Pokémon is a Monster
Children and Parents play hookey to see film
When
Warner Brothers executives decided to show their new film Pokémon
in the middle of a school week, they should have thought that this would
cause not only children, and parents as well, to skip school and work.
Pokémon
film is a monster and Pokémon
Movie Proves a Strong Lure Versus Attending School were just two
headlines in newspapers in New York and New Jersey, in response to the
problems caused by the premiere of the well promotioned film.
Yvonne
Patterson’s children and nephew love Pokémon
so much that she skipped work -- and let them skip school -- so they
could see the premiere of Pokémon:
The First Movie this past November 10.
“Every
day for a whole month they have been asking me about the movie. . . . I
wanted to avoid the lines,” said Patterson, 27, of East Orange, New
Jersey, who caught a noon showing of the 90-minute animated film about
little monsters that morph.
While
some parents have dreaded opening day of the children’s movie, kids
have been eager since seeing the coming attractions in August.
Among
children 12 and under, Pokémon -- which originated in Japan and is short for Pocket
Monsters -- has become the latest kid craze. It’s more than a movie:
It’s also a cartoon, a collectible, holographic cards, and a video
game.
On
an unusually warm November afternoon, Michelle Hanrahan paused in front
of the Clifton Commons General Cinemas to watch her three preschoolers
run around in circles, impatient to see Pokémon.
“I
don’t know if I am going to make it through this!” the 30-year-old
Rutherford mother said, as parents rushed in and out at lunchtime to buy
tickets, the theater began girding for large crowds.
“This
is fun, and it actually reminds me of Star
Wars, although this time we didn’t have campers,” said Vicky
Lemley, the General Cinemas manager. On the movie’s opening day,
theaters gave each ticket-buyer a package of three newly released
trading cards -- a bargain for parents who have spent as much as $20 for
rare cards.
“I
don’t want to be here when we run out of cards,” said Gisela Macias,
a clerk at the Clifton theater’s cafe. Macias said the cards were in
high demand among Wednesday’s moviegoers and are available only while
supplies last.
The
cartoon originated in Japan and was made into a video game for
Nintendo’s Game Boy.
More
than a year ago, an English-language version of the cartoon began airing
in the United States.
The
popularity of the show has generated a popular trading card game in
which some cards are more valuable than others. There are more than 151
Pokémon monsters, which can evolve into different creatures as many as three times. A monster in its
second or third stage of evolution is worth more.
At
the Bergenfield Five Clearview Cinemas, theater management said the
phones were “ringing off the hook” about the free cards.
“We
get calls every two seconds,” Assistant Manager Peyser Valderrama
said. “People are asking if we are still giving out the trading cards.
It’s definitely crazy.”
Valderrama
said the movie is showing on two screens, but that two more may be added
over the weekend to meet ticket demands.
Amid
all of the “craziness,” Diana Tesoroni of Bloomingdale said she
would enjoy the movie just as much as her 7-year-old son, Dominick.
Tesoroni
said she sped to get to Clifton Commons theater on time. “This is only
the first movie . . . there
are [151] characters,” she said, laughing heartily. “So how many
movies will there be?”
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ACROSS
1. Breathe heavily
5. That woman
8. Stair
12. Greek goddess
13. Actress Thompson
14. ___ Stanley Gardner
15. Anon
16. Garfunkel or Carney
17. Face feature
18. Guard
20. Aquatic mammal
21. Corroded
24. ____ face!
27. Cereal grain
28. Hearing organ
31. Stuff
32. Foot digit
33. Singer Guthrie
34. Paving material
35. “Only ____”
36. Braid
37. All
39. Sugary
43. Poem units
47. “Dead Man Walking” star
48. Court
50. Ripped
51. Dry
52. Atmosphere
53. Pennsylvania city
54. Warren Beatty film
55. Wily
56. Ship feature
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DOWN
1. Go by
2. Healing ointment
3. Sign gas
4. Fit
5. Kills
6. That woman
7. Dine
8. Mailed
9. Canter
10. Or ______!
11. Equal
19. Trench
20. Lyric poem
22. Food fish
23. Center of a storm
24. Perform
25. Bikini top
26. Paddle
28. Notable period
29. Cassius Clay, today
30. Decay
32. 2000 lbs.
33. Wanted
35. Until now
36. Before (Pref.)
38. Tusk material
39. Mast support
40. “The Way We _______”
41. Oklahoma city
42. Finishes
44. Painful
45. The Red
46. Search
48. Used to be
49. Grease
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