Pokemon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 through Warner Bros., riding the crest of Pokemania as it swept American theaters and toy aisles alike. Adapted from the Japanese original with new footage for Western audiences, it served as many young viewers' first theatrical Pokemon experience, and its trailer campaign was a cultural event in its own right, airing endlessly and building anticipation for a franchise still finding its footing in film. The movie's success cemented Pokemon as a durable cinematic property, not just a television and card game phenomenon.
This cell preserves a frame from that trailer, spotlighting Mewtwo, the genetically engineered psychic Pokemon whose brooding presence anchors the film's central conflict. Mewtwo's introduction to American audiences via trailer reels made him one of the era's most collected characters, a symbol of the franchise's darker, more philosophical ambitions. As a trailer cell, this piece captures a promotional moment rather than a scene from the finished feature, offering collectors a fragment of the marketing reel that first announced Mewtwo to a generation of moviegoers.
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 visible on both edges; the strip holds approximately three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even; the upper-edge perforations are cleanly punched while the lower-edge perforations show some ragged or furred borders consistent with a projected print.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible as a narrow band running along the lower edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a blue-tinted DTS timecode line immediately adjacent to it.
Edge print
Text reading 'MEWTWO' is visible mirrored/reversed in the picture area on at least two frames; no manufacturer key numbers or SAFETY FILM edge text are legible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base carries a cool blue-tinted dye image; the clear areas read as a slight blue-grey, consistent with a colour print stock of the era.
Projection history
Horizontal scratching lines are visible across the lower portion of the strip, and the lower-edge perforation borders show fraying, both consistent with repeated projection.
Picture
Negative-density image; the frames appear to run consecutively as a single continuous shot; the reversed 'MEWTWO' title card is consistent with the Pokémon: The First Movie trailer on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, a DTS timecode stripe, and the blue-base colour print stock 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
