Warner Bros. released Pokémon: The First Movie in American theaters in November 1999, bringing Nintendo's phenomenon to the big screen at the height of Pokémania. Produced by 4Kids Entertainment for the US market and built around Mewtwo, the series' original genetically engineered Pokémon, the film marked a pivotal moment for the franchise's crossover into mainstream Western pop culture. Promotional trailers circulated widely that year, built to stoke anticipation among a young audience already devoted to the games, cards, and television series, and these preview reels are now their own collecting category, separate from the feature itself.
This cell comes from a trailer reel and shows the moment Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock approach Mewtwo's fortress, the sequence that sets the film's central confrontation in motion. Mewtwo stands as the story's defining antagonist and one of the most sought-after Pokémon among collectors, his presence alone elevating any frame he appears in. Trailer cells like this one hold appeal for capturing the promotional buildup rather than the finished film, preserving a piece of the marketing campaign that first put these characters, and this fortress, in front of audiences.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer strip of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame appear along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations in this capture.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a slight cool blue cast along the edges; the dye image looks saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the strip looks clean on the panel.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames of one static shot, and nothing in the frames contradicts the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: an analog optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks was the standard theatrical trailer format of 1999.
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 000069861
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
