A "Leaked" 'Detective Pikachu' Movie Will Dance Your Worries Away

On Tuesday, Detective Pikachu star Ryan Reynolds posted a link to a "leaked" version of Detective Pikachu which had been posted to YouTube under the channel "Inspector Pikachu." In his tweet, he called attention to the film's official Twitter account as if flagging the video. "Um...ATTN," he wrote in his tweet. But curiously, this "leak" had the watermark "R. Reynolds" in the lefthand corner. Even more curiously, the film wasn't Detective Pikachu at all but a clip from the movie (but not the film's opening scene) followed by two hours of Pikachu...dancing.

Don't want to watch all two hours? Let me save you the trouble: It's literally just an hour and a half of Pikachu adorably dancing on a loop.

Or maybe don't let me save you the trouble and bless your day with the godsend that is Pikachu dancing for two hours. Look at his little scrunchy face! Look at his little belly jiggle when he jumps! Look how happy he is! It's the kind of happiness that us working adults barely remember anymore, but that we can be reminded of when we look into Pikachu's big doe eyes. It's not quite as involved as the real Detective Pikachu movie, but it inspires the same feeling of warmth and wholesome nostalgia (but to better effect). Yes, this clip will water your crops, heal your acne, and cure your depression and anxiety. At least, for 1 hours and 42 minutes.

This, in addition to the "R-rated" cut of Detective Pikachu, seems like a classic viral marketing move on Reynolds' part, which he honed and perfected in the marketing for Deadpool. It's an obvious homage to '80s exercise videos with the grainy video quality and the bright neon wallpaper in the back, as well as the upbeat music. But I like to think that Reynolds just saw the Key and Peele sketch below and decided to build a whole fake movie inspired by it. Unfortunately, Pikachu doesn't undergo a similar meltdown at the end, though I'm sure Reynolds would have been more than up to the task.

Despite Reynolds "warning," this Detective Pikachu fake movie has already gone viral, accumulating 4.6 million views within the first 24 hours. With all those people watching a viral marketing campaign, they could easily push Detective Pikachu to the No. 3 spot in the summer movie wager.

Directed by Rob Letterman from a script by Nicole Perlman, Detective Pikachu stars Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy. It opens in theaters May 10, 2019.

Ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son, Tim, to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokémon partner, wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth Detective Pikachu. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces to unravel the tangled mystery.