Warner Bros. handled North American distribution for Pokémon: The First Movie, released in 1999 as the franchise's leap from television phenomenon to theatrical event. The film arrived at the height of Pokémania, when the trading card game, the anime series, and Nintendo's Game Boy titles were converging into a cultural juggernaut aimed squarely at children and collectors alike. The theatrical trailer that preceded the feature served as an early promotional artifact, built to stoke anticipation for a story centered on Mewtwo, cloning, and the mythical origins of the Pokémon universe.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer featuring Mew, the rare and elusive Pokémon whose very existence drives the film's plot as the genetic template for Mewtwo. Mew's scarcity within the Pokémon mythos, appearing sparingly across games and media, makes any physical frame bearing the character a natural point of interest for collectors tracing the franchise's earliest theatrical marketing push. As a trailer cell rather than a scene from the finished film, this piece belongs to the promotional apparatus itself, the reels struck specifically to circulate in cinemas ahead of release, distinct from prints of the movie proper.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999/1999).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible torn edges.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running as a multi-line waveform band between the lower perforation row and the picture area, consistent with an analog stereo optical track; a row of small blue dots immediately above it suggests a Dolby Digital data track in the inter-perforation zone.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight blue-grey tint typical of modern safety stock; the dye image reads as a warm-toned positive with no obvious fading or red shift visible.
Projection history
Light vertical scratch lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the stylised content is consistent with an animated theatrical trailer matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of analog variable-area optical track, apparent Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and blue-tinted polyester safety base is consistent with a late-1990s theatrical release print of the period stated.
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
