Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of the marketing push that brought Pokémon from television screens into American theaters for the first time. Warner Bros. handled distribution, riding the wave of Pokemania that had already swept toy aisles, trading cards, and Saturday morning cartoons. The trailer served as audiences' first theatrical glimpse of Mewtwo Strikes Back, a film built around themes of cloning and identity that were considerably darker than the show's usual tone. For a generation of collectors, this strip of celluloid represents the moment Pokémon announced itself as a cinematic property, not just a cartoon.
This cell, titled Mewtwo Commands The Clones, places the franchise's signature antagonist at the center of its own ensemble. Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon built from Mew's DNA, was conceived as a figure of power and resentment, and his command over cloned creatures was the film's central plot engine. Venusaur, Scyther, and Rhydon appear here as his subjects, their presence signaling the scale of his assembled force. As a trailer cell, this frame was built to tease conflict and spectacle, a single still meant to pull audiences toward the full story of rebellion and control.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The Movie (1999) trailer.
Gauge
35mm: four perforations span each frame along both edges, and the strip holds three full frames side by side.
Perforations
Four perforations per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, and cleanly punched with no tears or missing holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs as two wavy white tracks beside the picture, with a dashed cue line above; the gaps between the lower perforations show speckled Dolby Digital data blocks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, splices or cue marks show across the three frames.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames from one shot with very little change between them; the drawn animation style fits the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital blocks plus a variable-area optical track on a positive 35mm print are consistent with a 1999 release or trailer print.
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 000069930
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
