Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1998 in Japan and 1999 in North America, produced by OLM and distributed by Warner Bros. in the West, riding the crest of Pokémania at its commercial peak. As a trailer piece, this reel belongs to the marketing campaign that introduced Mewtwo's origin story to mainstream audiences, positioning the film as a crossover event beyond the television series. Trailers from this era are prized by collectors for capturing the promotional push before the feature's release, often the first physical film artifact tied to a franchise moment.
This cell centers on Mewtwo commanding its assembled clones, with Gyarados, Nidoqueen, Scyther, Aerodactyl, Blastoise, and Ninetales gathered under its direction. Mewtwo remains the film's most sought-after character, the tragic antagonist whose command over these cloned Pokémon defines the movie's central conflict. A cell built around this moment marks the narrative's turning point, where dominance and assembled power are the point of the scene. For collectors, this is the image of authority itself, the clone army under a single will.
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 look clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track waveform.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a neutral-to-slightly-warm tint; the dye image appears saturated with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
Faint longitudinal lines are visible along the picture area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
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
The single variable-area optical soundtrack, saturated colour dye image, and 35mm four-perforation layout are all 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 CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
