Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's push to bring the franchise's biggest-stakes story to American theaters, built around Mewtwo's origin and the ethical weight of cloning. Trailers for the release circulated widely that year, giving fans an early look at the genetically engineered Pokémon and the film's darker tone compared to the television series. This made the promotional material a notable artifact of the franchise's theatrical debut, when Pokémon fever was at its commercial peak.
This cell comes from that promotional reel, a 35mm frame built to tease audiences before the feature's release. Mewtwo appears here in command of its cloned forces, with Gyarados, Nidoqueen, and Scyther standing as the engineered army under its direction. Mewtwo remains one of the franchise's most sought-after characters, prized by collectors for its central role in the film's conflict and its status as the series' first major antagonist turned tragic figure. A trailer cell like this one captures the film's marketing moment, when the scale of Mewtwo's power and the loyalty of its clones were the selling point meant to draw crowds into theaters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The Movie (1999) trailer.
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three frames shown in full.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, cleanly punched with no tears or stretching visible.
Soundtrack
Two wavy variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations; no DTS or SDDS visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue tint on the base edges, with a neutral clear base and a saturated, unfaded dye image in the frames.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the frames and edges look clean.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames from one shot with only slight movement between them; the animated Pokémon artwork fits the film on record.
Era check
The analog optical tracks plus Dolby Digital blocks match a late-1990s 35mm release print, 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 000069925
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
