Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros., which handled the American theatrical release of the Japanese animated feature alongside Nintendo and 4Kids' licensing machine. It was the cinematic exclamation point on a franchise that had, within a single year, conquered handheld gaming, trading cards, and Saturday morning television. The trailer that preceded it was a cultural event in its own right, promising audiences a big-screen battle between Mewtwo and Mew while reassuring the faithful that the wider roster of creatures would share the spotlight.
This cell, drawn from that trailer, groups four Pokémon together: Hitmonlee, Venusaur, Sandslash, and Scyther. Each was a recognizable face from the original 151, prized by collectors for representing different evolutionary families and battle styles within the games. A group arrangement like this one functions as a roster shot, the kind of trailer moment meant to signal scale and variety to an audience deciding whether the film was worth a ticket. For enthusiasts of the franchise's earliest era, a cell naming this particular quartet together holds value simply for the company it keeps.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm positive release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations span each frame along both edges, and the strip holds four frames, which run sideways across the panel.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes that look evenly spaced and cleanly punched; the soundtrack-side row is partly covered by the track area.
Soundtrack
Two parallel variable-area optical tracks run along one edge between the picture and the perforations; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint at the edges, and a vivid, saturated dye image that shows no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; the frames look clean, with no scratches, cue marks or splices visible.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames repeat the same shot with Pokémon characters, consistent with the animated film on record, though the strip is too short to show motion.
Era check
Consistent with a 1999 35mm release print, since a dual optical analog track and a clear, saturated positive print were standard then.
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
