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., adapting the Japanese anime feature into a cultural event that brought Pokémon fever to its commercial peak. Produced amid the height of Pokémania, with Nintendo's game and card franchise dominating playgrounds, the film introduced Mewtwo as a tragic antagonist while grounding its story through Ash Ketchum, the series' consistent emotional anchor. Its box office success cemented Pokémon as a lasting media franchise beyond television and games, and the film remains a touchstone for a generation raised on the series.
This cell preserves a moment tied to Ash Ketchum, the young trainer whose journey drives the Pokémon narrative and whose likeness remains central to collectors tracing the franchise's early cinematic history. The phrase "Ash Falling" marks a moment of vulnerability for a character usually defined by determination and forward motion, a rare beat of consequence within the film's larger battle between Mewtwo and the natural world. For collectors, cells naming a specific character and action carry narrative weight beyond simple stills, anchoring a single frame to a recognizable turning point in the story.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital 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 running along one edge, with what appears to be a separate Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone beside it, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches are visible; the surface appears consistent with a projected release print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated character and colour palette are consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track with apparent Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the late 1990s, 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
