Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's rapidly expanding franchise machine, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American theaters. Adapted from the Japanese original and padded with the now-famous "Pikachu's Vacation" short, the release marked the brand's first true theatrical event, drawing families and collectors alike into a story built around Mewtwo, a lab-born clone wrestling with identity and purpose. The film's marketing blitz, including its trailer reels, became collectible in its own right, preserving the anticipation before audiences ever saw the finished feature.
This particular cell captures a promotional moment centered on the franchise's two most mythologized creatures, Mew and Mewtwo. As the trailer's own framing suggests, Mew evades its engineered counterpart, a beat that distills the film's central tension between the ancient, elusive original and the artificial power meant to surpass it. Trailer cells like this one hold a distinct place for collectors, offering a glimpse of how the studio chose to tease its story before release, often featuring imagery reworked or trimmed from the final cut, making such pieces a rare bridge between advertising and animation history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds four frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a standard mono or stereo optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base carries a noticeable blue-violet cast across all four frames, consistent with the colour dye layers of an animated cel-sourced print; no obvious fading or red shift is seen.
Projection history
No visible splices; faint longitudinal lines are present on the base surface, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive image; the four frames run consecutively as two distinct shots, and the animated character style is consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical track, 35mm four-perforation layout, and blue-tinted polyester-base stock are all consistent with a late-1990s theatrical release print of the film on record.
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
