Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's early push to bring the franchise to American theaters, riding the crest of Pokémania at its peak. The trailer campaign preceding it was a cultural event in its own right, teasing audiences with glimpses of Mewtwo's origin story and the clone army built to challenge the original Pokémon. These promotional reels circulated widely before the feature's release, building anticipation across a fanbase hungry for any new footage.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer spotlighting Clone Blastoise, one of the genetically replicated creatures central to Mewtwo's scheme. Blastoise, a longtime favorite among the original 151 for its cannon-shelled design, carries extra weight here as a clone rather than the familiar original. Trailer cells like this one offer collectors a piece of the marketing history that shaped a generation's first exposure to the film, distinct from frames drawn directly from the finished movie itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds four frames in view, the first and last partly cropped.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched and uniform.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture as bright waveform bands; Dolby Digital blocks sit between the lower perforations. No DTS or SDDS visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light cyan-blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no fading or colour shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size: no scratches, splices or cue marks appear on the picture area or the soundtrack.
Picture
Positive image; the four frames run consecutively as one near-static shot of cel-style animation, consistent with an animated feature such as the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations is consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release print, which suits a 1999 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
