Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the Unown

The third Pokémon movie was theatrically released in Japan on July 8th, 2000 and came to US theaters as Pokémon 3: The Movie (Spell of the Unown) on April 6th, 2001.

Professor Spencer Hale, a dedicated Pokémon researcher, has been working very hard to learn the secrets of a mysterious Pokémon called the Unown. The Unown appear as 26 individual letters of the alphabet. They have the ability to read human dreams, thoughts and emotions and transform them into reality--a special kind of reality. 

As he works, the Professor is suddenly pulled into another world, in the same way his wife disappeared two years earlier while probing the mystery of the Unown. His young daughter, Molly, is now all alone in the Hale house with neither mother nor father to comfort her. 

Distraught, Molly dreams only of being reunited with her father. The Unown sense her loneliness and transform her simple wish into action, covering the Hale home with a colossal wall of crystal and creating a dreamworld inside where Molly can have her heart's desire. They send Entei, a leonine Pokémon with power and a terrible growl but a good and gentle heart, to be her guardian and to take the place of her father. For Molly, Entei takes the form of Spencer Hale and she calls him Papa. 

Soon, Molly longs for a mother as well. Once again, the Unown respond. They do not send Molly her real mother but instead select Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother, as a surrogate and dispatch the faithful Entei to bring her to the Hale house. 

Meanwhile, champion Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum, along with friends Misty and Brock and their constant companion Pikachu, is busy exploring the neighbouring Johto region en route to Greenfield. Ash is looking forward to competing in the Johto League to earn his Pokémon Master title. Along the way they are joined by another young trainer, Lisa, who engages Ash in a friendly Pokémon battle and then decides to accompany the gang as they continue toward Greenfield. 

Upon their arrival in the town, Ash is surprised to encounter his mother and Professor Oak, who have come to investigate the strange disappearance of Professor Hale. The group sits down to enjoy lunch together and that's when Entei strikes, swooping up Delia and rushing away with her while the stunned Ash watches in horror and bewilderment. 

Inside the Hale house great crystals begin to grow and reach up to the sky, transforming the simple home into a sparkling palace of sheer impenetrable walls. Molly is happy again. But poor Delia! She understands the little girl's need but misses her own son and knows she must get back to him before this crystal palace becomes a prison forever for herself and Molly. The question is, how? 

With no solution in sight, Ash makes a brave decision. As he stands before the house with its  monumental crystal reinforcements and the formidable Entei barring entry, all thoughts of the Johto League championship are forgotten. Ash marshals all his strength and resources to save his mother from the spell of the Unown and keep both her and Molly in the real world where they belong. 

And Ash succeeds, to a point. He meets the challenge and breaks the spell of the Unown this time but he does not conquer the Unown. They recede back to the mysterious realm from which they came--for now.

Like its predecessors, the movie is preceded by a 22-minute Pokémon-only short. This one is titled Pikachu and Pichu and follows Pikachu on an adventure through the big city. Cute stuff.

- Blue Hiker

U.S. Box Office Chart Data for "Pokémon 3: The Movie" (Weekends Only) Source: http://www.the-numbers.com/ Date Rank Gross % Change Theaters Per Theater Total Gross 4/6/2001 4 $8,240,752   2,675 $3,081 $8,240,752 4/13/2001 8 $2,707,680 -67.14% 2,675 $1,012 $12,953,396 4/20/2001 15 $1,325,886 -51.03% 2,012 $659 $15,754,369 4/27/2001 23 $418,548 -68.43% 867 $483 $16,373,155 5/4/2001 28 $186,537 -55.43% 467 $399 $16,622,570 5/11/2001 38 $100,637 -46.05% 336 $300 $16,752,205 5/18/2001 56 $33,456 -66.76% 158 $212 $16,805,370 5/25/2001 40 $89,052 +166.18% 364 $245 $16,905,820 6/1/2001 44 $50,348 -43.46% 199 $253 $17,007,167 6/8/2001 57 $26,951 -46.47% 146 $185 $17,052,128