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 a co-production between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Warner Bros., riding the crest of Pokémon's explosive American debut. Adapted from the Japanese "Mewtwo Strikes Back," it introduced US audiences to the franchise's mythology on the big screen, pairing the theatrical feature with the "Pikachu's Vacation" short. The film became a cultural landmark, cementing Pokémon as a dominant multimedia force and drawing families and collectors alike into theaters during the height of Pokémania.
This cell carries the Ancient Mew designation, tied directly to the mythic, near-legendary Pokémon whose origins are woven into the film's backstory of cloning and creation. Mew's presence anchors the movie's central conflict, giving weight to Mewtwo's existence and the larger themes explored onscreen. Collectors seek this figure for its rarity within the franchise's iconography, since Mew rarely appears in full motion picture form. A 35mm cell bearing this name preserves a physical trace of that mythology, a tangible link to a defining moment in the franchise's cinematic history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm color optical release print of POKEMON: The First Movie.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds one frame.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even; edges of the perforation holes appear cleanly punched with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks are visible running horizontally below the picture area, consistent with a dual bilateral or stereo variable-area configuration; a thin blue line is also visible immediately above the tracks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a light lavender-pink surround; the dye image within the frame shows a warm golden-amber cast, suggesting a color print with some dye shift toward yellow-amber.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; a single frame is present and the warm amber tonal range is consistent with a color release print of an animated feature from the late 1990s.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, color positive print stock, and lavender base tint are all consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the late 1990s, matching the 1999 US release window of the film on record.
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
