Pokemon: The First Movie arrived in November 1999 from Warner Bros. and Nintendo, riding the crest of Pokemania at its American peak. Adapted and expanded from the Japanese original, it brought Mewtwo's origin story to theaters alongside a Pikachu short, cementing the franchise's leap from television and trading cards to a full theatrical event. The trailer itself was a cultural marker, one of the most anticipated previews of its year, promising audiences their first big-screen glimpse of a phenomenon that had swept playgrounds and living rooms alike.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer built around Mew, the rare and elusive Pokemon whose mythology anchors the film's central conflict as the genetic basis for Mewtwo. Mew's scarcity within the games made it a legendary figure among fans long before the movie, and its inclusion in early promotional material signaled the film's ambitions to explore origin and identity. A trailer cell like this one captures not the finished feature but the industry's pitch to audiences, a single frame from the machinery of anticipation, valuable to collectors precisely because it marks the moment before release.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with rounded corners, no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a separate digital timecode or data line adjacent to it.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image reads as a dark, dense positive with purple and blue tones intact.
Projection history
Several fine longitudinal scratches are visible running the length of the strip, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with the animated feature trailer on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical track, colour positive print stock with cyan base tint, and perforation style are all consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the late 1990s.
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
