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OFFICIAL MOTION PICTURE FILM AUTHENTICATION
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell 000068757 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEPokémon: The First Movie Trailer
SCENEMewtwo
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE ID000068757

FILM NOTES

FILM NOTES

Warner Bros. handled distribution for Pokémon: The First Movie in North America, bringing Nintendo's phenomenon to theaters in November 1999 as the franchise reached its commercial peak. The film arrived on the strength of a trading card craze and a television series that had turned a generation of young viewers into devoted followers, and the marketing campaign built around it, including trailers like this one, helped cement Pokémon as more than a passing fad. For many collectors, this theatrical run marks the high point of the brand's crossover into mainstream American pop culture.

This 35mm trailer cell centers on Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon who served as the film's central figure and antagonist. As a trailer cell, it comes from promotional material designed to build anticipation ahead of release, distinct from the finished feature itself. Mewtwo's standing among collectors comes from its origin story and its unusual philosophical weight for a franchise built on childhood adventure, making any physical artifact tied to the character a sought-after piece of the film's early promotional history.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print strip from the 1999 Pokémon: The First Movie trailer.

Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds four frames, partly cut off at the left and right ends.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched with no torn or missing ones seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical soundtrack runs between the picture and the lower perforations, and the gaps between those perforations hold a speckled grey pattern consistent with Dolby Digital data blocks.
Edge print
Blue edge print along the top edge reads backwards as '1999' with a partial character beside it; no other text or key numbers are legible.
Base & colour
Clear, slightly cool blue-green base tint along the edges, with the dye image looking neutral and saturated, no fading or red shift seen.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen; the optical track and perforation edges look clean.
Picture
Positive image; the four frames repeat the same shot with minimal change between them, and a blue-lit round form on black fits the film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital data blocks combined with an analogue optical track and a '1999' edge print are consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release print of the film on record.
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