Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. distributed the franchise's debut theatrical feature in North America, riding the crest of Pokémania at its commercial peak. The trailer campaign preceding the film's release was engineered to pull in both devoted fans of the games and cartoon, and parents and newcomers unfamiliar with the phenomenon, promising a darker, more mythic entry than the television series had offered. This theatrical preview material circulated in 35mm ahead of release, making surviving trailer frames a scarce window into how the studio chose to introduce audiences to its central antagonist.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer built around Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose power and isolation form the emotional and narrative core of the film. As the only figure named here, Mewtwo anchors the piece entirely, reflecting the character's status as the movie's defining draw for collectors. An attack sequence built on an energy blast signals the trailer's intent to showcase raw power early, establishing Mewtwo's threat and gravity before the feature itself answers the question the trailer only poses.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print strip from Pokémon: The First Movie Trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, with three full frames and a partial fourth frame showing across the strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangular, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or stretched holes visible.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations; no DTS or SDDS visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-tinted base along the edges, with a saturated blue-dominant dye image and no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; the frames show no obvious lines, scratches, cue marks or splices.
Picture
Positive image, three frames reading as consecutive moments of one animated shot; the animation style is plausible for the film on record, though nothing identifies the title.
Era check
The optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a 35mm positive suits a late-1990s release print, consistent with a 1999 trailer.
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 000069838
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
