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. and Nintendo's push to bring the franchise's television phenomenon onto American screens, pairing the Mewtwo Strikes Back feature with the Pikachu's Vacation short. It became a box office success that proved Pokémon could sustain a theatrical run, cementing the series as a cultural mainstay of late-90s childhood and setting the template for the animated tie-in films that followed throughout the franchise's history.
This cell centers on Mew, the elusive psychic Pokémon whose genetic material forms the basis for Mewtwo's creation, making Mew central to the film's origin story even in a single frame. As one of the rarest and most mythologized Pokémon, Mew draws steady collector interest, prized for representing the franchise's sense of wonder and hidden potential. Holding a 35mm cell of Mew alone offers a direct physical link to that foundational mythology, a small artifact of the character's earliest theatrical appearance.
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 three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a separate digital data region (consistent with Dolby Digital blocks between perforations) also present on that edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base carries a strong violet-purple dye image; the overall cast is cool-purple, consistent with a colour print stock rather than a neutral or faded base.
Projection history
Light horizontal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear on a release print; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Negative image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated character visible is consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, apparent Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and colour print stock 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
