Grimy, gritty, and great

Here's an interesting little tidbit about Detective Pikachu. In an interview with Vulture, actor Justice Smith reveals that Detective Pikachu was shot on film, instead of going the digital route. This was a choice made to play up various aspects of the movie itself.

There wasn’t a lot of green screen. Our director, Rob Letterman — I’m getting better at saying last names, Rob Letterman — wanted to shoot on location as much as possible. We shot in London, and for like a week in Scotland which is like a desktop background. He had this vision to put the Pokémon up against this urban backdrop and use this gray, grainy filter. We shot on film so it gave it that natural grain.

Because the Pokémon are so fantastical, to put them up against this realistic backdrop makes them pop more. That kind of drew me into wanting to do the film, because you can so easily go into this zany realm. I loved Rob Letterman — I don’t know why I’m saying his last name still — because he was all about the actor and our performance and keeping it loose on set and improvising and responding naturally.