Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of the marketing push surrounding Pokémon: The First Movie, the Warner Bros. theatrical release that brought Nintendo's sprawling franchise to American screens at the height of Pokémania. Produced in the thick of the brand's peak merchandising frenzy, these promotional reels circulated in theaters to build anticipation for the feature, offering fans an early look at the animated world before the film itself hit wide release. For collectors, trailer material from this period captures the franchise's crossover moment, when a Japanese video game and card phenomenon became a fixture of American pop culture almost overnight.
This cell, marked Venusaur Clone, points to the cloning subplot that drove the film's central conflict, in which Mewtwo's laboratory produced altered versions of familiar species. Rayquaza's presence among the named figures ties the frame to the broader Pokémon roster circulating in trailer and promotional material of the era, a legendary creature whose appearances collectors prize for rarity. As a trailer cell rather than a finished theatrical frame, this piece represents the advance cut used to stir audience interest, a promotional artifact distinct from the movie's final assembly.
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 in full view.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with rounded-rectangle holes and no visible tears or missing perforations.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track of two bilateral tracks runs beside the picture, with a dashed line above it and a speckled Dolby Digital data pattern in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted clear base at the edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
A few fine horizontal hairlines cross the upper part of each frame; no cue marks or splices seen.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the animated style is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: analogue optical track alongside Dolby Digital data between the perforations is typical of 1999 theatrical prints.
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 000069948
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
