Crown Grading
Tap to enlarge
FILM NOTES
Warner Bros. released Pokémon: The First Movie in American theaters in November 1999, riding the crest of Pokémania as the franchise crossed from television and trading cards into a full theatrical event. Distributed under Warner's family banner with promotional muscle from Nintendo and 4Kids Entertainment, the film introduced American audiences to Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon at the center of its story, and the marketing campaign leaned heavily on trailers like this one to build anticipation. It remains a touchstone of late-nineties pop culture, marking the peak of the Pokémon craze in the West.
This 35mm trailer cell preserves a moment from the promotional reel built around Mewtwo, the series' most formidable and psychologically complex creation. Billed plainly as "Mewtwo Attacks," the cell marks the aggressive turn in the character's arc, the point where the trailer promises conflict and spectacle to draw audiences into theaters. Mewtwo's design and backstory have made it one of the most sought-after figures among Pokémon collectors, and trailer material survives in far smaller quantities than frames from the finished feature, making this piece a scarce artifact of the film's original theatrical rollout.
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of the Pokémon: The First Movie trailer (1999).
- Gauge
- 35mm layout: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three full frames plus partial frames at each end.
- Perforations
- Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes, no torn or missing perforations seen.
- Soundtrack
- A dual variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
- Edge print
- Not visible in this capture
- Base & colour
- Clear base with a light blue cast at the edges; the dye image looks warm yellow-orange with no obvious fading at this size.
- Projection history
- A few small dark specks and dirt marks on the picture area; no splices, cue marks or heavy scratches seen.
- Picture
- Positive colour image; the frames run consecutively as one shot with small movement between them, and the artwork is consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
- Era check
- Dual optical track with Dolby Digital data blocks fits a late-1990s 35mm release print, consistent with a 1999 trailer.
