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. and Nintendo's partnership with 4Kids Entertainment, following the anime's explosive television debut and the trading card phenomenon that swept playgrounds nationwide. Adapting the Mewtwo Strikes Back storyline for a Western audience, it became the highest grossing anime release in U.S. box office history at the time, cementing Pokémon as a cultural juggernaut rather than a passing fad. For a generation of collectors, this film marks the moment the franchise proved its staying power beyond games and cards.
This cell holds Pikachu, the electric mouse whose image became inseparable from the franchise itself and arguably the most recognizable animated character of the era. As the mascot who appears across merchandising, marketing, and the show's opening frames, Pikachu anchors the emotional core of the series for millions who grew up alongside it. A single-character cell like this represents the purest form of collecting within this property, isolating the icon from surrounding cast and plot, offering a direct link to the character's screen presence during the height of Pokémon's theatrical breakthrough.
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 appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as two bilateral variable-area tracks, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip running in the inter-perforation gap area on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-teal tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated character and lightning effects are consistent with Pokémon: The First Movie.
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical track combined with apparent Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a 1999–1999 theatrical release print format used for that era.
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
