Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's licensing muscle at the absolute peak of Pokémania, when the franchise was conquering American playgrounds, television slots, and trading card aisles simultaneously. The trailer that preceded it was a cultural object in its own right, stoking anticipation for a theatrical event built around the games and the animated series. For many young audiences this was their first experience of Pokémon scaled up to the big screen, and the marketing push around it became as memorable as the film itself.
This cell comes from that trailer reel and centers on Mew, the rare and elusive Pokémon whose mythology drives the film's central conflict with its engineered counterpart, Mewtwo. Mew's inclusion in promotional material carries weight for collectors, since the character's scarcity within the games mirrors its iconic status in the broader Pokémon canon. A trailer cell like this one represents the industry's effort to tease narrative stakes without revealing them fully, offering a glimpse of Mew as a promise of what the feature-length story would explore.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print strip from the Pokémon: The First Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm layout: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds four frames in full view, with partial frames at each end.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle shape, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs between the picture and 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 light blue tint at the edges; the dye image is neutral with strong purples and no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, splices or cue marks visible, apart from one ring reflection on a single frame that is ignored as a camera artefact.
Picture
Positive image; four consecutive frames of one shot, and the animated character and purple effects fit a Pokémon: The First Movie trailer.
Era check
The optical track with Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations is consistent with a 1999 35mm release print of this 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
