>> Katie: Hello and welcome to It's My Screen Time Too, the podcast where we review the programming the other critics ignore stuff made for kids. Find out what to watch for family movie night, what to avoid altogether, and what you'll want to watch alone, voluntarily. I'm Katie.
>> Deborah: And I'm Deborah.
>> Katie: And I have two kids, ages eight and five.
>> Deborah: And I have three kids. They are thirteen, eleven, and eleven. Today we are watching Pokemon concierge on Netflix. Why are we reviewing it? Because Pokemon is the gift that keeps on giving. This particular show is a stop motion animated series that premiered on Netflix on December 28, 2023. It's the latest in a long string of Pokemon shows and movies. This is a remarkably enduring franchise that seems to get its hooks into each new generation since Pokemon were hatched in 1997. Without getting too much into the specifics of the Pokemon universe, Pokemon Concierge is notable for being the first stop motion entry into Pokemon canon, and it does not feature Ash Ketchum as the main character. Does that mean anything to you, Katie?
>> Katie: I was going to ask, like, your kids were not Pokemon kids.
>> Deborah: my kids love Pokemon. Okay.
>> Katie: But you are not Pokemon conversant.
>> Deborah: I know very few Pokemon. Embarrassingly few Pokemon.
>> Katie: Ash Ketchum is like the kid from the Pokemon shows. Like, he's the one who has Pikachu on his shoulder all the time.
>> Deborah: Right? And he's not in this one, and that is big deal.
>> Katie: Yeah, big deal.
>> Deborah: So there are only four episodes so far. They're around 15 to 20 minutes each, and we watched two episodes for this review. The series is aimed at kids starting in the early elementary age range. The plot summary, according to Wikipedia, is Haru, a new concierge at the Pokemon resort, aspires, to provide her Pokemon guests with the most fun and restful vacation they could ask for. Before she can do that, however, she's got to learn how to relax herself.
>> Katie: All right, the upfront question is this good for kids? Deborah, what makes this show okay or good for kids?
>> Deborah: I think it's fine for kids. It was, like, totally a gentle plot. very soothing. I found the animation to be beautiful. For kids who are really into Pokemon, I'm not sure this will do it for them, though.
>> Katie: Yeah, the Pokemon world is super charming, but it is still all about battles. So this has all the charm, but none of the fighting, which could go either way with your kid. Like, if your kid is already sucked in and loves the battle aspect of Pokemon, they might be a little bored.
>> Deborah: Right? And there just aren't that many Pokemon. one of the fun things about Pokemon is to collect the cards, get the encyclopedia, spend a good portion of your brain capacity memorizing the different types and what they, what is it called? Evolve into and all the powers that they have. And there was not much of that in Pokemon concierge.
>> Katie: Right. On the other hand, if you are a grown up and the battle aspect of it makes you uncomfortable, the plot of these episodes, at least the two that we watched, mostly centers on making others feel good and loved and taken care of. And these are lessons that we care about teaching our kids. So if you want to model that through the shows they're watching, that could, be a good option. What do you think might make this inappropriate or otherwise bad for kids? Other than the fact that they might miss the battling,
>> Deborah: I couldn't really find.
>> Deborah: Anything objectionable in it. I thought it was a very soothing show.
>> Katie: Agreed.
>> Deborah: I thought it was a little weird.
>> Katie: Also agreed.
>> Deborah: And I sort of wonder if that's because it's a japanese import and we're, like, missing some things in translation a little bit or just I have ignored so totally the Pokemon universe that I just wasn't all that up to speed.
>> Katie: I don't think it's the latter, because I am pretty up to speed, and this was just a total departure. Okay, so with that in mind, did you like it?
>> Deborah: I did like it. what did you think?
>> Katie: I liked it. I liked it not only for me, but also for my kids. I liked it for both of us, because, you know, Deborah and longtime listeners of this podcast know that I love stop motion animation. I am fascinated by the art form. I love it when people try things. I love it when it looks just. This is Katie catnip. So most of the time when we're doing this, It's My Screen Time Too our goal is to try and meet our kids where they are. We try to like what they like screen time wise. We try to find the things that we like in it. And this was almost the opposite. It was taking something that they already like, pokemon, and filtering it through something I like, stop motion animation. It was like this perfect amalgam. I also loved the fuzzy Pokemon. How cute is a fuzzy Pokemon?
