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 licensing arm, riding the crest of a cultural wave that had turned a Game Boy title into a global phenomenon. Adapted from the Japanese original with new footage for Western audiences, it introduced Mewtwo to millions of children and cemented the franchise's crossover from television and trading cards into the multiplex. Its box office success proved that anime could command mainstream American attention, making this release a touchstone for an entire generation's introduction to Pokémon.
This cell captures the emotional core of that story, the bond between Ash Ketchum and Pikachu tested at its breaking point. Ash is the franchise's central trainer, the character audiences followed into the theater, and Pikachu remains its most recognizable ambassador. A moment framed around Ash being hurt and Pikachu's grief speaks to the film's climactic stakes, the relationship between boy and creature pushed past ordinary adventure into something collectors return to for its resonance within the story's arc.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie.
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds four frames, with four perforations per frame visible on both edges.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual variable-area (stereo) track with a Dolby-encoded waveform pattern.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches are visible; the strip shows no evidence of heavy projection use at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the four frames run as two consecutive shots, and the animated characters and style are consistent with the film on record.
Era check
A dual variable-area optical track on a saturated colour positive print is 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
