John Wikstrom expresses his love for the Pokémon franchise by directing this heartwarming spec spot, "Evolutions- Sun and Moon" in honor of Pokémon's 20th anniversary. In it we see a boy as he evolves into a young man much like our beloved Pokemon.
We asked Wikstrom what his motivation was for creating the commercial: "Twenty years is a long time. I wanted to make something that spoke directly to the people who grew up with Pokémon, like myself. It's both a love letter and passing salute to the franchise. I wanted to make something that not only felt true to Pokémon, but felt true to my experience of it."
The ad, is spec work so Nintendo had nothing to do with it which is too bad because it's the best we've seen for the franchise. Head on over to Wikstrom's YouTube page to read all the wonderful comments to the ad, their absolutely loving it.
CREDITS:
Featuring Shamori Washington & Phillip Andre Botello
Directed by John Wikstrom
Cinematography by Idan Menin
Produced by Ian Coyne
1st AC — Melissa Sporn
Gaffer — Jacob Abrams
Grip — Aaron Pagniano, Tristan Moffat
Set Decorator — Kris Pistole
Music by Michael Ursu
Re-Recording Mixer — Nicole Pettigrew
Colorist — Dillon Novak
VFX Artist — Parker McCabe
Edited by John Wikstrom
Special Thanks: Michelle & Zac Pullam, Game Empire, Clairmont Camera