>> Deborah: They looked like. Do you know the craft felted animals?
>> Katie: What are they called? They have like a whole world.
>> Deborah: I don't know, but they looked to me like felted animals, which are. You just want to squeeze them.
>> Katie: They look even snugglier than- watching years of the cartoon pokemon, I mean, you've always wanted to give some of these Pokemon hugs, and now you just want to do it more.
>> Deborah: They were even more appealing than the plush versions that you can buy at, like, a target.
>> Katie: Yeah.
Why isn't this show for grown ups?
All right. Why isn't the show for grown ups? What was hard for you as a grown up to connect with because it's not made for you.
>> Deborah: Okay. I had a little bit of trouble with Haru's arrival at the Pokemon resort when she seems to have landed this job, but not really know what it entails. And she also has a bit of an anxiety inner monologue that- the show shows it, really, in a relatable way. It's very realistic when it cuts away to her anxious thoughts that nobody else can hear, which I think it just hits a little too close to home for me, and it made me not want to watch it because I want to watch tv to escape.
>> Katie: This is a real role reversal for us, because, you know I don't like to feel my feelings, but I actually really liked Haru as, avatar for the modern working adult experience. It's never enough. You never know what's expected of you. You're constantly scrambling to meet some unknown goal, and you're always struggling with your internal anxious monologue. So I really appreciated that. But I can totally see it from the flip side. I think, too, it's worth saying that the Pokemon universe is its own thing. It's, like, huge and all encompassing. And just because this is a different offshoot of the Pokemon universe, that may or may not be more or less appealing to you as an adult, if Pokemon is not your thing, grown up, this will probably not be your thing, right? This isn't going to change your opinion. If it baffled you in its last 60 iterations, this will likely baffle you as well.
Why is this for grown ups, even if it's made for kids
>> Katie: All right, why is this for grown ups? What was there that you found that you could grab onto, even if it was made for our kids and not for us?
>> Deborah: For me, I think the animation and just like, the slow pace of the show, I enjoyed because it's a lot different than animation that's, like, really jolty and fast paced, and this was soothing to me, and I liked that a lot.
>> Katie: Stop motion animation is amazing because it requires all of this actual physical care to make, which is something that we're so unfamiliar with in the media landscape these days. I just love it so much. Kind of along the lines of what I was saying about Haru's anxiety and how I really connected to it and liked it as a grown up. It wasn't something that my kids related to at all. I don't think it's anywhere near as easy to connect to Haru and her anxiety about her job as it is for them to connect to ash ketchum, whose goal is that he's got to catch them all.
>> Katie: So in that sense, it's a little more of a struggle for the kids than your traditional Pokemon.
Let's talk about the characters
All right, should we get into the weeds a little bit?
>> Deborah: Let's do it.
>> Katie: Talk to me about character standouts. Was there anyone you particularly loved or hated?
>> Deborah: I liked Haru. I thought that her orientation to the Pokemon resort was so weird because she's supposed to get a massage from her boss. Wasn't that creepy?
>> Katie: I guess it could be construed as crossing a line. But she didn't have to get a massage. She was just supposed to experience the resort as a guest would.
>> Deborah: Yeah, but, I don't know if your boss is like, here, let me give you a massage. That's, like, hard to say no to. Which is something that, like, she repeatedly in that first episode questions what she's supposed to do because she's not getting a whole lot of guidance. There was Tyler, the dude bro who teaches fitness, quote, just for fun.
>> Katie: Right, because he's the maintenance guy. Right? Or, like, landscaping or something.
>> Deborah: Like, what is this resort? Can't they hire, like, an actual fitness instructor?
>> Katie: You think he's being taken advantage of?
>> Deborah: Yes.
>> Katie: He needs to be compensated for his work.
>> Deborah: Volunteer.
>> Katie: Yeah, he also seems to.
>> Katie: Do all the cooking. He's a busy guy, this dude bro. In his cargo khakis.
>> Deborah: There's, like, four employees that we've met.
>> Katie: And one of them is part time.
