"Digimon: The Movie," based off the landmark Japanese television series of the same name, quite brilliantly explores the ideas of community and friendship. While the hoi polloi prefer such trash like "Pokemon: The First Movie" and "Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns," neither film holds a candle to the level of quirk and irony found in "Digimon: The Movie."
The film is split into three marvelous acts. The first act follows Tai and Kari, two young Japanese hipsters, as they come across a Digimon, a digital creature with the power to evolve into larger digital creature. After this discovery, the film flashes forward 4 years later and it's almost like you're watching a completely different movie! At this point, the story follows Tai and the gang as an evil mutant Digimon takes over the internet. And just when you think the film's going to end, it flashes forward to the present day with completely different characters trying to defeat the evil Kokomon once and for all. While some totally lame people would find this three act structure disjointed and off-putting, it added to this reviewer's ironic enjoyment of the film.
And let's not forget the stellar soundtrack! With such classic jams like "All Star"by Smash Mouth and "One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies, the film's soundtrack's only adds to the film's hipness. While lesser people may find the songs catchy and enjoyable, they won't pick up on the satiric irony inherent to their placement in the film. In fact, the unwashed masses might enjoy the film as a whole, but they will never have the intellectual prowess to decipher the film's weighty subtext.
But, at its heart, "Digimon: The Movie" truly examines what it's like to be human. It asks us many important questions. Who does one turn to in times of great need? Can community help us overcome great obstacles? And, perhaps most importantly, is this film obscure enough to add to my DVD collection?
[This review is dedicated to Seamus Hamilton, King of the Hipsters]
