Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in American theaters in November 1999 through Warner Bros., distributing 4Kids Entertainment's adaptation of the Japanese anime feature. It landed at the peak of Pokémania, when the franchise dominated toy aisles, trading cards, and Saturday morning television, and the film became a genuine box office event, introducing Mewtwo's origin story to a generation while pairing it with a Pikachu short. Its success proved that a game and cartoon property could command mainstream theatrical attention, cementing Pokémon's place in late nineties pop culture history.
This cell isolates Mew, the elusive genetic template behind Mewtwo's creation and one of the franchise's most mythologized creatures. Rare by design within the Pokémon universe itself, Mew's presence on film carries added weight for collectors who prize any physical trace of a character defined by scarcity and mystery. A single 35mm frame devoted to Mew speaks to the movie's thematic core, the question of origin and identity that drives the entire narrative, making this piece a quiet but meaningful artifact from the picture's foundational mythology.
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 visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly formed with rounded corners.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, 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 shows a slight blue-green tint typical of safety polyester stock; the dye image reads as a warm-to-neutral colour positive with strong violet-magenta saturation in the lit areas.
Projection history
Faint vertical lines consistent with projection wear are visible running through all three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear consecutive from a single shot and the visible animated content is consistent with the Pokémon: The First Movie title on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical track combined with apparent Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations is consistent with a 1999-1999 theatrical release print, when that dual-format soundtrack configuration was standard.
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
