Pokémon: The First Movie can be streamed for free due to 20th anniversary celebration

By Mike Flacy February 12, 2016

pokemon — Image used with permission by copyright holder

With the 20^th anniversary of the Pokémon series coming up at the end of the month, the Pokémon company has uploaded Pokémon: The First Movie to its streaming media service. In order to watch the 1998 film, the streaming service can be accessed through a standard Web browser at the Pokemon site or via a smartphone app on iOS and Android mobile devices.

Celebrating the release of Pokémon Red and Green twenty years ago on February 27, this is likely just one of the celebrations that the Pokémon company has planned. While Pokémon: The First Movie was a critical flop, that didn’t stop fans of the film from flocking to theaters when the Pokémon craze was in full swing during the late nineties. With a production budget of $30 million, Warner Bros. went on to collect more than $160 million worldwide during the theatrical run.

Prior to this point, the film hasn’t been made available on streaming subscription services like Netflix. However, the film is currently listed for purchase or rental on sites like Amazon. Be aware that the free streaming version on the official Pokémon site doesn’t not include the short film Pikachu’s Vacation. When Pokémon: The First Movie first appeared in theaters during the late nineties, that short film was attached to the theatrical release.

Interestingly, the Pokémon “Train On” Super Bowl commercial was one of the most searched about commercials online during the game according to Google Trends. It’s become the most watched Super Bowl commercial on YouTube, smashing through 20 million views as this week. In addition, the advertisement was spread on social media quite a bit capturing more than 350,000 social actions, which includes tweets, likes and shares.

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