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If you endured both "Pok茅mon: The First Movie" and "Pok茅mon 2000", the prospect of seeing this second sequel might fill you with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for root canal work. Imagine your surprise, then, because the latest exploits of the Nintendo-inspired gremlins turn out to be, if not exactly enjoyable, then at least halfway tolerable.
As with its predecessors, this new instalment to the Japanese franchise starts with a 20-minute short starring lurid yellow fuzzball Pikachu, who here gets into all sorts of trouble in the big city. The predictable homilies to teamwork and friendship are as nauseating as ever, though a voiceover does at least help bewildered grown-ups follow what's going on.
This is followed by the bizarrely spelled featurette Spell of the Unown, in which a little girl is so traumatised when her dad is sucked into some alternate reality that she uses the legendary Pok茅mon Entei to build an impenetrable crystalline fortress. The plan involves the abduction of Mrs Ketchum, leading her ace Pok茅mon trainer son Ash to come to her rescue. Cue much colourful mayhem as Ash unleases his Pok茅mon, or 'Pocket Monsters', on the leonine Entei and the forces of the Unown.
It's hard to be engaged by a film that is little more than a full-length advertisement for a range of toys, cards, and computer games. On its own primitive level, however, "Pok茅mon 3" is a qualified success and will no doubt keep the little ones amused until the next infantile craze comes along.
