Warner Bros. released Pokémon: The First Movie in November 1999, riding the wave of Pokémania that had swept American children's media that year. The film adapted Japan's Mewtwo Strikes Back for Western audiences, backed by a marketing campaign that included theatrical trailers designed to introduce the franchise's world to moviegoers who knew Pokémon primarily from television and trading cards. These trailers circulated widely, and surviving 35mm cuts from them are scarce compared to the feature itself, since promotional prints saw limited runs and were often discarded once their theatrical window closed.
This cell preserves a moment built around Gyarados, one of the franchise's most recognizable and powerful creatures, a serpentine dragon-fish Pokémon whose design and reputation for ferocity made it a fan favorite from the earliest games and anime episodes. Its appearance in a movie trailer signals the kind of spectacle Warner Bros. wanted to promise audiences unfamiliar with the source material. Trailer cells like this one occupy a different collecting niche than film stills, valued for capturing the promotional apparatus surrounding a cultural phenomenon rather than the narrative itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds two frames, each with four perforations visible on the upper edge and four on the lower edge.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched corners are rounded and cleanly cut.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a dual-band wavy white line against a dark field, consistent with a stereo optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight cool-blue tint; the dye image shows strong saturated blues and whites with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is 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 consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated character and colour palette are consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, saturated dye image, and cool-tinted polyester base are all 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
