Recently making its global debut, Pokémon Concierge marks the first collaboration between Netflix and The Pokémon Company. Using stop-motion animation to tell the new story, Dwarf Studios brought Pokémon to life.
The series follows Haru, a new concierge, who takes care of the Pokémon alongside the experienced senior staff. As she learns the ropes of keeping her guests happy, she also goes on a journey of adventure, friendship, and self-discovery.
Annie Award-winning artist Tadahiro Uesugi, who crafted the concept design for the Pokémon Resort as well as the character design for Haru and other human characters, wanted to add an element of surprise to the setting of the Pokémon world. “Most importantly, we wanted people to actually see it and say-That looks fun,” said Uesugi.
To give more depth to the series, the production team paid meticulous attention to every detail, down to every smile or wink by the human characters, creating 30 pieces of facial expressions for Haru to convey a full range of emotions.
From Psyduck’s waddle to Haru’s running, director Iku Ogawa focused on how each Pokémon and human character move. By refining the details of each character from the script, he was able to add realism to the make-believe world.
Eagle-eyed fans of the Pokémon entertainment franchise will spot familiar Pokémon design elements scattered throughout the resort. “We included details in the background so you can find something new every time you watch. I hope you’ll watch it over and over,” said Ogawa.
Pokémon Concierge is a dwarf studios production, the screenplay was done by Harumi Doki and Uesugi was on board for concept arts/character design.
The original Japanese voice cast includes Non, Fairouz Ai, Eita Okuno and Yoshiko Watanabe, while Karen Fukuhara, Imani Hakim, Josh Keaton, Lori Alan were a part of the English voice cast. The main theme song, Have a Good Time Here of the four episodes x 14-20 mins each series was done by Mariya Takeuchi.
Pokémon Concierge is exclusively streaming on Netflix now.