In a cool surprise from the media giant, they released the film to Disney+ subscribers months ahead of schedule, due to the coronavirus quarantine. If you’re like my family, you were patiently waiting until this summer for Frozen 2 to come to Disney’s streaming service. While some critics felt the film was too formulaic, and didn’t do enough to reach out to the non-Pokemon-fan audience, kids (and parents) familiar with the franchise will enjoy all the Pokemon cameos they can spot throughout the film.
The disappearance of Tim’s father and the strange gas must be related, and their journey leads them to confront an advanced form of Mewtwo before they can save the day. As they hunt for clues, they discover vials of purple gas that cause Pokemon to go into a battle frenzy. While other people only hear Pikachu say “pika,” Tim realizes he can communicate with the Pokemon, and the two work together to unravel the mystery. When Tim’s father, a private investigator, goes missing, Tim finds himself paired up with his father’s Pokemon companion. Set in a world where trainers really do collect Pokemon, and no one seems to be able to understand them, the film features Ryan Reynolds as the voice and facial capture actor for Pikachu alongside Justice Smith as Tim Goodman, a failed Pokemon trainer. While my kids and I can still play a little bit of Pokemon GO (as long as we keep our social distancing), hanging out with Pikachu on screen is another option, thanks to the recent film.
Since we can’t go out to see a movie right now, here are some recent kids and family films you can catch right in your living rooms.
The COVID-19 pandemic has many of us at home with our kids, and while we’ve got distance learning to handle from many of our school systems, giving us a taste of what homeschooling is like, there’s also some great opportunity for watching films together as a family.