Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in American theaters in November 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo, riding the crest of Pokémania at its absolute peak. Produced by OLM and localized for Western audiences, it brought Mewtwo's origin story to a generation raised on the television series, becoming one of the highest grossing anime releases in the United States. Trailers from this campaign circulated widely on film reels before features, building anticipation months ahead of release, and surviving promotional cuts from this run are scarce compared to the feature prints themselves.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer centered on Ash Ketchum, the series' enduring protagonist and the character most responsible for the franchise's reach beyond its games. Ash Knocked Down speaks to a moment of struggle for him, a beat meant to raise stakes and signal conflict to audiences unfamiliar with the deeper mythology being introduced. Trailer cells like this one carry particular appeal to collectors, capturing promotional material rather than the finished film, a glimpse of how the movie was first sold to the public.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm positive release print of Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds roughly three and a half frames, with a partial frame at the left end.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, cleanly punched with no visible tears or missing holes.
Soundtrack
A twin variable-area optical track runs between the picture and the lower perforations; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are visible.
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 or colour shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible in the frames shown.
Picture
Positive colour image; the visible frames run consecutively as one shot of an animated character with a raised fist, consistent with the animated film on record.
Era check
A variable-area optical track on a 35mm positive print is consistent with a 1999 theatrical release print, though no digital sound data is seen in this capture.
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
