Pokemon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's push to translate a cultural phenomenon from television screens into theaters. Adapted from the Japanese feature and reworked for American audiences, it capitalized on peak Pokemon mania, pairing the animated feature with a Pikachu short and a merchandising blitz that made it one of the defining kid-culture events of the year. Its trailer campaign was inescapable, running ahead of countless other releases and cementing the franchise's crossover from card game and show into a full theatrical presence.
This cell preserves a frame from that trailer built around Mew, the legendary Pokemon whose mythic rarity and central role in the film's plot made it an instant object of fascination for fans. As a trailer piece rather than a finished scene, it belongs to the promotional material meant to tease Mew's mystery to audiences before the movie's release, a fragment of the marketing push that introduced this elusive character to a public primed for it.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of Pokemon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds two frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as two bilateral wavy lines consistent with a stereo optical track; Dolby Digital data blocks are also visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, indicating a Dolby Digital SR·D composite track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cool-blue tint; dye image reads as a rich, saturated colour positive with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; the two frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, and the animated character and title text are consistent with the Pokemon: The First Movie Trailer (1999) on record.
Era check
The composite Dolby Digital SR·D optical soundtrack format and saturated colour positive stock are consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print.
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
