Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 via Warner Bros. and Nintendo's licensing muscle, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American children's culture. The film paired the Mewtwo Strikes Back feature with the beloved Pikachu's Vacation short, and its trailer campaign was instrumental in building anticipation months ahead of release. This piece of film comes from that promotional reel, a strip of theatrical advertising rather than the movie proper, meant to tease audiences with familiar faces before the main event ever screened.
The scene called out here is Meowth aboard the Team Rocket viking boat, a signature transportation gag the trio used throughout the animated series' early seasons. Meowth remains one of the franchise's most collected characters, prized for his unique speaking voice among Pokémon and his comic role within Team Rocket's schemes. A trailer cell like this preserves an early marketing appearance, valuable to collectors who track how Team Rocket's antics were used to draw in audiences before the feature film's more dramatic Mewtwo storyline took center stage.
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 edges appear clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-band analog optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are seen on this strip.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with animated content from the film on record.
Era check
A dual variable-area analog optical soundtrack on 35mm positive colour stock is consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print of this title.
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
