Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. distributed the Japanese anime phenomenon to American theaters, riding the crest of a media franchise that had overtaken playgrounds, television schedules, and trading card aisles within a single year. Produced with Nintendo and 4Kids Entertainment's involvement in adapting it for Western audiences, the film became a cultural marker of late-nineties childhood, introducing Mewtwo's origin story while anchoring the emotional core of the saga in the bond between Ash and his Pikachu. Its box office success proved that television-born animation could command theatrical audiences.
This cell centers Pikachu, the franchise's defining mascot and the character most sought after by collectors across every format the series has produced. A moment named for falling suggests one of the film's weightier emotional beats, where the stakes of the Mewtwo conflict press directly on the central companionship the series is built around. Such moments carry narrative gravity distinct from the film's lighter stretches. As a 35mm cell, this piece is a physical fragment of the theatrical print itself, a tactile remnant of the release that first brought Pikachu to the big screen.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie
Gauge
35mm, two frames visible side by side on the strip
Perforations
Four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; bottom edge perforations also present and evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn edges visible
Soundtrack
Not visible in this capture; the area beside the picture that would carry a soundtrack is obscured or outside the lit area
Edge print
The numeral '6' is visible in the upper right corner of the strip; no manufacturer name, SAFETY FILM text, or key numbers are legible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cool-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image shows strong purple and amber tones with no visible fading
Projection history
A faint horizontal line runs across the lower portion of both frames, consistent with a projected print that has passed through a gate
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and the animated character and environment are consistent with Pokémon: The First Movie
Era check
The colour positive print stock and perforation layout are consistent with a late-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1999/1999 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
