Crown Grading
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FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in American theaters in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. after Nintendo and 4Kids built the franchise into a cultural phenomenon through its television run and trading card craze. The theatrical trailer circulated months ahead of release, stoking anticipation among a fanbase still new to seeing these characters on the big screen. As an early piece of Pokémon cinema history, the film marked the franchise's leap from Saturday morning programming to a full theatrical event, and promotional material from that campaign, including trailer reels struck on 35mm, remains sought after as physical evidence of that transition.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer centered on Ash Ketchum, the series' central trainer and the character audiences follow into the story's central conflict. A trailer cell like this one exists to tease narrative stakes without full context, offering a glimpse meant to pull viewers toward the theater rather than tell the whole tale. The word "Fighting" in the cell's description points to Ash engaged in the kind of confrontation that defined the film's marketing, positioning him at the heart of the action. For collectors, Ash remains the franchise's enduring anchor, and any fragment showing him from this release carries weight tied to the character's first theatrical appearance.
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
- Gauge
- 35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three full frames plus parts of two more at the left and right ends.
- Perforations
- Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, and cleanly punched with no tears or missing perforations visible.
- Soundtrack
- Two variable-area optical tracks run along the lower edge, and Dolby Digital data blocks appear as a speckled pattern in the gaps between the lower perforations.
- Edge print
- Not visible in this capture
- Base & colour
- Clear base with a light blue tint toward the edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no visible fading or red shift.
- Projection history
- None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible on these frames.
- Picture
- Positive image with frames running consecutively as one shot; the animated artwork is plausible for the Pokémon film on record, though no title card is present.
- Era check
- Dual optical tracks with Dolby Digital blocks suit a late-1990s 35mm release print, which fits a 1999 trailer for this film.
