The Tapu Guardians

The Tapu Guardians is a 2016 CGI-animated comedy-action-adventure film created by New Line Cinema, Legendary Pictures, The Pokémon Company, and Toho. The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures. The movie was written and directed by Greg Daniels. The movie was produced by Baily Fisherman, and Nicole Peterson. It stars Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Lucy Courtnez, John Myers, and Amanda Jones.

Synposis
When the world falls into darkness by an unknown creature, four ordinary Pokémon have to stop him before he can take over the entire universe. Will they be able to stop him in time?

Cast

 * Ryan Reynolds as Tapu Koko, a guardian of Alola and the main protagonist in the movie.
 * Will Ferrell as Necrozma. An ultra-space like extraterrestrial. The main antagonist of the movie.
 * Lucy Courtnez as Tapu Lele, a friend of Tapu Koko and the deuteratogonist.
 * John Myers as Tapu Bulu, the tritagonist of the film.
 * Amanda Jones as Tapu Fini, a main character of the film.
 * Duke Louis as Raichu, an electric-type Pokémon friend of Tapu Koko.
 * TBA as Shiny Tapu Koko, the secondary antagonist of the film and an evil twin brother of Tapu Koko.

Production
On May 31, 2014, Warner Bros. announced a full-length Pokémon film that would be animated by New Line Cinema, Legendary Entertainment, The Pokémon Company, and Toho. Greg Daniels, the director of the film, had announced that it would introduce new Pokémon, instead of old Pokémon. On June 9, 2015, Daniels hired John Myers, Lucy Courtnez, Duke Louis, and Amanda Jones in the film. On July 23, he later hired Fisherman and Peterson as producers. Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell were said to have join the cast as well. The movie's working title was "Land of Spirit Guardians: The Movie". In September, the transcript was completed and animating has begun. On November, the movie's title was changed to "The Tapu Guardians". In December, a YouTube channel named "Project Tapu" was created. On March 23rd, the animation was complete, and Greg Daniels has confirmed the movie to be complete. On May 10, the teaser trailer was released. On June 30, it was announced that the movie would premiere at Toho Theater in Tokyo, Japan. On August 25, the official trailer was released. On September 22nd, the second trailer was released. In October, the final trailer was released.

Animation
The movie appears to be animated in CGI.

Release Date

 * November 11, 2016 (Toho Theater)
 * November 18 (United States and Canada)
 * December 1 (Worldwide)

Home Media

 * Feburary 5, 2017 (Digital)
 * Feburary 20 (DVD and Blu-Ray)
 * March 18 (Hulu and Netflix)
 * May 3 (Amazon Video Prime)

Rating
The movie was rated PG-13 for:

Some Action

 * A fight is shown at the spaceship.

Violence

 * Contains blood and some battle sequence.

Some Language
Many of the main characters cuss when they do something wrong.

Models
The mini figure models can be bought on eBay and Amazon Shopping.

Variant Logos
Warner Bros. Pictures - Metal and is in space.

New Line Cinema - Same for Warner Bros. Pictures.

Legendary Pictures - After its logo sequence, the logo gets knocked from a bow of a spaceship.

Reception
The film was a box-office success with New Line Cinema confirming that a sequel will be possible.

Critical Reception
The film recieved positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes holds 79%, while IMDB rates it 7.5 stars. CinemaScore gives it a B+.

Sequels
After the success of the first film, 4 other sequels followed the storyline, with The Tapu Guardians 2 released in 2019, The Tapu Guardians 3 in 2021, The Tapu Guardians 4 in 2024, and the final film, The Tapu Guardians 5 in 2026.