Mr. Mime almost did not become a Pikachu detective, say writers

When you think of the Pokémon that best represents the franchise, you can think of a number of monsters. There is Pikachu, the mascot. Or maybe you prefer a starter that you have chosen in your favorite game? Charizard is a good player – everyone wanted his Pokemon card. But the psychic clown Mr. Mime? Well, it may seem like a strange choice to emphasize, right?

Apparently, Pokémon society certainly thought so. Although Mr. Mime is part of the original 151, well liked Pokemon fandom, the screenwriters of Detective Pikachu found that including it was initially a difficult terrain. Even the fact that Mr. Mime was part of Detective Pikachu game on which the movie is based did not help.

"The Pokemon society was a bit hesitant," said Benji Samit, screenwriter Detective Pikachu, said to Polygon. "They were like," Are you sure people really want to see live scenes, Mr. Mime? "

Hesitation makes sense. Even in games, the humanoid aspect of Mr. Mime is troubling. While he can look as he wears a clown costume, the reality is that the blue and red growths are actually only part of Mr. Mime's body. Even the prospect of translating Mr. Mime's chubby face into something realistic seems horrible. Would not it look like a strange oversized baby?

According to IGN, Mr. Mime was so frightened by some of The Pokémon Company that Detective Pikachu The director, Rob Letterman, had to ask TPC president Tsunekazu Ishihara to let him include the pantomime monster. The call worked – and that's a good thing, because Mr. Mime found himself in one of the best scenes in the entire movie. Mr. Mime almost steals the show, and he even looks like a bald monster.

Without much spoil, Tim Goodman, the protagonist, and Pikachu end up interviewing Mr. Mime to see if the Pokémon has information related to their investigation. The problem, of course, is that Mr. Mime does not really know how to speak. He has to gesticulate everything he wants to say, and it turns out that Mr. Mime does not really want to be helpful to begin with. He ends up playing with Tim and Pikachu, because everything Pokémon's pantomimes end up real. If Mr. Mime claims to be surrounded by walls, these materialize invisibly and become a nuisance for anyone trying to chat with him.

"It was really fun for Dan and I to sit down and write the scene," says Samit.

"We thought," Well, if you wanted to interview a mime, how would you do it? "And so it was that we had the idea to mimic the torture."

Pictures of Warner Bros.

It was a crazy idea, especially for a children's movie based on a relatively user-friendly intellectual property. The writers were not sure that The Pokémon Company would accept it.

"We were like" They will not let this stay stay, "Samit says," But then they did it! "And you know, and I personally think, this is one of the most fun aspects of the film. "

The scene is a riot, because not only is this a ridiculous situation, but it accomplishes these laughs by exploiting the traditions of Pokémon. Mr. Mime uses his powers in the game in a context other than battle, and this reinvention is a pleasure to watch even if you are not a fan of Pokémon. It is also helpful that screenwriters have a lot of experience in comedy writing. Dan Hernandez, another screenwriter Detective Pikachu, previously worked on things like One day at a time and The tick, which are properties with a lot of humor.

"One thing you look for when you write these characters is a strong comic point of view," said Hernandez. "If you look like Seinfeld, each of these characters as a very defined comic point of view. And so, when we looked at all the people who could be in the film, we really turned to those who had a kind of neurosis or a tick. One of the great things about Mr. Mime is that there is a very clear comedy game to play with him. "

Detective Pikachu is in theaters today.