Released during the height the Pokémon phenomenon (namely the first film with its irrelevant U.S. pop teen idol soundtrack), the first two films endured the harshest criticism compared to other Pokémon media events. Both heavy with issues parallelling those faced by our planet's own non-human creatures, their important messages went unnoticed by critics who instead translated the movies' themes into subliminal messages about the card game and its influence on kids. During the scene in "Mewtwo Strikes Back" (Pokémon: The First Movie) where the jealous and humiliated artificially-created Mewtwo along with the other cloned Pokémon are urged by Ash to stop the senseless fighting against the Pokémon born of this world, the story which centered around the genetic enhancement of innocent creatures for humans' own personal gain was lost (the fault of deliberately poor English dubbing; which doesn't surprise me, also being a Sailor Moon fan) and replaced with the theory that battles with (or battles over) Pokémon cards had become too violent among kids. They also tried to sneak this one into the 3rd movie ("Spell of the Unown"), but the argument against fighting was too relevant to the story to be taken so grossly out of context. And in "The Power of One" (Pokémon 2000), a one-liner that targeted humans' insensitivity and selfishness of keeping exotic animals in private collections was twisted by critics to mean that kids should not collect Pokémon cards¹. And while that one individual began his 'collection' with a mere Mew card, unfortunately, it grew to the point where he could no longer see the difference between displaying objects and caging living beings. The villain was the guy on the screen wreaking havoc by removing the birds from their natural elements, not the kids sitting in the audience with pockets full of inanimate trading cards! Note: I would love to recommend the first two movies (Mewtwo and Lugia) but as the messages were lost in translation, I cannot recommend the dubbed versions.

How is all this supposed to help those poor confused parents? It doesn't and it only leaves adults to form their own notions about Pokémon...and could very well leave their children with the message that it's okay to be prejudice. History always repeats itself. In a recent episode (see recommendations below), a mother's deep-rooted disdain for Pokémon is 'unmasked' by a supportive, pro-Pokémon father when she realizes that carrying this hatred not only hurt her husband and her son caught in the middle, but also herself.

Recommended episode(s): "Disaster of Disguise" {Phantom; part 1} (Pokémon Advanced Challenge [seventh season]) "Disguise Da Limit" {Phantom; part 2} (Pokémon Advanced Challenge [seventh season]) -When his mother forbids him to have Pokémon, a young boy's father offers him a way to interact with them, forcing her to recall the trauma of her parents' same strict rules regarding Pokémon

¹"That's disgusting! The way you talk, Pokémon are just things to be collected like dolls or stamps. What kind of a trainer are you?"
-Misty, Pokémon: the Movie 2000 ("The Power of One")