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 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to translate a television and trading card phenomenon onto the big screen, backed by 4Kids Entertainment's dub and a marketing push few animated features of the era could match. It became a genuine box office event, introducing American audiences to the franchise's origin myth and proving that a Saturday morning cartoon could command theatrical numbers. The film's success cemented Pokémon as a lasting cultural force rather than a passing fad, and its opening mythology, centered on a lab-born creature grappling with questions of purpose and identity, gave the franchise an unexpected emotional weight that stuck with a generation of viewers.
This cell carries Mewtwo, the film's central figure and one of the most sought-after characters in Pokémon collecting, a synthetic being whose story of creation and rebellion anchors the entire feature. Frames tied directly to Mewtwo draw interest because the character functions as the emotional and philosophical core of the movie, more than a background presence or side creature. Whether drawn from a trailer, title card, or credits sequence, such a cell represents the promotional or bookend material that introduced or closed out the character's arc for audiences, making it a marker of how the film chose to present its most complex creation to the public.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds one frame.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even; edges of the punched holes appear clean and well-defined.
Soundtrack
Two parallel white lines are visible below the picture area, consistent with a dual variable-area optical soundtrack; no Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode line, or SDDS outer-edge tracks are discernible in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a pronounced blue-violet tint overall; dye image reads as a colour positive with strong blue saturation, consistent with a colour release print.
Projection history
Two horizontal white lines crossing the lower portion of the frame area suggest light base scratches consistent with projection use; no splice or cue marks are visible.
Picture
Positive colour image; a single frame is present and the subject matter is consistent with animated content from Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Era check
A dual variable-area optical track alongside a colour positive 35mm print is consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print, which would carry analogue optical audio as standard.
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
