Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in the United States in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. after Nintendo and the Pokémon Company brought the franchise's cinematic debut overseas from its 1998 Japanese release. Riding the crest of Pokémania, the film was a cultural event, pairing the television phenomenon with theatrical spectacle built around Mewtwo, the series' first and most formidable original creation. Promotional trailers for the film carried enormous weight in building anticipation, serving as the primary vehicle through which audiences got early glimpses of the story's central conflict before opening weekend.
This cell preserves a trailer moment centered on Mewtwo asserting command over its cloned Pokémon, with Gyarados and Venusaur present as subjects of that authority. Mewtwo's standing among collectors rests on its role as the franchise's tragic antagonist, a lab-born being whose power and resentment drive the film's plot. A scene built around command rather than conflict points to the hierarchy Mewtwo imposes on its clone army, a key narrative beat establishing its dominance early in the promotional rollout. Trailer cells like this one hold particular interest for documenting how the film was sold before release.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge and on the bottom edge, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two tracks 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
Light blue-tinted base along the edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no fading or red shift seen.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; a faint ring on one frame is the phone reflection and is ignored.
Picture
Positive colour image, the three frames run consecutively as one continuous shot, and the animated Pokémon artwork matches the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: a dual optical track with Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations fits a 1999 35mm 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 000069931
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
