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OFFICIAL MOTION PICTURE FILM AUTHENTICATION
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell 000068716 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEPokémon: The First Movie Trailer
SCENEMewtwo & Pokemon Face Off
FILM FORMATunknown
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE ID000068716

FILM NOTES

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. The trailer campaign that preceded it played a crucial role, introducing audiences to Mewtwo, a darker and more philosophically weighted figure than the series had shown before, and signaling that the film would aim for higher stakes than its small-screen counterpart. For many, this marketing push was their first glimpse of the movie's tone and ambition.

This cell captures a trailer moment built around a face off between Mewtwo and Pokémon, a framing that speaks directly to the film's central conflict. Mewtwo remains one of the franchise's most sought-after characters, a genetically engineered creature whose presence promised conflict beyond typical battles. A trailer cell like this one functions as a herald, a fragment meant to stir anticipation rather than tell the full story, preserving a piece of the promotional moment that first announced the scale of what audiences were about to see.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).

Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds four frames, the last one partly cut off at the right.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes, cleanly punched with no tears or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track, three bright wavy lines, runs between the picture and the lower perforations, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between those perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a blue-teal tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral with saturated colours and no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; a few small specks sit on the picture area.
Picture
Positive image, four consecutive frames of one shot with minimal change between them, and the animated look is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital data between the perforations on a positive print fits a late-1990s theatrical release print, which suits a 1999 film.
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 Capture As received
The film strip as photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size