Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in theaters in 1999 through Warner Bros., brought to American audiences by Nintendo and 4Kids Entertainment at the height of Pokémania's first wave. It introduced Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon at the center of its story, to a mainstream audience well beyond the cartoon's existing fanbase. The promotional campaign that preceded the film, including theatrical trailers like this one, played a major role in building anticipation, and these early marketing reels have become their own category of interest for collectors tracking the franchise's theatrical debut.
This cell preserves a Mewtwo close-up from that trailer, a piece of the film's advance promotion rather than the feature itself. Mewtwo stands as one of the franchise's most significant creations, a character built around themes of identity and purpose that gave the movie unusual weight for its genre. A close-up moment devoted entirely to this character signals how heavily the marketing leaned on Mewtwo as the film's central draw. For collectors, trailer material carries its own appeal, capturing the promotional language Warner Bros. used to introduce this figure before the movie reached theaters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print strip from the Pokémon: The First Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangular and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run between the picture and the lower perforations, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear to faintly blue-tinted base, with the dye image looking neutral and well saturated, no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the picture area looks clean.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames from one continuous shot, consistent with an animated feature trailer such as the film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital blocks beside an analogue optical track fit a late-1990s 35mm release print, so this is consistent with the 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 000069842
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
