Released in 1999 as Warner Bros. brought Pokémon to American theaters, this trailer served as audiences' first glimpse of Pokémon: The First Movie on the big screen. The franchise had already become a cultural phenomenon through its games, trading cards, and television series, and this theatrical preview marked its arrival as a legitimate box office contender. The trailer's promise of Mew, the rarest and most mythical of all Pokémon, drew enormous anticipation from fans eager to see the creature animated for the first time in a cinematic setting.
This cell preserves a moment of Mew in motion, dodging an attack, a fitting introduction for a character defined by elusiveness and legend within the Pokémon mythology. Mew's reputation as nearly impossible to find or capture made this early trailer appearance especially significant, positioning the character as the heart of the film's central conflict. Trailer cells like this one hold particular appeal for collectors, as they represent the marketing material that first sold the public on a film's promise, offering a piece of the anticipation before the story itself ever reached the screen.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes, cleanly punched with no tears or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, with a dashed line above them; the gaps between the lower perforations hold speckled blocks consistent with Dolby Digital data.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint along the edges; the dye image shows saturated blues and pinks with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the strip looks clean on this panel.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot of an animated pink character on a blue ground, matching the animated Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Dual optical tracks plus Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations fit a 1999 35mm release print, and the animation matches 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 000069928
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
