Crown Grading
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FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1998 in Japan and 1999 in North America, a Warner Bros. release that brought Nintendo's fledgling franchise to the big screen at the height of Pokémania. Built around 4Kids' English dub and produced by OLM alongside Nintendo, it introduced American audiences to Mewtwo's origin story, pairing the feature with the now-famous Pikachu's Vacation short. The film became a genuine box office success, proving that the Pokémon brand could sustain theatrical storytelling beyond television and trading cards, and it remains a touchstone for a generation that grew up with the series.
This cell comes from the trailer that first announced the movie to audiences, a promotional strip meant to build anticipation ahead of release. Its subject is Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose creation and search for identity form the emotional core of the film. As the movie's central antagonist and philosophical center, Mewtwo draws steady collector interest, representing the franchise's early ambition to tell a darker, more introspective story. A trailer cell like this one preserves a piece of that first marketing push, a fragment of how audiences were introduced to the character before the film itself unfolded.
Consistent with a 35mm 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, with what appears to be a secondary encoded line consistent with a Dolby stereo SR optical track.
- Edge print
- Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
- Base & colour
- The base shows a slight warm-neutral tint; the dye image appears well-saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
- Projection history
- Light horizontal scratching is visible in the picture area consistent with a projected print; no splices or cue marks are seen.
- Picture
- Positive image; the four frames appear to run consecutively as a single continuous shot, and the animated style is consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
- Era check
- A variable-area optical track with apparent Dolby SR encoding and this base stock are consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print.
