Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

What’s it about?

A young man teams up with Detective Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) to locate his missing father. Upon discovering their unique ability to communicate with each other, their quest to find the man’s missing father soon uncovers a plot that endangers the peaceful coexistence between humans and Pokémon.

The facts

• Directed by Rob Letterman (Monsters vs. Aliens, Shark Tale)
• English language
• Runtime 104 minutes
• Starring Ryan Renyolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton and Bill Nighy

The film is a loose adaptation of the 2016 video game of the same name and is the first live-action Pokémon film.

Why did it get this rating?

This film was self-rated by Netflix. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Horror

There is a scene where the characters are slowly stalked by a frog-like Pokémon (Greninja). A character looks for their friend, who is captured and hanging from the ceiling, before he discovers her and is quickly ambushed by them. The dark lighting and sounds make the scene uneasy. Although the scene is brief, it could be scary for younger viewers.

Violence

There are many scenes where Pokémon are fighting each other or other human characters. There is a brief scene where the Pokémon are fighting each other aggressively under the influence of a mind-controlling purple gas.

A large explosion kills a character off-screen and a car crash and explosion injures one character.

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?