Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to carry the franchise's television momentum into theaters, riding the peak of Pokémania in the West. Promotional trailers circulated widely ahead of release, building anticipation around Mewtwo as a new and formidable presence in the mythology, one created rather than born, which set the emotional stakes for the film's central conflict. These early marketing materials became collectible in their own right, offering glimpses of the story before general audiences had any context for what they were watching.
This cell preserves a moment built around doubling: Charizard and Blastoise appear alongside their cloned counterparts, with Mewtwo presiding over the pairing. The presence of both originals and clones points to the film's premise of genetic duplication and the question of identity that runs through it. For collectors, this grouping holds particular appeal since it unites three of the era's most recognizable Pokémon in a single trailer excerpt, a rare convergence that reflects the promotional push Warner Bros. mounted to introduce Mewtwo's story to a mainstream audience ahead of the feature's debut.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds four frames, each partly cut off by the dark gaps between them.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the top and bottom edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two wavy white lines runs along the bottom beside the picture. Dolby Digital blocks are visible in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted base with a neutral dye image; the colours look saturated and not faded or red-shifted.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image. The four frames repeat the same shot with only a small shift between them, which is consistent with one consecutive shot. Nothing contradicts the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on 35mm is consistent with a 1999 release print or trailer, since both formats were used for theatrical prints of that period.
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
