Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in the fall of 1999, a Warner Bros. release that brought Nintendo's juggernaut franchise to American theaters at the height of Pokémania. Produced in Japan and localized for Western audiences, the film capitalized on a cultural wave built from the trading card game, the television series, and a merchandising empire unlike anything seen before. Its theatrical trailer played ahead of countless family features that year, introducing moviegoers to Mewtwo's origin story while leaning on the broader roster of Pokémon to anchor the promotion in familiar ground.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer built around Mew, the rare and mythical Pokémon whose scarcity and mystery made it a prized figure among fans from the start. Pairing Mew with the wider cast of Pokémon situates this frame within the film's promotional language, a glimpse meant to stir recognition and anticipation rather than narrative detail. Trailer cells like this one hold a particular appeal for collectors, standing apart from feature prints as artifacts of marketing history, tied directly to the moment Pokémon's leap to the big screen was first announced to the public.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds roughly three and a half frames, the outer two cut off by the strip ends.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-corner rectangular holes, cleanly punched with no tears or distortion visible.
Soundtrack
Two white variable-area optical tracks run between the picture and the lower perforations, and the gaps between the lower perforations hold speckled blocks consistent with Dolby Digital data.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral with saturated colour and no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size beyond the light panel's glare; no scratches, cue marks or splices visible on the frames.
Picture
Positive image, the frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot, and the characters shown are consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: a dual optical analogue track plus Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations fits a 1999 theatrical print.
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
