Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 from Warner Bros. and Nintendo's screen partners, riding the peak of Pokémania as the franchise crossed from television into theaters for the first time. The trailer that preceded it was a cultural event in its own right, screened widely to build anticipation among fans who had never seen the property attempt something of this scale. It marketed a story built around Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon whose origin and conflict gave the film unusual weight for a children's franchise entry, and its success helped define how anime properties could be sold to American audiences.
This cell isolates Mewtwo from that promotional reel, a single frame of theatrical marketing rather than the feature itself. Mewtwo stands apart from the rest of the Pokémon roster as the film's central figure, a character defined by manufactured origin and philosophical unrest rather than simple heroism, which is precisely why collectors pursue material tied to him. A trailer cell captures the moment the franchise pitched itself to a wider audience, preserving the character as he was introduced to moviegoers rather than as he later appeared across merchandising. That distinction, trailer over feature, matters to anyone assembling a serious collection.
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 tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, appearing as a dual-wave (bilateral variable-area) pattern; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a combined optical/Dolby Digital soundtrack area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a cool blue-tinted cast consistent with a colour dye image; the image dyes appear saturated and not visibly faded.
Projection history
Fine vertical lines consistent with projection are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as a single continuous shot and the animated character and background are consistent with the Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer on record.
Era check
The combined bilateral variable-area optical track with Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a 1999–1999 theatrical release print, when that combined format was standard.
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
