Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's partnership with 4Kids Entertainment, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American pop culture. The film's teaser trailer campaign was instrumental in building anticipation for the feature, introducing audiences to Mewtwo and the shadowy cloning narrative that set the movie apart from the television series. As a theatrical trailer, this piece of film predates the movie's release, existing as a promotional artifact meant to circulate in cinemas and stir curiosity months ahead of the premiere.
This cell preserves a glimpse of the trailer's Clone Blastoise, one of the artificially created Pokémon bred by Mewtwo as part of the film's central conflict. Clone Blastoise represents the darker, more ambitious tone Warner Bros. brought to the franchise's leap into feature film, distinguishing itself from the original Blastoise through its origin in genetic duplication rather than natural evolution. Collectors prize trailer cells like this one for their scarcity and their connection to the promotional rollout that introduced the Pokémon movie era to a theater-going audience, offering a tangible link to the marketing history surrounding one of animation's biggest crossover events.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm optical-sound release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
Perforations run along both edges at four per frame, matching 35mm layout; the strip holds four frames, shown as one near-identical repeated image.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched and uniform along the strip.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture on the lower edge; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
The base shows a blue-cyan tint at the edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the four frames repeat one near-identical shot, and the animated artwork is plausible for the film on record, though nothing in frame names it.
Era check
A 35mm strip with two-track variable-area optical audio and clean perforations is consistent with a 1999 release trailer print, though other stocks could also look like this.
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
