Crown Grading
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FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's fledgling film ambitions, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept from Japan into American households, playgrounds, and box offices. Adapted from the anime feature Mewtwo Strikes Back, it introduced a generation of young viewers to their first theatrical encounter with the franchise, pairing familiar television characters with a darker, more ambitious storyline. The film's success proved that the Pokémon brand could carry an audience beyond the small screen, and its promotional materials, including trailer reels struck for theatrical distribution, remain sought after as artifacts of that transitional moment for the property.
This cell preserves a frame from the film's trailer, the reel cut and circulated to build anticipation ahead of release. Mewtwo stands as the franchise's original tragic antagonist, a genetically engineered Pokémon whose introduction gave the series its first taste of weight and consequence. Collectors prize material tied to this character above nearly any other from the era, since Mewtwo's presence defined the film's identity and marketing. A trailer cell like this one captures the character at the moment audiences were first being introduced to him on the big screen.
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 three frames
- Perforations
- Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible
- Soundtrack
- A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track analog stripe
- Edge print
- Not visible in this capture
- Base & colour
- Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; the dye image reads with strong blue-purple and yellow-orange hues consistent with an intact color dye set
- Projection history
- Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate
- Picture
- Positive color image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with animated content matching the Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999) record
- Era check
- The single variable-area optical soundtrack, color positive print format, and stock appearance are all consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print era
