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 a Warner Bros. release of the Japanese animated feature, riding the crest of Pokémania as the franchise conquered American toy aisles, television, and trading cards. It brought the world's first cloned Pokémon and its genetic template to the big screen, translating a phenomenon built on Game Boy cartridges into a theatrical event. For many young audiences it was an introduction not just to a movie but to the mythology underlying the games, positioning Mewtwo's origin story as foundational lore within the wider Pokémon universe.
This cell centers on Mew, the rare and ancestral Pokémon whose genetic material gave rise to Mewtwo, making the pairing here a direct link between original and copy. Mew's scarcity in the games and its near-mythic status among collectors gives this frame added resonance, as few Pokémon carry such symbolic weight. Placing Mew alongside Mewtwo speaks to the film's core tension between nature and artificial creation, a defining thread of the story.
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 three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge below the picture area, appearing as a two-line waveform pattern consistent with a stereo optical track; a separate narrow line consistent with a DTS timecode stripe is also visible adjacent to it.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a distinct violet-purple tint throughout all three frames; the dye image is strongly colour-shifted toward purple, suggesting either a stylised animated sequence or a colour shift in the print stock.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible in the soundtrack area; no splice or cue marks are seen on the picture frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as a single continuous shot and depict animated content consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track with an adjacent DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a 1999-1999 theatrical release print, as dual optical-plus-DTS configurations were standard for major studio releases of that period.
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
