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 brought the phenomenon to American theaters, translating the Japanese anime feature into a cultural event for a generation raised on the trading cards and Game Boy cartridges. It became the highest grossing anime release in the U.S. at the time, cementing Pokémon as more than a passing craze. The film's central conflict, a clash between a genetically engineered psychic Pokémon and the world Ash Ketchum inhabits, gave the franchise its first real brush with weightier themes of identity and purpose, elevating it beyond simple adventure storytelling for young audiences.
This cell isolates the encounter between Ash and Mewtwo, the two figures whose opposition defines the movie's dramatic core. Ash represents the franchise's earnest young trainer archetype, while Mewtwo stands as its most ambitious antagonist creation, a Pokémon built rather than born. Collectors seek this pairing because it marks the narrative's turning point, the moment ordinary determination meets manufactured power. A 35mm frame preserving this exchange offers a physical fragment of that pivotal theatrical release, a tangible remnant from the print stock that once ran through projectors nationwide.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999/1999)
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges, three frames visible on the strip
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, spacing appears even, corners appear rounded and cleanly punched with no visible torn edges
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge beside the picture, with what appears to be a DTS timecode stripe visible as a fine dashed line, consistent with a dual-format optical and DTS release print
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image reads as fully saturated with no visible fading or red shift
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks, or heavy scratching are apparent; the image area appears clean with no prominent vertical scratch lines
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated content is consistent with the Pokémon: The First Movie animated feature on record
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, DTS timecode stripe, and fully saturated colour dye on a cyan-tinted base stock is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s
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
