Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 through Warner Bros. and Nintendo's marketing machine, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American theaters and playgrounds alike. The film paired an animated feature with a Pikachu short, but its trailer campaign carried its own weight, teasing a darker, more mythic entry into the franchise than the television series had prepared audiences for. For a generation of collectors, this promotional push marks the moment Pokémon graduated from Saturday morning cartoon to full theatrical event, and the reels from that campaign remain markers of a genuine cultural peak.
This cell preserves a piece of that trailer, built around Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose introduction reframed the franchise's tone toward questions of identity and creation. As the antagonist positioned at the center of the film's marketing, Mewtwo draws collectors seeking the character central to the story's philosophical stakes rather than its lighter mascots. A trailer cell like this one captures a fragment of that promotional reel itself, the film strip used to entice audiences before the feature, making it a physical artifact of how Mewtwo was first presented to the public.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokemon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame 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 with two tracks is visible below the picture area, consistent with a stereo optical print; Dolby Digital data blocks are not clearly distinguishable in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a cool-neutral tint; the dye image reads in strong blue-dominant hues with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light vertical lines are visible across the picture area, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated style is consistent with the Pokemon: The First Movie Trailer (1999) on record.
Era check
A dual variable-area optical soundtrack on a cool-base 35mm positive print is consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print of this title.
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
