Pokémon in the United States: Difference between revisions

The [[Pokémon]] franchise first reached the '''{{wp|United States}}''' in 1998 with the release of [[Pokémon Red and Blue Versions]] and the premiere of the {{pkmn|anime}}. They contributed to what would be called "[[Pokemania]]", a phenomenon that lasted until the early 2000s. Most English translations of Pokémon media, as well as original English-language media such as ''{{mov|Detective Pikachu}}'', are based in the United States and then further distributed in other English-speaking countries of the world.

The [[Pokémon anime]] debuted in {{wp|Broadcast syndication|syndication}} in the United States on September 7, 1998<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000425180626/http://toonzone.net/brian/eplists/pokemon.html ''Pokémon'' - Toon Zone] (archived from the original April 25, 2000; retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref> with the sneak preview debut of ''[[EP015|Battle Aboard the St. Anne]]''. All English-language dubs of the Pokémon anime were produced in the United States, first by [[4Kids Entertainment]] and later by [[The Pokémon Company International]]. Other animated productions, such as [[Pokémon Origins]] and [[Pokémon Generations]], are also dubbed in English in the United States either via TPCI or other studios. The live-action film ''{{mov|Detective Pikachu}}'' is a primarily American production.

While the [[Pokémon movie]]s were regularly released theatrically in Japan, only movies [[M01|one]] through [[M05|five]], the [[M13|13th movie]], the Zekrom variant of the [[M14|14th movie]], the [[M20|20th movie]], and the [[M21|21st movie]] (along with [[Detective Pikachu (movie)|Pokémon Detective Pikachu]]) have seen theatrical releases in the US; all other movies have premiered on television and released straight to video, DVD, or streaming.

 

The "[[Pokémon Shock]]" had been covered in American news outlets a few month's before the show's stateside debut,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/18/world/tv-cartoon-s-flashes-send-700-japanese-into-seizures.html ''TV Cartoon's Flashes Send 700 Japanese Into Seizures'' - The New York Times (December 18, 1997)]</ref> but it did not deter the brand's fame.

[[Warner Bros.#Kids' WB|Kids' WB]] (sometimes styled as Kids WB!) was an American children's television programming block and brand owned by {{wp|Warner Bros.}} that first aired on September 9, 1995, on {{wp|The WB|The WB Television Network}}.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-22-tv-59667-story.html ''WB Raises the Animation Ante'' - Los Angeles Times] (retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref> On January 24, 2006 it was announced The WB and {{wp|CBS Corporation}}'s {{wp|UPN}} would merge to create {{wp|The CW}}.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/business/media/upn-and-wb-to-combine-forming-new-tv-network.html ''UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network'' - New York Times] (retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref> When The WB closed on September 17 that year, the block moved to the new channel and it ran there from September 23, 2006 to May 17, 2008, at which time {{wp|Toonzai|The CW4Kids}} was launched to replace it. Kids' WB lived on as the name of a streaming service, until a rebranding on May 17, 2015.

New Pokémon episodes premiered on Kids' WB<ref>[https://www.awn.com/news/kids-wb-picks-pok-mon ''Kids WB! picks "Pokémon"'' - Animation World Network (January 28, 1999)]</ref> starting with ''[[EP044|The Problem with Paras]]'' on February 13, 1999. Meanwhile, reruns of the previous 40 dubbed episodes kept airing in syndication until September.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121013071234/https://old.post-gazette.com/tv/19990902owen1.asp ''KIDS TV ALERT'' - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (September 2, 1999)]</ref> The show proved to be a hit on the block<ref>[https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/1999/05/06/pokemon-takes-em-all-show-posts-record-high-40-share-in-boys-6-11 ''Pokemon Takes 'Em All!'' - WarnerMedia] (retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref>, and it premiered every (non-[[Banned episodes|banned]]) episode of the anime until the end of [[S08|season eight]]. During this time, [[Warner Bros.#Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Pictures]] also released the first three Pokémon movies in theaters (and later on home video) under the Kids' WB banner<ref>[https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/1999/11/10/first-day-of-release-of-pokemon-the-first-movie-buoyed-by-huge ''First Day of Release of Pokémon The First Movie Buoyed by Huge Showing of Kids'' - WarnerMedia] (retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref><ref>[https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2000/03/02/kids-wb-presents-pokemon-the-movie-2000-opening-july-21 ''Kids WB! Presents Pokémon the Movie 2000, Opening July 21'' - WarnerMedia] (retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref><ref>[https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2001/03/27/lampson-elementary-school-in-garden-grove-wins-world-premiere-of ''Lampson Elementary School in Garden Grove Wins World Premiere of 'Kids' WB! Presents Pokémon 3 The Movie' '' - WarnerMedia] (retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref>. From July 2001 until June 2002, Kids' WB's weekday afternoon editions, which included Pokémon, were branded ''Toonami on Kids' WB''.

In 2006 it was announced that Kids WB would no longer be airing non-Warner Bros. shows. New Pokémon episodes debuted on [[Cartoon Network]] starting on September 8, 2006<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061004132738/http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=12209 ''Press Release: New Season of "Pokémon" to Air Exclusively on Cartoon Network'' - Toon Zone] (archived from the original October 4, 2006; retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref><ref name="KWBmove">[https://web.archive.org/web/20071017000426/http://toonzone.net/schedule/episode.php?ID=7209 ''Pokémon - Fear Factor Phony'' - Toon Zone] (archived from the original October 17, 2007; retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref>, with Kids' WB's reruns of the show ending that month.

Cartoon Network is an American children's television network that was launched on October 1, 1992<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140204051028/https://articles.philly.com/1992-10-04/entertainment/25997256_1_betty-cohen-new-channels-cartoon-network ''That's All Cartoons, Folks - 24 Hours Daily'' - The Philadelphia Inquirer] (archived from the original February 4, 2014; retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref> after {{wp|Turner Broadcasting System}} purchased the animation studio {{wp|Hanna-Barbera}}. The acquisition of Turner by Time Warner brought the network under the same umbrella as Kids' WB. Since its establishment, {{wp|List of international Cartoon Network channels|international variants}} of the channel have launched around the world. Since March 4, 2019, Cartoon Network has been part of ''Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics'', a division of [[Warner Bros.]]<ref>[https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/warner-bros-cartoon-network-hanna-barbera-1203154521/ ''Warner Bros. Wants to Rev Up Kid’s Content With Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera'' - Variety] (retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref>

The show stayed with the network until the end of [[S19|season 19]], with the last reruns airing in January 2017. New episodes would start airing on [[Disney XD]].

On April 23, 2020 it was announced that [[S23|season 23]] of the anime would premiere exclusively on [[Netflix]], starting on June 12, 2020.<ref name="Netflix">[https://press.pokemon.com/THE-POKEMON-COMPANY-INTERNATIONAL-AND-NETFLIX-TEAM-UP-FOR-US-PREMIERE- ''The Pokémon Company International and Netflix Team Up For U.S. Premiere Of “Pokémon Journeys: The Series”'' - The Pokémon Company International] (retrieved May 19, 2020)</ref> Reruns of Ultra Legends continued to air on Disney XD until January 2021.