Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo's growing media empire, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American playgrounds and Saturday morning schedules. The trailer campaign built anticipation for Mewtwo, a bioengineered Pokémon whose origin and inner conflict gave the franchise an unusual dose of gravity amid the merchandising boom. For many collectors this film marks the moment Pokémon proved itself a genuine theatrical draw rather than a passing fad, and its promotional material remains a touchstone of that first wave of fandom.
This cell draws from the trailer itself, the footage assembled to sell audiences on Mewtwo's stadium confrontation before the film's release. A stand-off implies the tense arrangement of opposing forces, and here that means Pokémon drawn into Mewtwo's orbit, a scene central to the film's climax and its meditation on conflict and identity. Trailer cells like this one hold particular interest for collectors because they represent the marketing moment rather than the finished feature, a piece of the campaign that introduced Mewtwo's stadium to audiences anticipating the film's arrival in theaters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs between the picture and the lower perforations, with a dashed line above it; Dolby Digital blocks sit between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue-green tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral to slightly warm, with no obvious fading seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible on this three-frame strip.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the cartoon characters are consistent with a Pokémon film.
Era check
The two-track optical track with Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations is consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release trailer print of the film on record.
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 000069799
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
