Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 from Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept through American living rooms and playgrounds. Adapted from the Japanese feature Mewtwo Strikes Back, it introduced a generation of young viewers to their first taste of the franchise on the big screen, pairing a merchandising phenomenon with a surprisingly somber origin story about a genetically engineered Pokémon wrestling with its identity. The trailer campaign that preceded it was itself a cultural event, building anticipation across Saturday morning television blocks.
This cell, Mewtwo Commands The Clones!, comes from that trailer, a promotional artifact meant to stir excitement well ahead of release. Mewtwo stands as the film's central figure, a psychic creation whose command over cloned Pokémon drives the story's central conflict, making it one of the most sought-after characters in Pokémon collecting circles. Alongside Mewtwo appear Venusaur, Pidgeot, and Pidgeotto, cloned soldiers under Mewtwo's authority, representing the film's darker theme of manufactured life following orders. Together they preserve a moment of command and hierarchy central to the movie's plot.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds two frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-bilateral waveform strip.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to slightly warm; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent on either frame.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated character style is consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The dual-bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack and saturated colour positive print stock are consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print of the period.
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
