Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in theaters in November 1999, riding the first wave of American Pokémon mania as Warner Bros. distributed the Japanese animated feature to introduce Mewtwo's origin story to Western audiences. The trailer that preceded it became a cultural touchstone in its own right, airing repeatedly on children's networks and building anticipation for a crossover event between the television phenomenon and the big screen. For a generation of young collectors, this promotional material marks the moment Pokémon proved it could command theatrical audiences, not just Saturday morning time slots.
This cell belongs to that trailer, capturing the approach toward Mewtwo's fortress, a sequence meant to set stakes before the feature itself. Mewtwo stands as the film's central creation, a genetically engineered Pokémon whose power and isolation drive the movie's conflict, making any frame bearing its likeness a point of interest for collectors tracing the character's earliest screen appearances. A trailer cell like this one preserves promotional film stock rather than footage from the finished picture, a distinction that gives it its own place in the archive of Pokémon's theatrical debut.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The First Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames side by side across the panel.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched and uniform along the whole strip.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, with a dashed Dolby-style cyan track line on the picture side. Data blocks sit between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear to neutral base with a light blue tint at the outer edges. The dye image looks saturated, with deep blues and purples and no obvious fading.
Projection history
A few small specks near the lower edge and faint marks at the frame lines. No splices, cue marks or heavy scratching seen.
Picture
Positive image. The three frames are near-identical consecutive frames of one static shot. Nothing in the picture contradicts or confirms the film on record.
Era check
Optical tracks with Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations fit a late-1990s 35mm release print, matching the 1999 date 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 000069859
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
