Pokémon 3 The Movie

At this point, about the kindest thing you can say about a new Pok�mon movie is that it isn't quite as aggravating as those that came before it.

That might not sound like much of an endorsement for "Pok�mon 3 The Movie," but at least this animated adventure is a slight improvement on the others — probably because it's slightly shorter in length, not because of any great leaps in terms of quality.

However, the rather unimaginative title for the movie also implies that there may be more of them to come unless we nip this burgeoning film franchise in the bud right here and now. Outside of canceling both the television series and the movies outright, the best thing the studio could do for parents and film critics is to release "Pok�mon: The Final Adventure."

As with the other two films, this one contains some of the flattest, most nondescript animation ever to make it to the big screen, some of the least appealing animated characters ever and some of the most violent action to ever garner a G rating from the MPAA.

And like the earlier films, this one is actually made up of two movies in one, including the largely dialogue-free animated short "Pikachu and Pichu," in which the supposedly adorable "pocket monster" and two newer, even cutesier Pok�mon have a series of "comic" misadventures.

After that parental endurance test comes the longer feature, "Spell of the Unown," which concerns a young girl, Molly, whose father disappeared while investigating a set of mysterious hieroglyphics.

The only clues to his whereabouts are some sort of ancient Scrabble tiles, which are actually the Unown, cryptic entities that use their vast power to bring Molly's wishes to life. They start by creating a caretaker for her, the legendary, lion-like Pok�mon Entei, and also begin transforming the nearby community, Greenfield, into crystal.

Enter Pok�mon-trainer Ash Ketchum and his friends Misty and Brock, who are visiting Greenfield. They're in town to visit the local Pok�mon center, but when Ash's mom is kidnapped by Entei, and the crystal structure continues to spread, they're pressed into action.

Two screenwriters — including the film's American producer, Norman J. Grossfeld — attempt to clarify the nonsensical story, but it's a lost cause. (Their "serious" dialogue is much funnier than the lame attempts at in-jokes and pop-culture humor.)

And as mentioned, the animation doesn't even come close to reaching typical big-screen quality standards (at times the blurry linework appears to have been blown up from the small screen).

"Pok�mon 3 The Movie" is rated G, though it does contain animated violence (Pok�mon battles) and peril, as well as some brief vulgarity (a vulgar gesture). Running time: 93 minutes ("Pikachu and Pichu": 22 minutes; "Spell of the Unown": 71 minutes).

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