Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 through Warner Bros., riding the crest of the franchise's first great wave in North America. Built around Mewtwo's origin story and packaged with the short Pikachu's Vacation, it became a cultural marker for a generation discovering Pokémon through cards, games, and Saturday morning television. Trailers for the film circulated widely in theaters and on broadcast, stitching together footage to build anticipation before the feature's wide release, and surviving 35mm trailer material from this period is scarce next to the film reels themselves, making these fragments distinct objects of their own.
This cell comes from that trailer, under the name Pikachu Falling, a moment tied to the franchise's central mascot and one of the most recognized characters in modern entertainment. Jirachi's presence here places the cell within the broader promotional reach of the era, when trailers often folded in imagery from across the growing Pokémon catalog. Falling, as a stated moment, suggests a beat of vulnerability or descent built into the trailer's pacing, a small narrative gesture collectors prize for its connection to Pikachu's enduring draw.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The First Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm layout with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds one full frame, with only slivers of neighbouring frames above and below.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or damaged perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with a dashed line above it, and Dolby Digital-style data blocks sit between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-grey tint to the base along the edges, with the dye image looking neutral and saturated, with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size, though the strip is a single frame, so little length is available to judge.
Picture
Positive colour image; only one frame is present, so consecutive running cannot be checked, and the yellow character is consistent with Pokémon: The First Movie.
Era check
The optical track plus Dolby Digital data between the perforations is consistent with a late-1990s release print or trailer on 35mm, matching the film 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 000069862
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
