Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of the marketing push surrounding Pokémon's explosive leap from handheld game to global media phenomenon. Produced to herald the theatrical debut of Pokémon: The First Movie, this promotional reel circulated through American theaters courtesy of Warner Bros., which handled the franchise's domestic release at the height of Pokémania. For a generation of young audiences, a trailer like this one was often the first glimpse of Pokémon rendered on the big screen, making these fragments genuine artifacts of a cultural tipping point rather than mere advertising ephemera.
This cell preserves a moment built around Pikachu, the character most responsible for carrying the entire franchise into mainstream consciousness. As the designated mascot, Pikachu anchored nearly every piece of promotional material from this era, and surviving trailer cells featuring the character remain especially sought after. The described action, Pikachu jumping, points to the kind of energetic, inviting imagery trailers relied on to draw audiences into theaters, a brief glimpse meant to signal the excitement awaiting in the feature presentation itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of the Pokémon: The Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm layout: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle punches that look clean and uniform along the whole strip.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear to slightly cool base with a pale blue-teal edge tint; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, splices or cue marks are visible across the three frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one continuous shot, and the animated Pikachu is consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a 1999 release print, since combined analog optical and Dolby Digital soundtracks were standard on 35mm theatrical prints of that period.
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 000069917
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
