Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in the United States in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. after Nintendo and the Pokémon Company's media arm built an entire theatrical campaign around the franchise's explosive television success. The trailer that preceded it served as audiences' first extended look at the film's larger ambitions, promising a story that moved beyond episodic television into mythic, big-screen stakes. For a generation raised on the show, this trailer was itself an event, teasing new creatures, higher drama, and the sense that Pokémon had become a cinematic property worth lining up for.
This cell draws from that trailer reel and gathers Ash Ketchum alongside Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Scyther, Nidoqueen, Gyarados, and Sandslash, a roster that reads like a cross-section of the franchise's early, formative roster. Trailer cells like this one carry particular appeal for collectors because they represent the marketing moment rather than a narrative beat, a snapshot of how the film was first pitched to the public. Having Ash grouped with such a varied team speaks to the movie's promise of scale, suggesting a story built around alliance and assembled strength rather than any single encounter.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm positive release-print strip of the Pokémon: The First Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, which is the 35mm layout; the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
Two white variable-area optical tracks run between the picture and the lower perforations; the gaps between perforations hold a speckled pattern, not clearly readable Dolby Digital data blocks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-tinted edges on a clear base, with the dye image looking neutral and saturated, no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the strip looks clean on the panel.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the animated style is plausible for the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
A 35mm positive with a dual optical track and speckled data-style gap pattern fits a 1999 release print, though the gap pattern cannot be confirmed as Dolby Digital here.
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 000069780
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
