Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 courtesy of Warner Bros. and Nintendo, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept through American pop culture. Adapted from the Japanese original and bolstered by new footage for Western audiences, the film became a theatrical phenomenon, introducing Mewtwo as a central figure in Pokémon's mythology and cementing the franchise's crossover from handheld games and television into mainstream cinema. The trailer that preceded it played a crucial role in building anticipation, giving audiences their first glimpse of a darker, more ambitious storyline than the series had attempted before.
This piece of 35mm trailer footage carries the name Mewtwo's Stadium, placing it within the film's climactic gathering point, a setting built around confrontation and assembled Pokémon. The phrase "stand-off" points to tension rather than battle itself, a suspended moment of opposition. Mewtwo, as the genetically engineered Pokémon at the heart of the story, remains one of the franchise's most sought-after characters among collectors, prized for his role in reshaping the series' tone. A trailer cell like this preserves a promotional fragment, part of the machinery built to draw audiences toward a film already anticipated worldwide.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames, with partial frames visible at the sides.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes; no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run between the picture and the lower perforations, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear to slightly bluish-tinted base with a neutral-to-warm yellow dye image; no obvious red shift or fading seen.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the animated artwork is consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Dual optical tracks plus Dolby Digital blocks on colour positive stock are consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release trailer print, such as 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 000069803
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
