Warner Bros. handled distribution for Pokémon: The First Movie in North America in 1999, bringing Nintendo's phenomenon to theaters at the height of Pokémania. The film arrived as both an animated feature and a cultural event, bundled with the now-famous promotional card and backed by a trailer campaign built to reach an audience already primed by the television series and trading card craze. This was the franchise's theatrical proving ground, introducing Mewtwo's origin story to wider audiences while leaning on the established cast to anchor the marketing push. Trailers from this era served as the first true measure of how the franchise would translate to the big screen.
This cell gathers a wide roster for its promotional moment, pairing Pikachu with Mew alongside an assembly that includes Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Rapidash, Ninetales, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Gyarados, Nidoqueen, Vaporeon, and Rhyhorn. Mew's presence carries particular weight for collectors, as the character's mythical status and ties to Mewtwo made it central to the film's premise and merchandising. A trailer cell like this one functions as an advertisement in miniature, designed to showcase breadth and scale, signaling to audiences that the film would deliver an ensemble beyond the core television lineup. Gathering so many named Pokémon in a single promotional frame speaks to the ambition of the marketing effort itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm positive release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three full frames side by side with a sliver of a fourth at the right edge.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the upper and lower edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle in shape, and cleanly punched with no visible tears or stretching.
Soundtrack
Two parallel variable-area optical tracks run between the picture and the lower perforations; a dashed line of data blocks above them is a separate edge feature and appears to be a timecode or cue line.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Neutral, clear base with a pale blue tint along the edge margins; the dye image looks saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; a faint dark ring on the middle frame is a camera reflection and is ignored.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames are near-identical consecutive frames of one held shot, and the animated characters are consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Dual variable-area optical tracks plus a dashed digital-style line on a clean positive print are consistent with a 1999 35mm release or trailer print.
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 000069825
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
