Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in the fall of 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's licensing machine, riding the crest of the franchise's first great American wave. Adapted from the Japanese feature Mewtwo Strikes Back, it introduced a generation raised on the television series to the idea of Pokémon as cinema, complete with a theatrical budget, an orchestral score, and a philosophical bent about cloning and identity that many kids did not expect from a pocket monster tie in. It became a genuine box office event and remains a touchstone of the era's animation boom.
This cell holds Jessie, James, and Meowth, the trio whose comic relief scheming became as central to the show's identity as any hero ever was. Collectors seek them because they represent the franchise's enduring double act of villainy and charm, a group whose presence in any reel signals the show's sense of humor intact even in a feature meant to carry weight. Their inclusion here marks a moment of continuity, the familiar faces reappearing amid the film's larger stakes, a small thread of the ordinary stitched into something grander.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds four frames.
Perforations
Four perforations per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and appearing cleanly punched with no visible torn or deformed holes.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual variable-area (stereo) format; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a Dolby Digital optical composite track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight blue-violet tint consistent with a dyed safety base; the dye image appears warm-yellow with strong saturation and no visible fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with animated content matching the film on record.
Era check
The composite Dolby Digital plus variable-area optical soundtrack, blue-tinted polyester safety base, and warm dye image are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s, matching the 1999 release date 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
