Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to carry the franchise's television momentum onto the big screen, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American pop culture. Promotional trailers circulated widely in the months before release, built to stoke anticipation among a fanbase that had grown up with the games and animated series. These teaser reels are now collected as artifacts of that marketing push, preserving a moment when the brand's crossover into film was still unproven and the hype machine was working overtime to sell audiences on Mewtwo as a villain worthy of the Pokémon name.
This cell centers on Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose origin and moral conflict anchor the film's plot, placed here in a standoff against the Pokémon ranged before it. Mewtwo remains one of the franchise's most sought-after characters, prized for its singular design and its role as the series' first major antagonist with genuine depth. A trailer cell like this one captures the promotional framing of that confrontation, the moment meant to signal scale and stakes to audiences deciding whether this was a film worth seeing in theaters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, with four frames visible on the strip (the first and last partly cropped).
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched with no tears or stretched holes at this size.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, apparently two tracks, with a grey speckled Dolby Digital data block visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a blue-teal tint along both edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; one round dark ring on a single frame is camera reflection and is ignored.
Picture
Positive colour image, four consecutive frames of one near-identical shot; the animated Pokémon artwork is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital data blocks on a colour positive print is consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print of an animated feature.
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
