SCENEAsh & Pikachu Falling/Mewtwo Preparing To Attack
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE ID000069016
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to carry the franchise's television and card-game momentum into theaters, riding the first great wave of Pokémania in the West. Its trailer campaign was a cultural event in its own right, promising audiences a darker, more cinematic story centered on Mewtwo, the lab-born Pokémon wrestling with questions of identity and purpose. For a generation raised on the series, this theatrical debut marked Pokémon's leap from Saturday mornings to the big screen.
This cell captures a promotional moment built around two poles of the franchise: Ash and Pikachu, the beloved human-companion pairing that anchors the series' emotional core, and Mewtwo, the formidable antagonist whose power drives the film's conflict. Pairing a moment of peril for Ash and Pikachu with Mewtwo's menace speaks to the trailer's purpose, setting stakes and tension for audiences before the feature itself. Trailer cells like this hold particular appeal for collectors chasing the franchise's theatrical launch and its defining characters together in a single frame of film history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm layout with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds four frames, two pairs of near-identical frames from two shots.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched with no tears or missing sections.
Soundtrack
Two parallel variable-area optical tracks run between the picture and the lower perforations; no Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations, and no DTS or SDDS marks seen.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue edge tint in this backlit view; the dye image looks saturated with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the frames look clean.
Picture
Positive image; the first two frames repeat one shot and the last two repeat another, and the cartoon look is consistent with Pokémon: The First Movie.
Era check
Consistent with a 1999 35mm release print, since the twin variable-area optical tracks and positive stock suit a late-1990s trailer print.
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
