I recently downloaded the Japanese version of this movie.
Let me first say that I have not watched a "Pokémon" movie, be it Japanese or American, since seeing "Spell of the Unown" in a small-town Massachusetts theater in Spring of 2001. And I now realize that they've gotten a lot better since then. This was probably one of the best animated movies I've ever seen - a great plot, great characters, great animation...where do I begin?
Well, first of all, it was nice to see Max get a movie pretty much all to himself. His scenes with Jirachi (whose voice is as cute as hell, mind you) were all very memorable, and it was great that they developed Max's character like this. As for other characters, Butler was a nice change of pace in terms of antagonists - not purely evil, he still has feelings, as evidenced by his anguished scream when Diane gets swallowed up by the tendrils of the pseudo-Groudon. That was truly one of the most dramatic sequences I've ever seen in "Pokémon".
In terms of animation, this thing blows the regular anime episodes out of the water. The entire opening "Pokémon Lore" sequence, as well as the scene where the crew sets up the carnival and the attack of the pseudo-Groudon, were all visually incredible. If only they had this big of a weekly budget - we'd get more "Exploud and Clears" and less "Balance of Powers".
In all, a very, very good movie. I'm hesitant to watch the dub, since Dogasu's comparison doesn't exactly depict it in a flattering light, but it might be worth it to hear the partially undubbed "Chiisaki Mono" over the ending credits - I tell you, that song is gonna be in my head for weeks now. Not that I'm complaining.