Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in American theaters in November 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo, riding the crest of a cultural wave that had already swept through television, trading cards, and handheld games. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and adapted for Western audiences, it introduced Mewtwo as a cinematic antagonist and cemented the franchise's leap from small screen to blockbuster. The film's box office success proved that Pokémon was not a passing fad but a lasting entertainment institution, and it remains a touchstone for an entire generation raised on Poké Balls and playground battles.
This 35mm cell carries the simple weight of the film's own name, a piece of the title reel itself rather than a single character or scene. For collectors, title cells like this hold a different kind of value: they mark the moment before the story begins, the frame where audiences first saw the words that promised Pikachu, Mewtwo, and the rest of the roster brought to the big screen. It is a piece of introduction, the threshold moment of a landmark release, preserved exactly as projected.
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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