Crown Grading

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in North American theaters in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, riding the peak of the franchise's cultural saturation. Adapted from the original Japanese feature, it marked the first theatrical outing for the property and drew enormous audiences, cementing Pokémon's crossover from television and trading cards into mainstream cinema.

This cell, titled Team Rocket, captures four near-identical frames from the film's trailer, presenting Jessie, James, and Meowth photographed from a low angle against an open blue sky. The upward perspective gives the trio an uncharacteristic sense of scale and menace. Pulled from 35mm trailer stock, the frames preserve a fleeting promotional moment rarely documented in physical film form.