Crown Grading
Tap to enlarge
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 via Warner Bros. and Nintendo, riding the crest of the franchise's first great wave in the West. It brought the Game Boy and television phenomenon to American theaters, pairing the feature with a Pikachu short and a marketing push few animated imports had seen before. For a generation of young collectors, the trailer itself became a cultural artifact, previewing a story built around a genetically engineered Pokémon whose existence raised questions the games had only hinted at. Its theatrical run cemented Pokémon as a mainstay of American pop culture rather than a passing import trend.
This cell comes from that trailer and centers on Mewtwo, the film's central figure and one of the franchise's most enduring creations. As a promotional strip rather than a scene from the finished feature, it captures the moment audiences were first introduced to Mewtwo ahead of the movie's release, part of the marketing rollout meant to build anticipation. Mewtwo's presence alone carries weight for collectors, given the character's role as the movie's defining antagonist and a lasting symbol of the franchise's early crossover into film. Trailer cells like this preserve that first glimpse before the story was fully seen.
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
- Gauge
- 35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds two frames.
- Perforations
- Four per frame on both visible edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no torn or deformed edges visible.
- Soundtrack
- A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-track variable-area format; Dolby Digital data blocks are also visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, indicating a hybrid optical/Dolby Digital soundtrack strip.
- Edge print
- Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
- Base & colour
- The base appears with a slight blue-green tint consistent with a safety acetate or polyester stock; the dye image reads as a cool, neutral-to-slightly-blue shifted colour image with no obvious fading.
- Projection history
- No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
- Picture
- Positive colour image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with an animated theatrical release print matching the film on record.
- Era check
- The combination of dual variable-area optical track and Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1999 release date of the film on record.
