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OFFICIAL MOTION PICTURE FILM AUTHENTICATION
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell 000068804 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEPokémon: The First Movie Trailer
SCENETeam Rocket Viking Boat
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE ID000068804

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to carry the franchise's television momentum into theaters, pairing Mewtwo Strikes Back with the short Pikachu's Vacation. It was a cultural event as much as a release, riding the peak of Pokémania in the West, and the promotional trailer that preceded it became its own collectible artifact, circulated in theaters to build anticipation months ahead of the feature.

This cell comes from that trailer, preserving Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth aboard their Viking boat, one of the trio's recurring vehicle gags from the series. Team Rocket remains among the most sought-after figures in Pokémon collecting, prized for their comic relief role and consistent presence across merchandising. A trailer cell like this one captures a promotional moment rather than the finished film itself, making it a record of how audiences first encountered these characters before the movie ever reached screens.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm positive trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999), though identification is limited.

Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, the 35mm layout; the strip holds about three and a half frames, with the fourth cut off at the right edge.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes, though the strip curves on the panel and distorts the spacing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track, apparently two tracks, runs between the picture and the lower perforations; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
The base shows a teal-blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with deep blues and a dark black frame border, and no obvious fading.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the frames run consecutively as one animated shot, and the cartoon style fits an animated trailer, though nothing here names Pokémon.
Era check
A two-track optical soundtrack on a 35mm positive is consistent with a 1999 theatrical trailer print, but nothing visible confirms the specific film.
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