National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Released in 1999, Pokémon: The First Movie arrived at the height of a cultural phenomenon that had swept through television, trading cards, and games. For a generation of young fans, it was a first trip to the theater to see characters they knew intimately from the small screen brought to life on a larger canvas. The trailer that preceded it played a role of its own, building anticipation and offering early glimpses that fans replayed and remembered long after.

This particular cell features Horsea, one of the small, endearing water Pokémon that populate the franchise's world. Owning an actual frame of 35mm film from this trailer means holding a physical piece of that era, a tangible fragment of celluloid that once ran through a projector rather than a digital copy.