Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in American theaters in November 1999, riding the crest of the franchise's explosive crossover from Japanese card game and television phenomenon to full theatrical event. Distributed by Warner Bros. and produced through Nintendo and Shogakukan's partnership with 4Kids Entertainment, the film introduced Mewtwo to mainstream audiences and proved that the Pokémon brand could command box office numbers rivaling established family entertainment. Its trailer campaign was instrumental in building anticipation, running heavily on children's television blocks and before other family films that season, cementing the movie's place as a defining artifact of the late nineties Pokémon boom.
This cell preserves a title card moment from that trailer, the kind of frame built specifically to announce the production to an audience before the narrative begins. A logo title card carries no characters or action of its own; its purpose is identification, marking the film's name and studio pedigree in a single graphic instant. For collectors, such cells hold value as origin points, the first visual handshake between the franchise and moviegoers, tying directly to the marketing push that turned Pokémon into a theatrical mainstay.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame appear along both edges, consistent with 35mm; the strip holds about three full frames plus partial frames at each end.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, rounded-rectangle, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no tears or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A band of speckled, grainy blocks sits between the perforations on the lower edge, consistent with Dolby Digital data; no optical track is clearly resolved beside the picture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no visible fading.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible on the strip.
Picture
Positive image; the frames repeat the same Pokémon logo on a blue burst, and the 'The First Movie' text matches the film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital data between the perforations and a 1999 Pokémon: The First Movie title card are consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release 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