>> Deborah: So is this more like an Airbnb situation? No, like an actual bed and breakfast. It's not a full resort if they only have three employees and one part time employee.
>> Katie: But its footprint is so large, it has to be a proper resort. I mean, did you see that pool? I don't think we're talking bed and breakfast here.
>> Deborah: Yeah, they need a pool person.
>> Katie: I think they've probably just not showed us the other staff. Because in addition to being charming and handmade looking, stop motion animation is also harder to fill with extras.
>> Deborah: Yeah. The other character that endeared themselves to me was Psyduck.
>> Katie: M
>> Deborah: In that second episode, he had a real moment at the end of that. That was nice.
>> Katie: Yeah, I really liked the focus on Psyduck because that's a Pokemon that I didn't know. Well, in fact, the vast majority of the Pokemon that we saw in these first two episodes were not the popular Pokemon, mostly that you saw in the other shows, with the exception of, like, the bulbasaur. But it was a lot of Pokemon that, I don't know, you got to see, as opposed to just reading about in the encyclopedia. And how cute was Psyduck's little musical cue? That was very sweet. Yeah. Any thoughts on the writing?
>> Deborah: Not really. I mean, on my tv, you could watch it with japanese subtitles or english dubbing. So I always wonder when it's like something made somewhere else in a different language, what I'm missing in translation. So I thought the writing was fine.
>> Katie: I mean, that wasn't really the point. The point was the fuzzy pokemon. Right, right. I'm curious what you thought of the four episode structure. So it's clearly meant to be consumed together this four episode block because they're so short. And it's about Haru's growing relationship with Psyduck. Like, she's learning she's worthy of a Pokemon loving her, and she's learning to relax. So other Pokemon shows do this, but over a much longer period of time. I can't exactly quote to you how long the average season of a Pokemon show is, but it's not four episodes. It seemed so short to be noticeable. Like, I want to know what the plan is for the future, if this was some sort of experiment. And they want to see what the reaction to it is before they make more, because it is so labor intensive. It just seemed like an odd choice to only do four
>> Deborah: And to release.
>> Deborah: it as four episodes instead of like an hour long film, which, for streaming, you can make anything, any length that you want.
>> Katie: Exactly. And Pokemon has done this. They have movies of various lengths out there.
>> Deborah: But this was a way to break it up for a younger viewer or just like a weeknight show where you're like, let's take 20 minutes, consume this thing, calm down time. So it works for me that way.
>> Katie: That's true.
>> Deborah: If it's going to be like a show, I would like more like ten episodes.
>> Katie: Yeah. It really left both me and my kids wanting more. and there's no indication that there will be more. But you're right, it is good for the calm down period for the preschool set. That is something I did not consider. All right, so the last thing on our doc is thoughts on the look of the show and to talk about the animation style, which, you know, that I've been doing throughout. The only remaining question I had for you about the stop motion animation is how you felt of the look of the human characters. Pokemon, adorable, fuzzy, want to cuddle them all day long. Human characters, quite plasticky looking.
>> Deborah: That is exactly what I thought. And they looked a lot like playmobile set people.
>> Katie: Oh, interesting. Yes. With their extremely skinny, kind of stiff legs and arms.
>> Deborah: So I didn't enjoy that as much as the Pokemon. And the plants and buildings also had that plasticky, very stylized look to them.
>> Katie: Although I objected to that less.
>> Katie: And I think maybe it's because I just have consumed so much animated Pokemon content, like traditional 2d animated Pokemon content, that just seeing the physicality of the exteriors, even though it wasn't real, felt real.
>> Deborah: Right.
>> Katie: In a way, that I thought was appealing. But I wonder if over time I would struggle to connect to the human characters because of their kind of plastic sheen look.
>> Katie: I don't know. Maybe we'll never find out because these four precious episodes are all we'll ever get. Anything else before we move on to our evergreens?
>> Deborah: No.
>> Katie: Deborah, what adult movie or show does this compare to?
>> Deborah: I mean, can you watch a show about a, luxury resort without comparing it to White Lotus?
>> Katie: Yes, because I am the one person, the one millennial on the planet that has not watched white Lotus.
