This is a gigantic improvement from musicals.
If I wanted to watch little animals screw around for my amusement with little to no input, I'd rev up Nintendogs. The interactivity is what makes things interesting, and Pokewood seems to have plenty of it so I'm actually looking forward to it.
I love how it just rolls with the nonsensical lines by taking the comedy route. It's like you want to screw with the game by totally throwing the film for the lowest score, and you end up making a blockbuster instead.

My only question is why the hell don't the actual battles look like this? Full backgrounds baby, none of that 'standing on circles' malarky! So close, yet so far.

I second that, and I really hope Gen 6 does full backgrounds for everything.
It looks so much more engaging that way.