Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 through Warner Bros., riding the crest of the franchise's first great wave of American popularity. Built around the Mewtwo origin story, the feature was preceded by a trailer campaign that introduced moviegoers to the clone conflict driving its plot, a concept that gave the Pokémon world unexpected dramatic weight. The trailer itself became a cultural artifact of that year, promising audiences a darker, more ambitious entry than the television series had offered, and 35mm trailer cells from this release are prized as relics of that early marketing push.
This cell, drawn from the trailer and grouped simply as Pokémon Group, brings together Hitmonlee, Venusaur, Sandslash, and Scyther alongside their cloned counterparts, the central premise of the film made visible in a single frame. The pairing of original and clone speaks directly to the story's core tension, identity against duplication, and gives this piece a narrative function beyond simple character display. For collectors, the presence of four species doubled into eight figures makes this an unusually dense trailer cell, valuable for the breadth of characters it represents in one compact artifact.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The First Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames in sequence.
Perforations
Four rounded-rectangle perforations per frame on both the top and bottom edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no tears or missing holes visible.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run between the picture and the lower perforations, and the gaps between the lower perforations hold speckled Dolby Digital data blocks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted base along the edges with a neutral, saturated dye image in the picture area; no fading or red shift seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; the picture and track areas look clean, with no visible scratches, cue marks or splices.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames show the same shot with only slight movement, and the animated look is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital blocks beside an optical analogue track on a colour positive are consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release trailer, which fits a 1999 Pokémon 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 000069885
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
