Pokemon: The First Movie arrived in the fall of 1999, a Warner Bros. release that carried the Pokemon franchise from television into theaters at the height of its first great wave of popularity. The trailer that preceded it was a major promotional artifact in its own right, built to stoke anticipation for a story centered on Mew and its cloned counterpart Mewtwo. For a generation of young collectors, this was the first glimpse of the film as a cinematic event rather than a Saturday morning cartoon.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer bearing Mew, the rare and mythical Pokemon whose scarcity within the games and shows made it an object of fascination long before the film gave it a starring role. Trailer cells occupy a particular place in collecting circles, standing apart from film-proper cells as promotional material meant to circulate ahead of release, shaping expectation rather than narrative. A piece marked simply Mew speaks to that anticipatory function, tying the cell to the character whose mystery helped sell the picture itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokemon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds one frame with partial frames above and below.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even; perforation edges appear cleanly punched with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral waveform pattern consistent with an analog stereo optical track; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are not clearly distinguishable at this size; DTS timecode line not visible in this capture; SDDS outer-edge tracks not visible in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote text reliably.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cool-neutral tint; the dye image shows strong magenta and deep shadow rendering with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible splices or cue marks; minor surface marks may be present but no deep scratches are clearly resolved.
Picture
Positive color image; frames appear to run consecutively as a single continuous shot; the subject matter is consistent with a theatrical promotional trailer print from the film on record.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, positive color print on what appears to be a safety base, and overall stock character are consistent with a 1999 US 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
