Crown Grading

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in North American theaters in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures as an extension of the global phenomenon that had swept television, trading cards, and consumer culture throughout the late 1990s. Produced by OLM, Inc. and originally released in Japan in 1998, the film marked a significant cultural moment, bringing the franchise's emotional storytelling to a theatrical scale and drawing audiences well beyond its core demographic.

This cell, titled Pikachu, captures the character mid-tears against a dark background, placing it within the film's quietly devastating aftermath sequence. The image is spare and unguarded, Pikachu rendered in a moment of visible grief that resonated with audiences and remains one of the more recognizable frames from the production.