Hiroshi Ōtake (Primeape), Ed Paul (Scientist), Kayzie Rogers (Vaporeon/Vileplume/Ninetales), Kōichi Sakaguchi (Arbok), Eric Stuart (Squirtle/Squirtle's clone/Weezing/Exeggutor/Slowpoke/Scyther/Hitmonlee/Tentacruel/Magneton/Scientist), Veronica Taylor (Scientist/Computer/Diglett) Production Kunihiko Yuyama directed the original Japanese version of the film, while Choji Yoshikawa and Takeshi Shudo served as producer and script writer respectively. The film was not produced by Pikachu Project. According to Shudo, certain episodes in the anime were intended to tie-in with the movie prior to its release in Japan and provide background behind the events in the film. However, the controversy surrounding the "Dennō Senshi Porygon" episode delayed the tie-in episodes, causing Shudo to expand the beginning of the movie and, thus, the length of the film. Themes Shudo explained in his blog that Mewtwo being torn over his life purpose reflects the film's theme of existentialism. In the Japanese script, for instance, the moment Mewtwo realizes he has a right to be in the world just as much as any other living creature represents the central message of accepting one's existence. Amber, who is named Ai (アイ) in the Japanese script, was named so to highlight the film's overall message of self-existence, with Ai being a homonym of the English word "I". English-language adaptation Norman J. Grossfeld, former president of 4Kids Productions, served as the film's producer for the English-language North American version. Grossfeld, Michael Haigney, and John Touhey wrote the English adaptation, and Haigney served as the English version's voice director. The English script was heavily edited from the original Japanese one; along with various content edits, Mewtwo was portrayed more maliciously because Grossfeld felt American audiences needed to see a "clearly evil" villain rather than a morally ambiguous one. As such, the existential themes seen in the Japanese version were significantly toned-down. The English version editors translated various Japanese texts, including those on signs and on buildings, into English. The Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions (formerly Shogakukan Productions) also altered various background from the original version of the film in order to enhance its presentation overseas. In the English dub, three Pokémon are referred to by the wrong name. Pidgeot was called "Pidgeotto", Scyther was called "Alakazam", and Sandslash was called "Sandshrew". 4Kids said that they decided to leave the latter two errors when they noticed it as something for the children watching to notice and because they felt it was plausible in context that Team Rocket could make a mistake. Grossfeld also had new music re-recorded