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OFFICIAL MOTION PICTURE FILM AUTHENTICATION
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell 000064925 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEPokémon: The First Movie Trailer
SCENEVenusaur Clone
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE ID000064925

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 through Warner Bros., riding the height of Pokémania as the franchise crossed from television and trading cards into theatrical release. The trailer that preceded it was a critical marketing artifact, built to introduce cinema audiences to Mewtwo's origin story and the stakes of a big-screen Pokémon adventure. As one of the earliest theatrical promotions for the property, trailer material from this release carries particular weight for collectors tracing how Nintendo's creatures made their leap to Hollywood distribution.

This cell preserves a moment built around Venusaur's clone, one of the genetically engineered Pokémon central to the film's plot involving Mewtwo's laboratory origins. Venusaur, the fully evolved form of Bulbasaur, remains one of the franchise's most recognizable starter Pokémon, making any clone-specific appearance a point of interest for collectors focused on the film's darker thematic material. A trailer cell like this one functioned as a single frame pulled from promotional reels designed to circulate in theaters, offering audiences a glimpse of the clone concept before the feature's wider release.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm color release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).

Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, appearing as two bilateral variable-area tracks, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip also present between the perforations on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer codes.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-green tint consistent with a color release print; dye image appears neutral with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks observed on this strip.
Picture
Positive color image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with an animated theatrical release print matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of bilateral variable-area optical track, apparent Dolby Digital data encoding, and color positive print stock is 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 Capture As received
The film strip as photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size