Pokemon Movie Gets Off to Animated Start With Young Fans

Six-year-old Matthew Vasquez, dressed in his favorite Pokemon T-shirt, arrived at the Edwards 21 multiplex in Irvine at 8 a.m. Wednesday with his mother and cousins for the 9 a.m. showing of “Pokemon: The First Movie.”

Popcorn and a Coke? Nah, he watched Mewtwo battle it out on the big screen while chomping on a bagel and sipping milk.

“We all played hooky today to see it. I’ve got to tell the truth,” confessed his mother, Tina Vasquez. “We got up like we were going to school, but we came here instead. It’s going to be so crowded tomorrow.”

She’s got that right. As “Pokemon” opened Wednesday on nearly 3,000 screens nationwide, theaters braced for young mobs Thursday when most schools are out for Veterans Day.

With theaters giving out “exclusive” Pokemon cards and some featuring live appearances by Pokemon characters--not to mention a Burger King promotional tie-in featuring 57 new toys--there’s no telling how big a pocket monster Pikachu and pals could be at the box office.

Warner Bros., which is releasing the big-screen version of the Japanese anime TV cartoon, didn’t disclose box office totals. But Warner executives said the film is running well ahead of how “Rugrats”--another TV cartoon-turned-feature film--fared in its first day of release last November. “Rugrats” went on to make $27.3 million in its first three days.

“We’ve had a bigger response today than we expected,” said Brad Ball, a Warner Bros. marketing executive.

Reviews of the film were less than kind. But then what do adults know about Pokemon and its 151-character cartoon universe of pocket monsters and human trainers? The kids thought it was cool--as did some of their parents.

“They liked it,” said Carlos Hernando, who took Christian, 6, and Andrea, 4, to the Irvine show. “There’s fighting, but it’s not crude. It’s a good story for the kids. No S-E-X,” he said.

At the Northridge Fashion Mall Stadium theaters, “Pokemon” was playing on five screens. A steady stream of kids queued up for the film Wednesday afternoon, many of them walking advertisements for the film, outfitted with Pokemon tote bags, card collections, T-shirts and other paraphernalia.

“[Today] should be a crazy day. We expect to sell out,” said movie theater manager Candido Hernandez, who noted that the phone had been ringing nonstop with calls from parents asking about show times and how they could celebrate birthdays at the theater.

At the Loews Cineplex on Universal CityWalk, the 4 p.m. show sold out in both theaters.

Norma Morales, who feared a long line, said she arrived in Northridge at 9 a.m. to buy tickets for the early afternoon. She accompanied her son Mark and 13 other children who got off early at St. Catharine of Siena Catholic school in Reseda.

“They kept bugging me. They wanted to see the first show,” said Rosales, 44, of Van Nuys.

Some adults used “Pokemon’s” opening day as an incentive for doing well in school. Teacher Abraham Chong brought five of his top fourth-grade students from Vermont Avenue Elementary School to the 4 p.m. show at Universal CityWalk.

One mother used the film as a reward for her 10-year-old son.

“I think everybody needs a mental-health day once in a while,” said Donna Petrilli of Trabuco Canyon. “My parents would have never done this. But Justin really wanted to be here today. He gets great grades. So why not?”

If, as expected, the film becomes a blockbuster hit, a key reason will be that Pokemon fans include not only small children but also young teenagers. The soundtrack features such teeny-bopper favorites as ‘N Sync, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

Older “kids” are into it too. Like brothers Gregg, 21, and Jeff Sesma, 19, both of Huntington Beach, who said they wanted to check out the film’s quirky Japanese animation.

Already there has been some Pokemon backlash. The fuss over the trading cards caused such a disruption in schools that some school officials banned them on school property. Some children were making up to $40 a day trading and selling the cards. They are in such demand that a secondhand market has sprung up in which some of the most sought-after cards go for $100.

Times staff writer Roberto J. Manzano contributed to this story from the San Fernando Valley.