National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Released in 1999, Pokemon: The First Movie arrived at the height of a global phenomenon, bringing a wildly popular animated series and trading-card craze to the big screen. For a generation of young fans, it was often a first trip to the cinema, and it remains a touchstone of late-'90s pop culture. Its blend of colorful action and surprisingly thoughtful themes about identity and belonging helped it endure well beyond its original run.

This cell captures Charizard and Pikachu, two of the franchise's most beloved and instantly recognizable creatures. Holding a physical frame from that celluloid puts a tangible piece of the film in your hands, a small, luminous window into a story that shaped so many childhoods.