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.' theatrical release of the Japanese anime phenomenon, riding the wave of Pokémania that had swept toys, trading cards, and television into American homes. Produced with 4Kids' English dub and marketed with unprecedented merchandising muscle, the film introduced Mewtwo's origin story to Western audiences while cementing Pokémon as a cultural institution rather than a passing fad. For a generation of collectors, this was the first time the franchise proved itself a box office force, making surviving 35mm material from the release genuinely scarce.
This cell pairs Mew, the elusive mythical Pokémon whose genetic legacy drives the film's entire plot, with Meowth, the talking, upright member of Team Rocket whose comic presence threads through the series. A frame naming these two together suggests one of the picture's connective moments, where the sacred and the scheming brush against each other. Collectors prize Mew cells for their rarity within the animation, since the character appears sparingly, and Meowth for his enduring popularity as Team Rocket's most recognizable voice. Together they represent a crossing point between the film's mythology and its comic relief.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds one frame.
Perforations
Four perforations per frame visible on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched corners appear rounded and clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly cool; dye image shows strong saturated colour with deep blacks, consistent with an unexpired colour print stock.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; the single frame shows animated content consistent with the Pokémon franchise and matches the film on record.
Era check
A variable-area optical track alongside a single-frame 35mm positive print is consistent with a 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
