Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's ascendant franchise machine, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American theaters. The film paired the TV series' broad appeal with a darker origin story centered on Mewtwo, a lab-born clone grappling with questions of purpose and identity. Promotional trailers circulated widely ahead of release, building anticipation among families and collectors alike, and 35mm trailer material from this campaign remains a touchstone for tracking how the franchise was sold to American audiences at its commercial peak.
This cell belongs to that promotional reel and centers on Mewtwo, the film's central figure and one of the most sought-after characters in Pokémon ephemera. The moment named, Mew dodging an attack, points to the mythic confrontation between Mewtwo and its genetic template Mew, a pairing central to the movie's plot and marketing. A trailer cell like this one captures a fragment chosen specifically to entice, offering collectors a physical remnant of the campaign that introduced Pokémon's first theatrical feature to a wide audience.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations span each frame on both edges, and the strip holds about four frames, the outer two cropped by the strip's ends.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with rounded-rectangle holes of uniform shape along the whole length.
Soundtrack
Two wavy variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, and the gaps between the lower-edge perforations carry speckled Dolby Digital data blocks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral to cool purple-blue, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Small dark specks show on the frames, and the strip looks otherwise clean at this size, with no obvious scratches, splices or cue marks.
Picture
Positive image; the frames run consecutively as one shot of a pale cat-like creature against purple clouds, matching the anime film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital blocks plus an optical track suit a late-1990s 35mm release print, consistent with a 1999 trailer for this film.
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