>> Deborah: Okay, well, I had white lotus vibes through and through. Even when they are switching scenes, they show a picture of some embroidery on fabric, which is very similar to the opening credits of White Lotus, when they zoom in on art, on wallpaper that moves around.
>> Katie: Okay.
>> Deborah: I don't know if this is intentional or not, but I kept waiting to see-
>> Katie: -a murder.
>> Deborah: Steve Zahn. You kept waiting to see a murder?
>> Katie: Isn't that what happens in
>> Deborah: Yeah, it's all about a murder. Who gets murdered and who does it and how it happens. Yeah.
>> Katie: And then Psyduck would obviously solve it because he's psychic.
>> Deborah: Right.
>> Katie: I think it could be a really great crossover. I want to see a, stop motion animated version of Jennifer Coolidge.
>> Deborah: Yes.
>> Katie: I'm there for it.
>> Deborah: What did you Compare Pokemon concierge to?
>> Katie: Well, I was thinking about things that take place in a resort where it seems like a big part of the job of the people who work in the resort is just to hang with the guests at the resort. So, of course, I thought of Forgetting Sarah Marshall because it had that same tropical Hawaii vibe. And that's a oldie but goodie that I still really like. Were you able to cast the gritty HBO reboot?
>> Katie: Yes.
>> Deborah: Okay. You're going to like this one. Okay. First of all, I would cast Emma Stone as Haru because she has a very anime look to her. She's got those wide set big eyes. And then I would have all the Pokemon at Pokemon resort played Wilfred style. So I'd have comedian adults wearing Pokemon felted costumes, and I would have Tracy Morgan, Nate Bargatze Wanda Sykes, Kate Burlant, and Jennifer Coolidge.
>> Katie: Which one does Jennifer Coolidge get to be?
>> Deborah: Psyduck Charizard.
>> Katie: I want her to be all three of those Pokemon. There's like a trio of mischievous Pokemon, and I want her to play all three of them.
>> Deborah: I wish I could list, like 25 Pokemon, but I can only list like two and then a fake one.
>> Katie: Oh, you're doing great. Don't worry about it. So I only cast Haru, but that's fine because I think your comedians and costumes casting for the Pokemon is genius. And I would like up in the air era Anna Kendrick to play Haru.
>> Deborah: That's perfect.
>> Katie: Yeah. Not like Pitch Perfect modern era Anna Kendrick, who is like, sarcastic about everything. I need, like, uptight wound so tight she's about to snap at any moment. Anna Kendrick.
>> Deborah: That's a good one.
>> Katie: Thank you. Do you think it was better when we were kids? We're too old to have caught the. It just wasn't, it wasn't there for us.
>> Deborah: It's definitely a generational thing that we missed out on.
>> Katie: Yeah. And as far as stop motion animation is concerned, stop motion animation for kids when we were young was gumby, and Gumby is awful. We didn't even have Wallace and Gromit yet. We really did not have much good on the stop motion front for kids. So I'm very happy that our kids have this now.
>> Katie: Would you ever watch this alone voluntarily?
>> Deborah: I might finish it.
>> Katie: It's so short. It's easy to finish. Why not?
>> Katie: And it's pretty peaceful, right? Ratings?
>> Deborah: During my calm down Screen Time.
>> Katie: Your calm down Screen Time before bed.
>> Deborah: I would give it a four.
>> Katie: In a rare instance, I'm bumping up a little higher than you. I would give it a 4.5.
>> Deborah: Wow.
>> Katie: What do you think? See it or skip it?
>> Deborah: I think it's a see it. It's such a small time commitment. Why not?
>> Katie: I say see it as well. I think it's a really great intro to Pokemon for little kids. If you're worried about the Pokemon universe, it doesn't have any of the problematic fighting or violence or anything that you might be worried about. It's just a really sweet show.
>> Deborah: Thank you for listening to our review of Pokemon Concierge. Next week we'll be back with a conversation about Screen Time in the news. If you enjoyed our show today, please recommend the show to one friend you think would enjoy it too. We love growing our community of parents for sanity in screen time. Would you like more words about screentime? Subscribe to our newsletter at myscreentimetoo.com Tune in next time for more real talk about the movies and tv we watch with our kids because we have to, and sometimes because we like to. Bye.
>> Katie: Bye!
