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 Nintendo's gamble on translating a television phenomenon into a theatrical event, and it paid off, becoming one of the highest grossing anime releases in American history. Built around Mewtwo's origin and the clash with Mew, the film cemented Pokémon as a cultural fixture beyond the small screen, introducing a generation to franchise storytelling on the big screen. Its success proved that the property could sustain feature length narrative while still delivering the humor and character work fans expected from the series.
This cell carries Team Rocket, the trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth whose comic relief and scheming became inseparable from the Pokémon brand. Fans and collectors prize them as the emotional counterweight to the film's darker themes, their presence a reminder that even in a story about cloning and conflict, levity remained essential. A cell bearing their name preserves a fragment of animation tied directly to that identity, a physical artifact from the reel connecting owners to the movie's theatrical run and the era when Pokémon mania first swept through American theaters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of Pokémon: The First Movie
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds two frames
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows saturated colour consistent with an intact colour print
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible in the picture area, consistent with a projected print
Picture
Positive colour image; the two frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single animated shot matching the Pokémon animated style on record
Era check
The variable-area optical track, colour positive stock, and perforation layout are all consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the late 1990s
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading, 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.
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
