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 from Warner Bros., adapting the anime phenomenon for a mainstream audience at the height of Pokémon's cultural takeover. Produced with Nintendo and Shogakukan, it introduced Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon whose existential struggle gave the franchise unexpected weight beyond its merchandising roots. The film's box office success proved that Pokémon could sustain feature-length storytelling, cementing its place as a defining piece of late-90s pop culture and a gateway for countless young viewers into the wider mythology.
This cell isolates Mewtwo, the film's central figure and one of the most sought-after characters in the franchise's collector market. As a clone born from ambition and manipulation, Mewtwo carries the movie's philosophical core, questioning identity, purpose, and the nature of creation itself. A 35mm frame bearing this character alone speaks to that solitary, introspective weight, without other figures to share the frame. For collectors, isolating Mewtwo this way preserves a piece of the character's defining screen presence, distinct from the ensemble scenes that dominate much of the film's other surviving material.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999/1999).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by 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 track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a dual-bilateral (two-track) waveform pattern; a separate fine dotted line consistent with a Dolby SR or digital sync stripe is also visible immediately above it.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a blue-tinted dye image consistent with a colour print stock; no obvious red shift or fading is apparent.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated character visible is consistent with the Pokémon franchise as recorded.
Era check
A 35mm colour positive print with a dual variable-area optical soundtrack and blue-tinted stock 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
