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The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin ミュウツーの誕生

The Birth of Mewtwo First broadcast Japan July 8, 1999 * United States March 21, 2000 *

December 4, 2001 * English themes Opening None Ending Japanese themes Opening None Ending None Credits Animation Screenplay Storyboard No additional credits are available at this time.

The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin (Japanese: ミュウツーの誕生 The Birth of Mewtwo) is a ten-minute anime short added to the beginning of Mewtwo Strikes Back in all television airings in Japan and in the Japanese home video releases from the third one onward; the version of the movie that contains this short and additional CGI edits is known as the kanzenban (Japanese: 完全版 full version) and it was first shown on TV Tokyo on July 8, 1999, while its first home video release was on VHS on November 12, 1999.

Although the kanzenban was created to be later used in the United States, the North American theatrical version (November 12, 1999) removed the short while still using the footage from the kanzenban for the rest of the movie instead of the footage from the Japanese theatrical version. On March 21, 2000, Mewtwo Strikes Back was released in home video in the United States, and both the VHS and the DVD included the first two minutes of the short dubbed in English as The Story of Mewtwo's Origin: in the VHS these scenes were added to the beginning of the movie while in the DVD they were included as an extra. The full English dub of the short was first released on a Japanese DVD of the movie released on June 23, 2000, which contained both Japanese and English audio tracks. It was later included under the title The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin in the Special Features of the international DVD of Mewtwo Returns, released on August 17, 2001 in Australia and on December 4, 2001 in the United States.

This short increases the movie's length from 75 to 85 minutes, and the prologue's length from 10 to 20 minutes. Like the original prologue, it is adapted from parts of the radio drama The Birth of Mewtwo.

Plot

Dr. Fuji speaks of being sent on an expedition that was funded by Giovanni. The journal entry, dated the 6th of August, states that the purpose of the journey was to look for Mew, supposedly the strongest Pokémon known to mankind. The reasons for the expedition are for Fuji to obtain a sample of Mew DNA, which he could use in an attempt to clone the creature, a project which Giovanni will fund. However, Fuji's true motives for agreeing to the project are more personal, as he wishes to use the research to recreate his deceased daughter, Amber. The team managed to acquire what they believe to be a Mew fossil, which Fuji hopes is authentic, as he would have the genetic material he requires to create Giovanni's super-Pokémon. The scientific team begins work on the cloning process, and after a period of time, Mewtwo is born.

The scientists observe the immature Mewtwo floating in its tank and lament that despite its strong vital signs, it has not gained consciousness, much like the other clones. However, Mewtwo can hear their voices, though he does not understand what they are saying. Through the usage of telepathy, the clone of Amber, Ambertwo, tells Mewtwo that they are speaking. Mewtwo is startled and wonders what Ambertwo is and she replies that she is "a girl, a person." She tells Mewtwo that she was not aware that Pokémon could communicate like humans, to which Mewtwo ponders if he is a Pokémon or a human; however, Ambertwo says it should never matter which one it is.

The scientific team study the clones' brainwave patterns and figure out that they are speaking to each other through the usage of telepathy. Fuji, however, is indifferent to the announcement, as he is concerned with the clone of his daughter. Ambertwo explains to Mewtwo that she and all the others are clones, hence the "-two" suffix in their names. She explains that the scientists call her "Ambertwo," but she is still Amber inside.

Fuji, observing the clones, hopes that his daughter will be able to live once more. He thinks back to before he had begun the Mewtwo project, to when he was attempting to clone Amber in the basement of his home. His wife, however, was distraught over the loss of their daughter and became angry with his endeavors, telling him that he could not bring Amber back. She eventually left him, telling him that she loved their daughter as much as he did, but he needed to accept the fact that she was gone, and she could not continue to watch him continue his fruitless efforts.

Later, Fuji and a scientist discuss the status of the clones, and how Giovanni will be happy to soon have the strongest Pokémon of all. Fuji, however, hopes that their efforts will grant him with the knowledge to finally be able to create a viable clone of Amber.

