The ingredients are missing in this hot, thin broth that's mostly water in this sad excuse for a Pokemon film. New Ash, New Brock, new voice actor's ruining what their predecessors built with good, soild voice acting that made me a fan for life, but only if it is pre 2007 Pokemon movies and shows, and only because that's when it was good. Unless you're watching it in Japanese, the new voice actors are startling and horrifying.

Arceus is portrayed rather well, as I don't mind his slightly un-masculine voice. That Sheena girl was weird though. She should see a psychologist.

Wow, I didn't know there is 1,000 word limit on IMDb! So this is the shorter version of my movie review; I guess I could safely say that these anime films based on video game since the beginning of the Diamond & Pearl trilogy films are quite good as their efforts are evident and they are quite tolerable even though you are above 18 of age. Started with The Rise of Darkrai (2007), followed with Giratina and the Sky Warrior (2008) and concluded with Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009); these are in fact some of the better films in years!

This is one animated feature that shows how selfish, cruel and stupid some human can be. Ash Ketchum did not save the day all by himself again, which is great and I thought I should mention just in case those of you who anti him are interested to know. Anyway, what's more entertaining are the legendary Pokémon themselves. Each of them live in their own dimension and have their unique stories but too bad we will never know fully about them through the films. I think of among the four featured in Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009), I like Giratina most and for the first time, I find Dialga so lovely!

Let's talk about what may be perceived as the flaws of Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009). Although the effectiveness of the time travel concept here can be subjective, I think it's another clever time travelling story by the franchise! I know the alteration and correction of history may be different from what we usually expect but it's distinctive! I was actually impressed that they attempted to correct history in a gentle way!

Then, it is also a little over a decade when this animated feature is first released and in a few more years it will be their 20th anniversary but theatrically released Pokémon films still have the same main character and similar plot; where Ash Ketchum with his Pikachu are always at the wrong place at the wrong time or the right place at the right time, depend on how you see it, with new Pokémon and travelling companion every new generation.

Instead of labeling or criticising Pokémon films as bad due to the repeated pattern, I would prefer to comment those as one of the theatrically released Pokémon film's style or Kunihiko Yuyama's style; just like how the Earth view always appear at the beginning of the film. They may however, could also be the Pokémon franchise's self-imposed limitation but they are also what makes these films different, isn't it? We can't change that but good news is, they are always improving themselves and these trilogy films may delight the general audiences!

(Pikachu short is also one of their style although note that it wasn't there for a few years. If you are academically or professionally writing about auteur theory or Pokémon film analysis, there you go, some of your homework is done if you are lazy to watch them all yourself.)

Nonetheless, many have mentioned that the Arceus voice in the dubbed version is weird but I find the adorable Spiky-Eared Pichu's voice much weirder in some ways. Come on, Arceus is supposed to be the first one and it is certainly ancient, he is very unlikely to have cute voice right?

The thing that's really weird is this; why does the Pokémon known to have probably created the entire Pokémon world is not highly worshiped and it is exclusive to that location? Like Jirachi's case, why won't the whole world anticipate it or go look for it? It seems like no one else know about Arceus except the movie exclusive characters!

Honestly, if you don't bother those at all, this animated feature is actually great! The creators of this animated feature are made it quite realistic as well; even if Arceus is The One, it is also prone to time and history change since the creatures that it create itself are powerful themselves too! There are several unexpected moments and it was fun to watch the angry Arceus although I thought it doesn't fit as a deity and it certainly look much less like a deity compared to Giratina, Palkia and Dialga. *lol*

What's more interesting are the people who can read and connect to Pokémon's heart. That and the ancient civilisation in Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009). I hope I didn't spoil it too much here but the adorable Pokémon are known as magical creatures in the past and there are plenty of clever historical elements as well! Can't express how much I love Pokémon stories because they are just so unique!

As a conclusion, Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009) is not a mere supplement, it is a must see to complete the Diamond & Pearl trilogy. Finally, with tears of joy, this is also one of the Pokémon films that I can safely say it's entertaining! If you like time-travelling stories and the genre of this film, it is quite certain that you will love this too!