Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in November 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to translate the television phenomenon into a theatrical event, pairing the animated feature with the Pikachu's Vacation short. Promotional trailers circulated through 1999 ahead of release, built to introduce American audiences unfamiliar with the franchise to its core cast and stakes. The film's box office success cemented Pokémon as a lasting cross-media property rather than a passing fad, and the marketing push that preceded it, including 35mm trailer prints like this one, remains a touchstone for collectors tracing the franchise's theatrical debut.
This cell draws from that promotional reel and groups Ash Ketchum with Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle, the original trio most associated with the franchise's early identity. As a trailer cell, its purpose was to introduce this assembled group to moviegoers, presenting Ash alongside his Pokémon as a unit rather than in isolated combat or capture scenes. Collectors prize material from this period because it marks the franchise's first theatrical push, and a grouping of these four figures together represents the foundational cast as audiences were meant to first encounter them on the big screen.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames, with the image running lengthwise along the strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes that look evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical analogue track runs between the picture and the lower perforations, with a dashed blue line above it; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS or SDDS visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-green tinted base at both edges; the dye image looks neutral to slightly cool, with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the strip looks clean, and the soundtrack edge shows only slight unevenness.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames look like consecutive near-identical frames of one shot, and the cartoon look is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Optical track on a tinted-base positive print fits a 1999 35mm release trailer, though no edge print or date code is visible to confirm.
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 000069783
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
