Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in the summer of 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to translate a television and trading card phenomenon into a theatrical event. Built around Mewtwo's origin and a clash of clones, the film became a cultural marker for a generation raised on the franchise, pulling enormous box office numbers and cementing Pokémania as more than a passing fad. Its success proved that anime properties could command mainstream American theaters, paving the way for further crossover releases.
This cell preserves Jessie, James, and Meowth, the trio whose schemes and squabbles gave the series its comic backbone even amid the movie's darker themes. Fans return to Team Rocket for their loyalty to failure and flair for theatrics, qualities that made them fan favorites despite their villain status. A frame holding all three together speaks to their inseparability as a unit, the kind of grouping collectors prize since it captures the group dynamic rather than a single figure isolated from the rest.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds two frames side by side in a single image area, suggesting an anamorphic or dual-strip print layout, with one row of frames visible.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly defined with no visible torn or deformed edges.
Soundtrack
Not visible in this capture; the area between the perforations and the picture area is obscured by the framing of the photograph.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base appears to have a neutral-to-cool tint; the dye image shows saturated yellows, blues, and reds consistent with a healthy color print.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive color image; two frames appear side by side showing the same moment, consistent with a dual-strip or VistaVision-style layout; the animated imagery is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The positive color print stock, perforation style, and saturated dye image are consistent with a late-1990s theatrical release print 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
