Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 from Warner Bros., riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American playgrounds, television schedules, and retail shelves. Adapted from the Japanese feature Mewtwo Strikes Back, it introduced American audiences to the franchise's first theatrical outing, pairing the familiar Saturday morning cast with a darker, more mythic storyline. The promotional trailer run that preceded the film's release became its own cultural artifact, teasing a conflict heavier than the series' usual tone and signaling to fans that this was an event beyond the weekly show.
This cell comes from that trailer, built around Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, the two characters most synonymous with the franchise's identity. A trailer cell carries the particular weight of anticipation rather than resolution, a fragment meant to stir curiosity before the full story unfolds. The described moment, Ash knocked down and Pikachu crying, points to the emotional stakes the marketing leaned on, hinting at peril for the trainer and distress for his partner. For collectors, this pairing represents the bond at the heart of Pokémon itself, preserved here in its earliest promotional form.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, which is the 35mm layout; the strip holds four picture frames, two partial cells and two fuller frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle shape, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two white lines runs beside the picture, and the gaps between the lower-edge perforations hold grainy square data blocks consistent with Dolby Digital.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a blue-tinted edge band; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the frames look clean and evenly lit.
Picture
Positive colour image; the frames pair up as two near-identical frames of each of two shots, and the animation style fits the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital blocks alongside a dual optical track on 35mm are consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print, though the capture cannot confirm the exact trailer.
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
