National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in North American theaters in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures following its original 1998 Japanese release by Toho. Produced by OLM, Inc. and based on the globally dominant Nintendo franchise, the film marked the first theatrical feature for the property and became a cultural milestone of late-1990s animation, drawing record opening weekends and cementing Pokémon's crossover from television and trading cards into cinema.

This cell captures Blastoise, the Clone, across four sequential frames drawn from an interior battle sequence set against arched architecture. The profile composition and open mouth suggest an active moment mid-confrontation, and the four-frame progression preserves a rare continuous glimpse of the character's movement as rendered in original 35mm theatrical release.