The first-ever live-action Pokemon adventure, Pokemon Detective Pikachu stars Ryan Reynolds as a detective and is based on the beloved brand.
Directed by Rob Letterman, the story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim (Justice Smith) to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokemon partner, detective Pikachu, a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzle even to himself.
Talking about Ryan being the voice of Pikachu, Letterman says, “There’s something inherently fun about that big personality and Ryan’s voice coming from this tiny, incredibly cute creature. It seems like a disconnect, but it’s completely natural.”
Letterman further recalls, “Initially, we were working hard to design the character in 3D, so we were concentrating on colour and movements and trying to match the spirit of the original 2D drawings. Months later, even before we had Ryan signed, we did a test. We took a sample of his voice and animated it, and it was a perfect match. It’s hard to describe, it felt very natural and at the same time took the character to another level. And when he came to work with Justice, they brought out all the wit, charm and humor of that relationship.”
(The film is set to release on May 10.)
