By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Weekend Editor

If you're a parent, you've probably been hearing about this day for weeks; the day “Pokemon's First Movie” comes out.

What started as a little game that only a few children played has become a mass-marketed superfad. There are now Pokemon video games, card games, toys, television programs (including a spinoff called DigiMon) and, of course, clothing, linens, shampoos and soaps. On Wednesday, America will feel the force of the fad and children will be lined up for blocks to see the Pokemon movie.

Each child that goes to the film will receive one of four special collector cards that can be used in the Pokemon battles that have swept through America's schoolyards. There are four cards because, as every Pokemonite knows, to be the master of Pokemon “you've gotta catch them all.” In addition to the film there will also be a short cartoon before the movie, called “Pikachu's first vacation.”

At the time this article was written, Tinseltown in Fayetteville did not know if it was going to have the Pokemon movie. It will run on two screens at AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 and Holly Tyler, administrative assistant at the theater, expects it to do a lot of business. “We've been getting phone calls for over a month,” said Tyler. “It should be a really big movie.” Advance tickets for Wednesday went on sale Monday at 6 p.m. and advanced tickets for this weekend's showings will go on sale at 6 p.m. today.

Non-Disney animated films tend to come and go without making much of a splash, but how could Pokemon not make a splash? It is the highest rated afternoon animated series in the country, this after being the highest rated children's program in Japan for several years. Pokemon has developed and grown over the years, much like the creatures on the cards. It begs the question, what could possibly be next? The answer is, we probably don't want to know.

Pokemon starts nationwide in theaters today. Check your local listings.

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