Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in November 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to translate the era's biggest television phenomenon onto the big screen. Produced by 4Kids Entertainment and OLM, it introduced American audiences to the franchise's darker, more philosophical side, pairing kid-friendly spectacle with a genetically engineered antagonist wrestling with questions of identity and purpose. The film's box office success cemented Pokémon as a lasting cultural force beyond its card game and television roots, proving animation aimed at children could carry weightier themes.
This 35mm cell preserves Mewtwo, the film's central figure and one of the franchise's most enduring creations. As a clone born from ambition and manipulation, Mewtwo carries the movie's emotional core, embodying questions of creation and belonging that set this film apart from typical franchise fare. Collectors seek Mewtwo material specifically for this gravity, distinct from the lighter tones surrounding Pikachu and friends. A film cell isolates a single frame from the release print, offering physical continuity with the theatrical experience itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital composite optical 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 appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as two bilateral variable-area lines, consistent with a stereo optical track; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, indicating a Dolby Digital SR·D composite track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes 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
No visible splices, cue marks or heavy scratching are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be from a single continuous shot and depict animated content consistent with a theatrical release print of the film on record.
Era check
The composite Dolby Digital SR·D optical track format was standard for 35mm theatrical release prints from the mid-1990s onward, consistent with a 1999 US theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie.
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
