Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to carry the television phenomenon onto the big screen, pairing the Mewtwo origin story with the short "Pikachu's Vacation." Promotional material circulated heavily that year, as Pokémon mania was at its commercial peak in the United States, with trailers running in theaters and on television to build anticipation for a franchise still new to Western audiences. These marketing pieces are now their own collecting category, distinct from the feature film itself.
This cell comes from that trailer reel, specifically the moment built around Charizard, one of the franchise's most recognizable and sought-after creatures from the start. Charizard's draw, pulling fire and flight into a single dominant design, made it a natural choice to anchor advertising meant to hook new viewers. A trailer cell like this one exists to sell anticipation rather than tell story, offering a glimpse chosen for impact. For collectors, it represents the moment Pokémon's marketing machine introduced Charizard to the wider American public.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print trailer strip for Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds four frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with the rounded-rectangle shape seen on 35mm release stock.
Soundtrack
Two parallel variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture; speckled blocks in the gaps between the lower perforations are consistent with Dolby Digital data.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a slight blue-cyan cast at the edges; the dye image looks neutral, with strong saturated orange, red and white.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; the four frames run consecutively as one shot, and the animated cel style is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Optical tracks plus Dolby Digital data between the perforations fit a late-1990s 35mm release print, which 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
