feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)

If you loved Pokémon: The First Movie, the closest films we have are Damsel (2024), Shogun Assassin (1980) and The Mask of Zorro (1998). All three share Pokémon: The First Movie's epic and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 12 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video and others, checked against today's data.

Determined to prove its superiority, a bio-engineered Pokémon called Mewtwo lures Ash, Pikachu and others into a Pokémon match like none before.

🍅 17% Rotten Tomatoes6.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Kunihiko Yuyamawarmepicdreamlikekineticrelentless

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the map

When is Pokémon: The First Movie streaming? →

If Pokémon: The First Movie hit the spot, these will too

Damsel poster
Damsel
2024 · dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
🍅 56%6.1fantasy · action · adventure

Common ground: revenge

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

A young woman's marriage to a charming prince turns into a fierce fight for survival when she's offered up as a sacrifice to a fire-breathing dragon.

Feels alike?
Shogun Assassin poster
Shogun Assassin
1980 · dir. Robert Houston
🍅 82%7.3action · adventure

Both are built on the same subject: revenge

The difference: Missing the warmth of Pokémon: The First Movie

A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.

Feels alike?
The Mask of Zorro poster
The Mask of Zorro
1998 · dir. Martin Campbell
🍅 86%6.8action · adventure

The same mix in both: scale, then momentum

It has been twenty years since Don Diego de la Vega fought Spanish oppression in Alta California as the legendary romantic hero, Zorro. Having escaped from prison he transforms troubled bandit Alejandro into his successor, in order to foil the plans of the tyrannical Don Rafael Montero who robbed him of his freedom, his wife and his precious daughter.

Feels alike?
Ong Bak 2 poster
Ong Bak 2
2008 · dir. Tony Jaa
🍅 49%6.2adventure · action · thriller

Relentless adventure, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Pokémon: The First Movie does

Tien, the son of Lord Sihadecho — a murdered nobleman — is taken under the wing of Chernang, a renowned warrior and leader of the Pha Beek Krut.

Feels alike?
Batman Returns poster
Batman Returns
1992 · dir. Tim Burton
🍅 81%7.1action · fantasy

The same preoccupation in both: villain

The monstrous Penguin, who dwells in the sewers beneath Gotham, joins up with corrupt mayoral candidate Max Shreck to topple the Batman once and for all. But when Shreck's timid assistant Selina Kyle finds out, and Shreck tries to kill her, she's transformed into the sexy Catwoman. She teams up with the Penguin and Shreck to destroy Batman, but sparks fly unexpectedly when she confronts the caped crusader.

Feels alike?
The Northman poster
The Northman
2022 · dir. Robert Eggers
🍅 90%7action · adventure · fantasy

Dreamlike fantasy in both cases

The difference: 24 years apart, and the 2020s show

Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy's mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who's on a mission to save his mother, kill his uncle and avenge his father.

Feels alike?
Eragon poster
Eragon
2006 · dir. Stefen Fangmeier
5.1fantasy · action · adventure

Both lean on warmth more than on family

In his homeland of Alagaesia, a farm boy happens upon a dragon's egg -- a discovery that leads him on a predestined journey where he realized he's the one person who can defend his home against an evil king.

Feels alike?
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 poster
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
2022 · dir. Jeff Fowler
🍅 69%6.5action · adventure · family

One thread runs through both: based on video game

The difference: Sits closer to comedy than Pokémon: The First Movie does

After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove he has what it takes to be a true hero. His test comes when Dr. Robotnik returns, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search for an emerald that has the power to destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a globe-trotting journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.

Feels alike?
47 Ronin poster
47 Ronin
2013 · dir. Carl Rinsch
🍅 16%6.2drama · action · fantasy

Action with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.

Feels alike?
The Crow poster
The Crow
1994 · dir. Alex Proyas
🍅 88%7.5fantasy · action · thriller

Animation built on momentum, twice over

Exactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven, watched over by a hypnotic crow, returns from the grave to exact revenge.

Feels alike?
Castle in the Sky poster
Castle in the Sky
1986 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%8adventure · fantasy · animation

Both lean on warmth more than on animation

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Feels alike?
Ran poster
Ran
1985 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 96%8.2action · drama · history

Epic action in both cases

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more warm?

all warm movies →

The best-reviewed films that share Pokémon: The First Movie’s defining feeling.