Pokemon: The First Movie arrived in theaters in November 1999, brought to American audiences by Warner Bros. after Nintendo and 4Kids built the franchise into a cultural phenomenon through its television series and trading card game. The film capitalized on peak Pokemania, and its trailer campaign was instrumental in positioning the movie as a theatrical event rather than a simple television tie-in, drawing families and collectors alike into cinemas for a story built around Mew and its clone, Mewtwo.
This cell preserves a piece of that promotional reel, isolating Mew, the rare and mythical Pokemon whose scarcity within the games and card sets made it an object of fascination for a generation of fans. As a trailer frame, this piece belongs to the marketing apparatus rather than the narrative proper, the kind of fleeting theatrical footage meant to entice rather than explain. For collectors, a Mew cell holds particular value: it connects directly to the character's mythic status in Pokemon lore, and its presence in early promotional material for the franchise's cinematic debut makes it a tangible artifact of that 1999 moment.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by 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 look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible as a wavy black-and-white band running along one edge beside the picture area; a second narrower track line also appears, consistent with a stereo variable-area pair.
Edge print
Edge print reads, mirrored as captured: 'KODAK 18 20' and '1999', consistent with Kodak stock edge coding.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-grey tint typical of safety acetate or polyester stock; the dye image shows strong violet-purple saturation with no obvious fading or red shift visible.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratch lines are visible across the picture area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be the same shot or consecutive frames of the same scene, consistent with a release print of the 1999 Pokémon: The First Movie trailer.
Era check
The Kodak 1999 edge date, variable-area optical stereo soundtrack, and acetate-tinted base are all 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
