Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 from Warner Bros. and 4Kids Entertainment, riding the crest of the franchise's explosive American debut. Adapted from the Japanese feature Mewtwo Strikes Back, it introduced a generation of young audiences to the cinematic Pokémon universe and became a box office phenomenon, grossing over $85 million domestically. The promotional trailer campaign preceding its release was itself a cultural event, building anticipation through television spots and theatrical previews that teased the confrontation at the film's core.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer: Mew preparing to attack, with Mewtwo present in the frame. Mew, the rare and mythical original Pokémon, and Mewtwo, its engineered counterpart, form the emotional and narrative spine of the entire film, their rivalry mirrored in countless pieces of merchandise and media. A trailer cell like this one captures the marketing machinery of the moment, the carefully chosen glimpse meant to stir curiosity before the feature itself screened. For collectors, this pairing of characters at the point of confrontation represents the thematic heart of the franchise's first cinematic outing.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm layout with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds four frames, each partly cropped at the left and right edges of the capture.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes; no torn, stretched or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs between the picture and the lower perforations, and a grey speckled band beside the lower perforations is visible in the gaps between them, which may be Dolby Digital data blocks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted clear base at the edges; the dye image shows saturated magenta and brown tones with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the four frames run consecutively as one shot of a glowing pink sphere, and the animated look is plausible for the Pokémon trailer on record.
Era check
A variable-area optical track plus Dolby Digital-style data blocks on a 35mm positive is consistent with a 1999 theatrical 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
