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 through Warner Bros., following its earlier Japanese release by Toho under the Pikachu's Summer Vacation pairing. Produced during the height of Pokémania, it introduced Mewtwo and Mew to a mainstream audience already saturated with trading cards, the Game Boy titles, and the television series. The film became a genuine box office event, cementing Pokémon as a cross-media franchise rather than a passing fad, and its 35mm release prints are among the more collected artifacts from that early wave of anime distribution in the West.
This cell centers on Pikachu, voiced by Ikue Ōtani, the character whose vocal performance became inseparable from the franchise's identity worldwide. As the mascot and emotional anchor of the series, Pikachu appears constantly across merchandise, but theatrical frames tied specifically to the character carry particular weight for collectors seeking a direct link to the film's original release rather than later reissues. A cell like this represents a single surviving fragment of that theatrical print, valued simply for placing Pikachu, in voice and presence, inside the historical object itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour theatrical 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 both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip visible in the inter-perforation zone on the same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base carries a blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour dye image; the image tones appear shifted toward blue-grey, likely a photographic effect of the backlit panel rather than fading.
Projection history
Horizontal scratch lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the character visible matches the Pokémon franchise character Pikachu, consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and colour positive stock on a safety base is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s, matching the 1999/1999 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
