Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in American theaters in November 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo, riding the crest of Pokémania at its absolute peak. Adapted from the Japanese feature Mewtwo Strikes Back, it introduced American audiences to the franchise's first original cinematic villain and became a cultural touchstone for a generation raised on the trading cards and television series. Its theatrical trailer campaign was essential marketing infrastructure, built to stoke anticipation among families and collectors alike, and surviving trailer film from this release is prized for capturing that singular moment of crossover mania.
This cell brings together Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, the franchise's enduring heroic duo, alongside Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose existential conflict drives the film's narrative. Pairing the protagonists with Mewtwo in a trailer context signals the clash at the story's heart, the tension between created and natural life, rendered through recognizable, beloved figures. Trailer cells like this one hold appeal precisely because they were built for promotion rather than narrative sequence, offering a condensed, advertising-driven glimpse of character relationships that collectors value as artifacts of the film's launch moment.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame along both edges, the 35mm layout; the strip holds three frames, the first a wider scene and the next two a close-up pair.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical soundtrack runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-cyan tint on the clear base at the edges, with a neutral black frame divider and saturated, unfaded dye colours in the picture.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the frames look clean, with only fine speckle texture in the blue edge band.
Picture
Positive image, three frames in sequence, the last two as near-matching close-ups of one shot; the animated style is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks fits a late-1990s 35mm release print, so it is consistent with a 1999 trailer for this title.
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 000069790
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
