Crown Grading

FILM NOTES

Warner Bros. distributed Pokémon: The First Movie in North America in November 1999, adapting the theatrical feature produced by OLM, Inc. for the Japanese market the previous year. The film arrived at the height of the global Pokémon phenomenon and remains the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of 1999 in the United States, marking a significant moment in the crossover of Japanese animation into mainstream Western cinema.

This cell captures Pikachu ascending the sweeping, purple-lit interior stairway of Mewtwo's castle, rendered small against the architecture in a composition that quietly emphasizes scale and isolation. The confirmed title, Pikachu Falling, carries an irony the image earns through atmosphere alone. The strip presents the shot twice as a side-by-side anamorphic 3D pair, a format detail that adds documentary interest to an already evocative frame.