# Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019 Film)
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is the 2019 Warner Bros. live-action film starring Ryan Reynolds as the voice of a caffeine-addicted detective mouse, and its trailers became a meme factory months before release. The unsettling fuzzy redesigns of Jigglypuff, Mr. Mime and Mewtwo, plus a fake feature-length dance video called Detective Leakachu, gave the internet reactions and jokes that ran for the entire 2018 to 2019 press cycle.
## Origin
Legendary Entertainment announced the live-action Detective Pikachu project in November 2017, setting a May 10, 2019 release with Ryan Reynolds voicing Pikachu, Justice Smith and Kathryn Newton in live-action roles, and Rob Letterman directing[1]. Universal Pictures handled international distribution outside Japan, with Toho releasing domestically in the same Legendary partnership structure used for the Godzilla reboot[1].
The meme cycle proper started on November 12, 2018, when Warner Bros. Pictures released the first trailer on YouTube[8]. Within hours, discussion threads on r/movies, r/Pokemon and r/Nintendo were arguing about whether Reynolds' Deadpool-adjacent voice fit Pikachu, whether Jigglypuff should have fur, and whether Mr. Mime looked like a person or a nightmare[5]. Polygon published its explainer that same day arguing that Mr. Mime's appearance was objectively disturbing because his shirt, gloves and shoes are not clothing but body parts, which pushed the character back into meme rotation[2].
- **Platform:** YouTube trailers / Twitter (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown
- **Date:** 2018
## Overview
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a live-action adaptation of the 2016 Nintendo 3DS game of the same name, directed by Rob Letterman and voiced by Ryan Reynolds in the title role[1]. What made it a meme, rather than just a movie, was the reaction cycle around its two theatrical trailers, which forced casual viewers to reckon with what beloved Pokémon designs look like when rendered as photoreal CGI creatures walking around a live-action city.
The recurring joke templates that came out of the film were: horrified reaction posts about specific Pokémon (a furry Jigglypuff, a Mr. Mime whose body parts aren't clothes but flesh, a heavily muscled Mewtwo), Ryan Reynolds voice memes where users pointed out Pikachu sounded like Deadpool, and mashups placing these creatures next to unrelated internet figures like Gritty[3][4]. The Mr. Mime scene alone spawned an entire genre of horror reaction tweets and fan art after Polygon and Kotaku both ran pieces arguing that the character was inadvertently terrifying[2][3].
The cycle peaked twice: first with the trailer drops in November 2018 and February 2019, then again with the May 2019 Detective Leakachu prank video that Ryan Reynolds himself promoted on Twitter[5].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019 Film)?
It is a 2019 Warner Bros. live-action film based on the 2016 Nintendo 3DS game, directed by Rob Letterman and starring Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu[1][6].
### Where did Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019 Film) come from?
Legendary Entertainment announced the project in November 2017 with a May 2019 release date, and the meme cycle began when the first trailer dropped on November 12, 2018[1][8].
### What does Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019 Film) mean as a meme?
It refers to the wave of reaction posts about the film's unsettling photoreal Pokémon designs, especially fuzzy Jigglypuff and body-horror Mr. Mime, plus jokes about Ryan Reynolds sounding like Deadpool in Pikachu's body[2][3].
### How do you use Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019 Film) memes?
Common templates include horror reaction posts about specific redesigned Pokémon, Ryan Reynolds voice swap jokes, and mashups placing live-action Pokémon next to unrelated cursed images like Gritty or the Surprised Pikachu meme[5].
### Is Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019 Film) still popular?
The trailer-era meme cycle is a 2018 to 2019 classic; the film itself is still available on Fandango and other rental platforms[7].
### Why did Mr. Mime become a meme?
Polygon and Kotaku both argued the film's Mr. Mime was inadvertently terrifying because his shirt, gloves and shoes are body parts rather than clothing, and horror reaction tweets followed within hours of the first trailer[2][3].
### What was the Detective Leakachu video?
On May 7, 2019, a YouTube channel called Inspector Pikachu uploaded a 1 hour 43 minute video that pretended to leak the film but was actually Pikachu doing dance aerobics to synthwave; Ryan Reynolds tweeted the link and the official movie account renamed itself Detective Leakachu[5].
### How was the second trailer received?
The February 26, 2019 trailer racked up over 12 million views in two days and introduced Mewtwo, whose menacing look The Verge highlighted, along with Ludicolo as a bartender, which drew Gritty comparisons on Twitter[4][5].
### Did Ryan Reynolds engage with the memes?
Yes; on February 25, 2019 he released an Outside the Actor's Studio parody about playing Pikachu, and he later personally promoted the Detective Leakachu prank video from his own Twitter account[4][5].
### How did critics respond to the film itself?
Reviews were mixed to positive; Rolling Stone acknowledged the appeal of Reynolds voicing a Sherlock-hatted Pikachu, and Rotten Tomatoes' consensus said the film should catch most fans even if it does not push its bizarre premise as far as it could[6][7].
## References
1. [https://variety.com/2017/film/news/live-action-detective-pikachu-release-1202636823/]()
2. [https://www.polygon.com/pokemon/2018/11/12/18088710/detective-pikachu-mr-mime-trailer-analysis]()
3. [https://kotaku.com/detective-pikachu-movie-version-of-mr-mime-is-freaking-1830401626]()
4. [https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/26/18241364/detective-pikachu-trailer-ryan-reynolds-mewtoo-charizard]()
5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/pokemon-detective-pikachu-2019-film]()
6. [https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/pokemon-detective-pikachu-movie-review-ryan-reynolds-831806/]()
7. [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pokemon_detective_pikachu]()
8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1roy4o4tqQM]()
9. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bILE5BEyhdo]()
10. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAA_yWX8ycQ]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/pokemon-detective-pikachu
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