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 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo tested whether a Japanese animated phenomenon could conquer American theaters, and it did, opening at number one and cementing Pokémania as a cultural force rather than a passing fad. Built around the battle between Mewtwo and Mew, the film carried the franchise from Saturday morning television into the multiplex, introducing a generation to the stakes of cloned power and natural order while cash registers rang with merchandise tied to every frame.
This cell holds Ash Ketchum, voiced by Veronica Taylor, the character whose journey anchors the entire Pokémon universe. As the constant presence across games, cards, and screen, Ash is the figure collectors return to again and again, the throughline that makes any given strip of film recognizable at a glance. A 35mm cell bearing his name situates him within the movie's larger drama, a physical fragment of the animation that carried him from television into theatrical canon, prized simply for placing him inside this pivotal chapter of the franchise's history.
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, showing a dual-bilateral waveform pattern consistent with an analog stereo optical track; Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations are not clearly distinguishable at this size, and no DTS timecode line or SDDS outer-edge tracks are visible in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The clear base shows a neutral-to-slightly-cool tint; the dye image appears saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive color image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and depict animated content consistent with a Pokémon theatrical release print.
Era check
The analog variable-area optical soundtrack, saturated color dye image, and neutral safety base are all consistent with a 1999–1999 theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie.
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
