Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 from Warner Bros. and Nintendo's Pikachu Project, adapting the anime's Mewtwo Strikes Back arc for American theaters. It became a cultural marker of the franchise's early boom, pairing the feature with the Pikachu's Vacation short and pushing Pokémon merchandising into the mainstream. For many collectors it represents the moment the series proved it could command a theatrical audience beyond television, making surviving 35mm material from this release a tangible piece of that crossover.
This cell places Jessie, James, and Meowth inside Mewtwo's laboratory, the trio's signature setting for scheming, eavesdropping, or getting swept into events beyond their control. Collectors seek out Team Rocket material because the group supplies the franchise's comic relief and its most recognizable rogue personalities, voiced here by Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart, and Maddie Blaustein. A lab-set appearance ties them directly to Mewtwo's origin story, the emotional core of the film, giving this piece a clear narrative anchor within the broader feature.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie.
Gauge
35mm, 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.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block column in the inter-perforation gaps on the same side; a DTS timecode stripe appears to run along the opposite edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text.
Base & colour
The base shows a blue-tinted cast consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears saturated with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Fine longitudinal lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames of a single shot and the imagery is consistent with the animated theatrical release on record.
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1999/1999 release window of the film on record.
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
