Crown Grading
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FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in theaters in November 1999 following its original 1998 Japanese release, brought to American audiences by Warner Bros. and Nintendo at the height of Pokémon's global breakout. The film served as a bridge between the television series and the wider cultural phenomenon the franchise had become, introducing Mewtwo as a central figure in Pokémon's mythology. Its trailer campaign was a major promotional push, designed to draw both longtime fans and newcomers into theaters with glimpses of the film's darker, more cinematic tone compared to the show.
This cell captures a moment from that trailer, built around Mewtwo asserting dominance over its cloned creations, with Venusaur present as one of the Pokémon caught in that command. Mewtwo remains one of the franchise's most sought-after characters among collectors, prized for its role as the series' first major antagonist-turned-antihero and its central place in this movie's plot. A trailer cell like this preserves an early promotional image, a piece of the marketing history that introduced audiences to the film's stakes before its release, making it a compact artifact of the Pokémon movie's launch moment.
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
- Gauge
- 35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds three frames.
- Perforations
- Four per frame on the top edge; bottom edge perforations are partially visible and appear evenly spaced; punching appears clean with no torn edges seen.
- Soundtrack
- A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual variable-area (stereo) optical track.
- Edge print
- Not visible in this capture.
- Base & colour
- Base appears with a slight cyan-green tint consistent with modern safety stock; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
- Projection history
- No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
- Picture
- Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with animated content from the film on record.
- Era check
- The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, saturated dye image, and cyan-tinted safety base are all consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print of the period.
