Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 through Warner Bros., riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American pop culture. Adapted from the Japanese feature Mewtwo Strikes Back, it introduced a generation of young audiences to the franchise's first foray into theatrical animation, pairing the anime's television roots with a big-screen budget and marketing push. The trailer that preceded it played constantly in cinemas and on television, building anticipation for a film that would go on to dominate box offices that November.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer, centered on Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose creation and struggle for identity form the emotional core of the film. As one of the franchise's most compelling antagonists turned tragic figure, Mewtwo draws collectors who prize the character's rarity among 35mm promotional material. A trailer cell like this one represents the film's earliest public face, the frames selected to hook audiences before the story itself had even reached theaters, making it a piece of Pokémon's crossover moment into mainstream American cinema.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds four frames, seen as consecutive, fully visible frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the top and bottom edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle punches that look clean and uniform.
Soundtrack
Two wavy white variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, and speckled Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base shows a light blue tint at both edges, and the dye image looks neutral to cool with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; a few faint dust-like specks appear on the panel background.
Picture
Positive image, four consecutive frames of one continuous shot; the subject is anime-style artwork, which is plausible for the film on record but nothing here confirms the title.
Era check
Dual optical tracks plus Dolby Digital blocks are consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release print, matching the 1999 date 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 CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
