Pokémon: The First Movie actually offers two so-so cartoons for the price of one. The first, Pikachu’s Vacation, is the better of the two. It follows electric mouse Pikachu and his fellow creatures at a resort for Pokémon. It’s essentially plotless, and that’s actually an asset. Instead of relying on the stale storylines, this one allows viewers to see some of the imaginative creature design. It’s tempting to deride the whole Pokémon phenomenon as merely a shrewd marketing gimmick, but some of the creatures are delightfully odd. After Pikachu ends his vacation, the movie goes downhill. Mewtwo Strikes Back is a version of the Frankenstein story, with an all-powerful Pokémon trying to take over the world. The Japanese version has a dull plot, but the new English translation adds groan-inducing puns (Pikachu eats “Pikachow”) and a horrible song score. Avid Pokémaniacs will get a kick out of seeing their favorite characters on the big screen. Others will probably wonder how this stuff got so popular. (G)

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