Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and 4Kids' bid to translate the biggest television phenomenon of the decade onto the big screen. Produced with animation from OLM and Nintendo's blessing, it introduced American audiences to Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon whose existential struggle gave the franchise unexpected weight. The film's box office success proved Pokémon could sustain feature-length storytelling, cementing its place in animation history and in the memory of a generation raised on the series.
This cell centers on Mewtwo's Battle Arena, the constructed setting where the clone Pokémon stages his confrontations with trainers and Pokémon alike. Mewtwo remains one of the franchise's most sought-after figures among collectors, prized for his moral complexity and his role as the film's central antagonist turned tragic figure. A cell from this environment captures the architecture of conflict itself, the stage on which the film's themes of identity and power play out, making it a meaningful artifact for anyone tracing Mewtwo's arc through the picture.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
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