Detective Pikachu is one of 2019's best blockbusters, and, if you're a Pokémon fan, there's a chance it might just be one of the best movies you've ever seen. After all, while it was once impossible to imagine these fantastical creatures in a real-world setting, the likes of Pikachu, Ditto, Lickitung, and more make their live-action debuts in this adventure, and MPC Film played a huge role in that.
A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to talk to VFX Supervisor Pete Dionne about the company's work on
Detective Pikachu and we delved into a number of topics.
In a 30+ minute conversation, Pete offered an in-depth and fascinating look at how this world of Pokémon was created with state of the art visual effects that not only transformed Ryan Reynolds into Pikachu but also brought countless fan-favourites to life in a way that's made fans happy.
You can listen to the interview below. We've also included a breakdown of the everything that was discussed in case there's anything, in particular, you would like to jump to.
Many thanks to Pete and MPC for taking the time to talk with us!
0:12 - How The Ditto Sequence In The Final Act Was Created
5:16 - The Challenges Of Bringing Pokemon Into The Real-World
10:10 - Ryan Reynolds' Role In Pikachu's Creation
15:41 - How The Games And Animated Series Influenced The Pokeball And Battle Scenes
18:51 - Psyduck's Creation
20:20 - The Challenges Of Working With Another VFX Company On The Same Movie
22:36 - What Was The Most Difficult Thing About Working On Detective Pikachu?
26:08 - What It Was Like Working With The Pokemon Company
32:00 - Were There Any Scenes They Worked On Which Didn't Make The Final Cut?
32:52 - What Was Refreshing About Working On The Film
34:29 - What Does He Think About Sonic The Hedgehog Being Totally Redesigned?