Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in the United States in November 1999 through Warner Bros., following Nintendo's global licensing push and the anime's meteoric rise on television. Produced by OLM and 4Kids, it brought the franchise's core conflict, the tension between natural Pokémon and their engineered doubles, to the big screen for the first time. The film became a cultural touchstone for a generation raised on trading cards and Saturday morning broadcasts, cementing Mewtwo as a franchise icon and proving theatrical anime could draw mainstream American audiences.
This cell centers on Blastoise Clone, identified here as Shellshocker, one of Mewtwo's artificially created Pokémon assembled to battle their original counterparts. Its pairing with the genuine Blastoise in the same frame reflects the film's defining device, doubles confronting originals, which drives much of the movie's tension and thematic weight. Collectors prize material tied to the cloning arc for its connection to the film's darker, more philosophical core, a rarity in a franchise often associated with lighter fare. A 35mm cell naming both Shellshocker and Blastoise together preserves a specific, identifiable beat from that confrontation.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie.
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds three frames, each with four perforations visible on the top edge; the bottom edge perforations are also present, confirming standard 35mm four-perforation pulldown.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even across all three frames; perforation corners look cleanly punched with no visible torn edges.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a narrow light-modulated stripe consistent with a mono or stereo optical track; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are not clearly distinguishable at this size, and no DTS timecode stripe or SDDS outer-edge data is visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight cool-blue tint typical of polyester safety stock; the dye image reads as a positive with saturated reds and blues showing no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible across the frame area consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate; no splice or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated character visible is consistent with the Pokémon franchise as recorded.
Era check
The optical soundtrack format, polyester base tint, and positive release-print presentation are all 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
