoopa and it soon becomes a frantic race against time to get the giant form back into the bottle.

Now I must admit, this story has some good potential, Pokémon has never done anything like this before so surely they must have had some good ideas up their sleeves right? Well the actual execution to me seems rather disappointing to be honest with ya.

Because the film was released with a Pikachu short, the film only has at least 76 minutes to try and get a plot as big as this into one roof, and while some stuff do work, others don't. This my friend, was certainly the case where I thought a longer running-time could have helped make the story flow better.

Surprisingly enough, tons of Legendary Pokémon make appearances thanks to Hoopa so if you are a Pokémon aficionado I hope you've got your notebooks at the ready.

Lugia, Latios, Latias, Rayquaza, Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Kyurem all appear... unfortunately for some (especially Dialga, Palkia, Groudon and Kyogre) they aren't really given that much to do. Still nice to see Latios and Latias again.

One of the highlights of the film was of course the battle against the legendaries, this scene made some pretty decent use of animation and CG all fluidly done. It was great fun to watch.

Another disappointing part and *SPOILER IF YOU AIN'T SEEN IT* is where Ash turns evil for a bit. Honestly the trailer made it look like he was about to do something quite bad yet the film reduces it to just 2 minutes of it. Quite wasted potential if you ask me.

So what's the dub like? Well for the most part the acting is quite good (and no I ain't throwing any complaints at the TPC actors, it's been done far enough, so there, nah nah ne nah nah), Sarah Natochenny's good as Ash, Haven Paschell's great as Serena, Michael Liscio Jr makes a fine Clemont and Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld really stands out as Bonnie.

Guest stars do good too (except for one though), Daniel J Edwards did a decent job as Baraz and Emily Woo Zeller was also good as Meray.

However I can not and I repeat I CAN NOT say the same for Hoopa who's English voice is absolutely grating. This shrill and nasally excuse for a voice almost nearly took my enjoyment out of the film and I honestly wanted to blow Hoopa's brains out because I couldn't stand it.

Also the English music is quite frankly awful, completely ruining any excitement out of most of the scenes and replacing it with a big pile of nothing.

So there we have it my pals, Hoopa & The Clash Of Ages. In short, it's better than Diancie though it's still rather disappointing in it's execution. Hoopa's English voice is crap and it could have been longer but it's still okay for what it is. Just not something I would go outta my way to see again.

As for Volcanion though... hmmmm. Get me a ticket, cause we're off to whatever that steam place is ma pals. It's gonna be a bumpy ride, trust me!