Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in American theaters in November 1999, released by Warner Bros. in partnership with Nintendo and the Pokémon Company, riding the crest of a cultural wave that had already swept through television, trading cards, and handheld games. The film marked the franchise's leap to the big screen, introducing Mewtwo's origin story while keeping the familiar cast of trainers and creatures at its center. For a generation of young viewers, this was an event picture, and the promotional trailer reel that preceded it played a key role in building anticipation across theaters nationwide.
This cell preserves a promotional moment built around Ash Ketchum, the series' central trainer, shown alongside Pikachu and Squirtle, two of the franchise's most recognizable and collected creatures. A trailer cell like this one served to introduce or remind audiences of the characters driving the story, functioning as a piece of theatrical advertising rather than a frame from the finished feature itself. Pairing the franchise's lead human character with two beloved Pokémon reflects the marketing emphasis placed on the bond between trainers and their companions, a theme central to the series' enduring appeal among collectors.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The First Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames side by side.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with clean rounded-rectangle punches and no torn or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with two bright waveform bands and a dashed line above, and Dolby Digital blocks sit between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue-teal tint along the edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the strip looks clean and unmarked.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames are near-identical consecutive frames of one shot, and the animated cel-style characters are plausible for the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Optical analogue track plus Dolby Digital data between perforations fits a late-1990s 35mm release print, so it is consistent with a 1999 Pokémon 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 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 000069778
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