Ambertwo shows Mewtwo and the rest of the clones—Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo and Bulbasaurtwo, clones of Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur respectively—a memory where she used to live and shows him elements of life, wind, sun, rain and times of the day. Mewtwo asks Ambertwo if the Moon is the Sun and is told the moon is there to keep people from being afraid of the dark. Soon, the clones slowly fade away, which the scientists lament as "another failure." Inside Ambertwo's "Remember Place," Mewtwo looks around for the other clones and asks Ambertwo where they had gone. However, Ambertwo begins to fade away, which one of the scientists notes quietly. Fuji watches solemnly as the energy pulse in the tank fades away.

Mewtwo, worried, asks Ambertwo what is happening, to which she replies that, "it feels like it's time to say goodbye." Mewtwo begins to cry at the loss of his friend, and Ambertwo assures him that it will be alright and thanks him for caring about her. She tells him he will live and that life is wonderful. However, Mewtwo calls out for Ambertwo in sadness and fear, which begins to manifest as a psychic emission and spike in brain activity. As alarm klaxons blare, Fuji orders his assistant to stabilize Mewtwo's powers by administering a memory-wiping serum. The serum almost fails to take effect, but gradually, Mewtwo calms down and falls asleep. The team is relieved and while Dr. Fuji is glad Mewtwo survived, he is outraged that his daughter is gone forever.

Mewtwo slowly matures, and in its sleep, it states that it feels like it has been asleep for what seems like forever. It still has slight memories of Amber, and ponders over her last words.

Mewtwo Strikes Back continues from this point.

Characters

Humans

Pokémon

Cast

Trivia

Dub edits

The segment on the Team Rocket scientists' expedition in the jungle is detailed by Dr. Fuji's journal through his voice instead of featuring live dialogue from the scientists, as in the Japanese version. In the original, the scientists only talk about Mew as they trek to the archaeological site. They recall legends of Mew causing floods and making crops grow on barren land for people. One scientist remembers hearing of Mew's supposed immortality, and another asks whether it is an angel or a devil. One questions whether it is extinct, but another answers that recent sightings have been reported but not confirmed, and no photographs serve as clear evidence. In the tent, a scientist shows the others his find: a fossil of an eyelash. Dr. Fuji asks him if it is from Mew, and the discoverer says that he believes so. Dr. Fuji then says that the fossil should be taken to the laboratory immediately, and that it should be enough to clone Mew.

In the English dub, Dr. Fuji pleads that his theories are true after Amber explains why all of the clones' names end in "-two." In the original, he speaks to Amber and wonders what she is saying telepathically.

During the flashback of Dr. Fuji and his wife in the dub, he tells her that he has reawakened Amber's consciousness and just needs to "keep it viable long enough to complete the process", implying that he has successfully retrieved an actual part of Amber's self. In the original, however, he says that he has only electronically replicated her consciousness into a hologram, but still swears that he can bring her back to life.

The dub omits and replaces much of the dialogue spoken by the scientist walking with Dr. Fuji. However, one of his remarks may have revealed a crucial point: he says that Mew reportedly has an immortal life force, so this may explain why Mewtwo's creation was successful.

Amber's last words are significantly different between each version of the short. In the original, she says that living beings cry when in pain, but only humans cry from sadness. In the dub, she says, "My daddy used to tell me a bedtime story that when Pokémon are sad and they cry, their tears are full of life."

In other languages

The Story of Mewtwo's Origin

Language Title Dutch Het verhaal van Mewtwo's afkomst European French L'histoire sur l'origine de Mewtwo German Wie Mewtu entstand Icelandic Sagan af uppruna Mewtwo Italian La storia sull'origine di Mewtwo Norwegian Skapningen av Mewtwo Swedish Berättelsen om Mewtwos ursprung

The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin

Language Title German Wie Mewtu entstand - Die ganze Geschichte

Gallery

The ancient Mew shrine

Archeologists entering the shrine

Ancient Mew carving

Mewtwo with starter clones and Amber

Fuji trying to bring Amber back to life

Amber showing around her "Memory Place"

Mewtwo and Amber bidding farewell

Mewtwo in its cloning tank



