Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in American theaters in November 1999 through Warner Bros., brought to the screen by Nintendo, Pikachu Project, and 4Kids Entertainment at the height of Pokémania. Adapted and expanded for Western audiences, it introduced Mewtwo as a tragic, engineered antagonist and paired the feature with the now-famous Pikachu's Vacation short. The release cemented Pokémon's leap from television phenomenon to box office force, drawing in a generation raised on the games and cartoon alike, and its trailer campaign was instrumental in building anticipation across theaters and television spots that summer and fall.
This cell preserves a trailer moment from that campaign, built around Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock approaching Mewtwo's fortress together. As a promotional strip rather than a scene from the finished film, it captures the marketing language used to sell the picture's stakes, placing the franchise's core cast against its most ambitious villain. Mewtwo's presence signals the movie's darker, more philosophical turn, while the four companions represent the beloved traveling group fans already knew from television. For collectors, trailer material from this release holds particular interest as an artifact of the moment Pokémon crossed into cinema.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip for Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with rounded-rectangle holes and no tears or distortion visible.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations; no DTS or SDDS seen.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Neutral to slightly cool clear base with a light blue tint at the outer margins; the dye image shows strong blues and purples with no obvious fading.
Projection history
A few small specks and debris near the lower edge and a stray hair-like mark by the upper perforations; no clear scratches, cue marks or splices seen.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames of one shot with the same composition, showing an animated scene consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a positive print fits a late-1990s theatrical 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 000069860
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
