Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in North American theaters in November 1999, released by Warner Bros. after Nintendo and Pikachu Project 4°C brought the Japanese animated feature stateside. It landed at the height of Pokémania, when the franchise had expanded from Game Boy cartridges into a television phenomenon and merchandising juggernaut. The film's promotional trailer helped set box office expectations for a series still proving it could translate to the big screen, and 35mm trailer reels from this period are scarce survivors, most having been returned, spliced apart, or discarded once their theatrical run ended.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer built around Mew, the rare and elusive Pokémon whose mythology anchors the film's plot. As one of the franchise's most sought-after characters, Mew carries outsized collector interest relative to screen time, since its mystique was central to marketing the movie's premise. A trailer cell like this one functions as advance promise rather than narrative context, a single frame chosen to tease audiences with the presence of a creature long rumored among players but rarely seen, making this a fitting artifact of that anticipation.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds four frames, the last one cut off at the right edge.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no visible tearing or missing perforations in this capture.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track with two wavy white-on-black tracks runs inside the lower perforations; Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a pale blue-teal tint at the edges; the purple dye image looks saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the only marks are a round camera reflection ring across the dark gap between frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; the four frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot of the same pose, and the purple cat-like character fits the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: a dual optical track combined with Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations matches a 1999 theatrical trailer.
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
