Reviewer's Rating 2 out of 5
Digimon: The Movie (2001)
PG

Pop music acquires even more street-cred and becomes even more addictive the more parents disapprove of it. If they also make it clear that they haven't a clue about pop, it makes you turn up the volume even more. A big part of the sheer glee of youth is that special sense of belonging to a club which slams the door in the face of all adults.

Thus any kid who watches "Digimon The Movie" will only have that particular feeling increased. Indeed, grown-ups will not be expected to like this any more than mince and custard sandwiches. If you haven't seen the successful TV series "Digimon: Digital Monsters" (I hadn't), you'll initially find the film as obscure and unnerving as a crash course in Chinese. Are the DigiDestined (the kids on screen) meant to be digitally created, or are they simply flesh and blood (ie loud) American kids who can enter the world of Digimon (digital monsters)?

Once you've decoded this latest kids' lingo, and pushed aside the clutter of an often scrappy film, you'll discover at the centre a straightforward meat-and-potatoes action romp, with bad monsters being seen off by good ones (and the well-intentioned children), with both good and bad revealing a handy ability to 'digivolve' into even bigger, better beasts. In a high-speed film with endless visual distractions, and occasionally sparky dialogue, the baddest beast wants to nuke Japan, while the most entertaining one is just a pink head and two floppy ears that sticks to your face. You know it makes sense.

End Credits

Director: Mamoru Hosada

Writer: Jeff Nimoy, Bob Buchholz

Stars: Michael Reisz, Joshua Seth, Colleen O'Shaughnessy, Mona Marshall

Genre: Fantasy, Animation

Length: 88 minutes

Cinema: 16 February 2001

Country: US/Japan

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