National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Released in 1999, Pokémon: The First Movie arrived at the height of a cultural phenomenon that had swept across games, television, and trading cards. For a generation of young fans, it marked the franchise's leap onto the big screen, and the trailer served as an early glimpse that fueled anticipation. It captured a moment when animation from Japan was reaching mainstream Western audiences in a powerful new way, becoming a defining piece of late-1990s pop culture.

This cell comes from the November 12 trailer, a promotional piece tied to the film's arrival. Owning an actual frame of 35mm from it means holding a small, tangible artifact of that release—light once passed through this very image on its way to a screen.