Pokémon: The Movie Trailer (1999) arrived as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's theatrical teaser for Pokémon: The First Movie, released amid the franchise's explosive North American debut. The late-nineties Pokémon boom was a cultural event unlike anything before it, with trading cards, the television series, and merchandise saturating the market. This trailer served as an early promotional artifact, introducing moviegoers to the animated feature before its wide release and stoking anticipation for Ash Ketchum's big-screen adventure. As one of the physical film pieces tied to this marketing push, it occupies a unique place in the history of a franchise that helped define a generation's entertainment landscape.
This cell centers on Ash Rescuing His Pokémon, placing Ash Ketchum, the franchise's central trainer and the character most synonymous with Pokémon's identity, at the heart of the action. Ash is the figure collectors most want to find in early promotional material, since his presence anchors the series' emotional core and narrative drive. A rescue moment speaks to the bond between trainer and Pokémon that the franchise built its appeal upon. As a trailer cell, this piece comes from promotional reels meant to entice audiences ahead of the film's release, making it a collectible tied to the marketing history surrounding Pokémon's cinematic arrival.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of the Pokémon: The Movie (1999) trailer.
Gauge
35mm layout: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes; no torn, missing or stretched perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a pale blue-cyan tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks seen at this size; the three frames look clean.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-identical shot, in an animated style that fits a Pokémon film.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a clean positive print is consistent with a late-1990s theatrical release print, which suits a 1999 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 000069962
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
