National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in North American theaters in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and produced by OLM, Inc. for Nintendo and Game Freak. Released at the height of the Pokémon phenomenon, the film marked the franchise's theatrical debut and became one of the highest-grossing animated films of that year, drawing audiences well beyond its core young demographic.

This cell, titled Team Rocket, captures Jessie, James, and Meowth in a sequence of continuous motion, tumbling through a darkened interior space rendered in deep blues and browns consistent with Mewtwo's island facility. The four-frame progression preserves a rare glimpse of the trio mid-fall, offering an unusually kinetic snapshot of the film's hand-drawn animation.