Released in 1999 by Warner Bros. in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, Pokémon: The First Movie brought the franchise to American theaters at the height of Pokémania, when the trading cards, television series, and Game Boy titles had already saturated playgrounds nationwide. The theatrical trailer played a critical role in that rollout, introducing moviegoers unfamiliar with the series to its central creatures and stakes ahead of the film's cloning-centered plot. As one of the earliest pieces of theatrical promotional material for the brand, surviving 35mm trailer cells carry particular weight for collectors tracing the franchise's cinematic debut.
This cell draws from that trailer and centers on the cloned Charizard and Blastoise, two of the franchise's most recognizable and sought-after creatures, here tied directly to the film's premise of genetic duplication at the hands of Mewtwo. Their pairing in a single frame reflects the trailer's work of establishing scale and spectacle for a mainstream audience, presenting these clones as proof of the story's central conflict. For collectors, a trailer cell holds a distinct place from a release print, marking the promotional moment when the film was still being sold rather than shown.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four-perforation frame pitch on both edges, with three full frames visible on this strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track, two tracks, runs beside the picture, with blocks of Dolby Digital data in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Slightly cool, light blue-grey clear base; the dye image looks saturated with no red shift or fading.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; a few specks of dust on the base.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames are near-identical consecutive frames of one held shot, and the animated style fits the film on record.
Era check
Consistent: a 35mm print carrying optical tracks plus Dolby Digital data blocks suits a 1999 theatrical trailer 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 in partnership with National Film Vault, 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.
CROWN SERIAL 000069758
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
