Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in November 1999 from Warner Bros., adapting the anime phenomenon for American theaters at the height of Pokémania. Produced with 4Kids Entertainment and built around the franchise's first generation, it introduced Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon whose existential struggle gave the film unusual weight for a children's release. The movie became a commercial landmark, proving the brand could sustain feature-length storytelling and drawing audiences far beyond the core game and card collecting base.
This cell holds Mewtwo alone, the film's central figure and its most requested character among collectors of Pokémon film memorabilia. As the engineered clone at the heart of the story, Mewtwo carries the movie's themes of identity and purpose, making any frame bearing him a direct link to the narrative's emotional core. A 35mm cell like this preserves a single frame from that theatrical print, a physical artifact from the projection era before digital distribution, valued by collectors as tangible history from the character's defining screen appearance.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie.
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 look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical print; Dolby Digital data blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a Dolby Digital optical print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight blue-cyan tint typical of a colour print stock; the dye image reads as a positive with saturated blue and violet tones, no obvious red shift or fading visible.
Projection history
Faint horizontal lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the lower portion of the strip; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with the animated feature listed on record.
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, on a blue-base colour print stock, is consistent with a 1999-1999 theatrical release print of this title.
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
