Crown Grading

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in North American theaters in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures following its original 1998 Japanese release from Toho. Produced by OLM, Inc. and based on the global phenomenon that had already reshaped children's entertainment, the film marked the franchise's theatrical debut and became one of the highest-grossing animated films of its year, cementing Pokémon's cultural reach beyond games and television.

These two frames capture Mewtwo in flight or suspension against a deep blue field, photographed from below with the tail curling upward — almost certainly drawn from the climactic arena sequence at Mewtwo's fortress. The near-identical pairing suggests consecutive frames from a single held shot, offering a rare look at the subtle interval work behind one of the film's most iconic figures.