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., following its 1998 Japanese debut, and became a cultural landmark of the franchise's early boom. Produced by OLM and localized by 4Kids Entertainment, it introduced American audiences to the Pokémon world beyond television, pairing the games and cartoon with a theatrical event built around Mewtwo's origin story. The film's box office success cemented Pokémon as a dominant force in late-1990s children's media, and 35mm theatrical prints from this release remain sought after as physical artifacts of that crossover moment between Japanese animation and Western pop culture.
This cell isolates Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose creation and existential struggle anchor the film's narrative. As the central figure of the story, Mewtwo draws collectors interested in the character's origin arc and its meditations on identity and purpose. A single-subject 35mm cell like this one offers a direct physical connection to that thread of the film, preserved apart from surrounding footage, and represents the kind of artifact enthusiasts prize as a tangible piece of the movie's theatrical run.
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 four frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean throughout the visible strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual-bilateral waveform pattern; a dotted line consistent with a DTS timecode track also runs parallel to it.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a blue-tinted dye image consistent with a colour print stock; no obvious red shift or fading is apparent.
Projection history
Faint vertical lines are visible running through the frame area, consistent with projection wear on a release print.
Picture
Positive image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the imagery is consistent with the animated feature listed on record.
Era check
The combination of dual-bilateral variable-area optical track and a DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print, when that multi-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
