National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in North American cinemas in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures as an adaptation of the globally dominant Nintendo and Game Freak franchise. Produced by OLM, Inc. and directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, the film marked a cultural milestone, becoming the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of that year domestically and cementing Pokémon's transition from television phenomenon to theatrical event.

This four-frame cell captures a continuous shot from the sequence titled Team Rocket in Mewtwo's Lab, depicting the biomechanical interior of Mewtwo's cloning facility. The recurring blue architecture, red eye motif, and luminous pink panel across all four frames reflect the film's deliberately cold, industrial visual language used to establish Mewtwo's origins.