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., riding the crest of Pokémania at its American peak. Adapted from the Japanese feature Mewtwo Strikes Back with new framing footage, it introduced Mewtwo and Mew to the wider franchise mythology while cementing Ash Ketchum and Pikachu as the emotional core of the series on the big screen. For a generation of young viewers, this was their first encounter with Pokémon outside the television set, and the film's box office success proved the property could carry a theatrical run.
This cell, Pikachu Falling, centers on the bond between Ash and his partner Pikachu, the defining relationship of the entire franchise. A moment named for falling suggests one of the story's more precarious turns, a beat where the stakes of their partnership are laid bare rather than played for spectacle. Cells drawn from 35mm prints of this specific pairing are prized by collectors precisely because they isolate that core relationship, stripped of surrounding characters, offering a direct physical artifact from the reel that carried this scene into theaters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour 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 each edge; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a two-track variable-area format; Dolby Digital data blocks are not clearly distinguishable in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows saturated colour with no visible fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; the two frames appear to be from consecutive shots rather than a single continuous shot, and the animated content is consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
A variable-area optical track on a colour positive 35mm print 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
