Theaters

to be swamped by Pokemon movie

BOYLAN

Weekend Editor

If you're a

parent, you've probably been hearing about this day for

weeks; the day "Pokemon's First Movie" comes

out.

What

started as a little game that only a few children played

has become a mass-marketed superfad. There are now

Pokemon video games, card games, toys, television

programs (including a spinoff called DigiMon) and, of

course, clothing, linens, shampoos and soaps. On

Wednesday, America will feel the force of the fad and

children will be lined up for blocks to see the Pokemon

movie.

Each child

that goes to the film will receive one of four special

collector cards that can be used in the Pokemon battles

that have swept through America's schoolyards. There are

four cards because, as every Pokemonite knows, to be the

master of Pokemon "you've gotta catch them

all." In addition to the film there will also be a

short cartoon before the movie, called "Pikachu's

first vacation."

At the time

this article was written, Tinseltown in Fayetteville did

not know if it was going to have the Pokemon movie. It

will run on two screens at AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 and

Holly Tyler, administrative assistant at the theater,

expects it to do a lot of business. "We've been

getting phone calls for over a month," said Tyler.

"It should be a really big movie." Advance

tickets for Wednesday went on sale Monday at 6 p.m. and

advanced tickets for this weekend's showings will go on

sale at 6 p.m. today.

Non-Disney

animated films tend to come and go without making much of

a splash, but how could Pokemon not make a splash? It is

the highest rated afternoon animated series in the

country, this after being the highest rated children's

program in Japan for several years. Pokemon has developed

and grown over the years, much like the creatures on the

cards. It begs the question, what could possibly be next?

The answer is, we probably don't want to know.

Pokemon

starts nationwide in theaters today. Check your local

listings.

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