Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo moved to capture the Pokémon craze on the big screen, with promotional reels circulating in theaters ahead of the feature's release. This marked one of the earliest attempts to translate the television and trading card phenomenon into a cinematic event, and the trailer material that survives from this campaign offers a record of how the franchise was introduced to American audiences at the height of its popularity.
This cell draws together Ash Ketchum, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Nurse Joy as the group approaches Mewtwo's fortress, a pivotal location tied to the film's central conflict. Ash and Pikachu anchor the franchise's core partnership, while Misty and Brock round out the original traveling party familiar to early collectors. Nurse Joy's presence here places the group within the wider Pokémon world beyond the main cast. As a trailer cell, this piece captures an early marketing moment meant to build anticipation, preserving the ensemble's approach to a defining setting in 35mm.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The Movie (1999) trailer.
Gauge
Perforations run along both edges with four per frame, the 35mm layout, and the strip holds three full frames side by side.
Perforations
Four perforations per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes and no visible tears or missing teeth.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs between the picture and the lower perforations, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a faint blue edge tint; the dye image shows saturated purples and blues with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the image looks clean across all three frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames repeat one near-identical shot consecutively, and nothing visible contradicts the film on record.
Era check
Optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks on a clean positive print is consistent with a 1999 35mm theatrical trailer print, which carried both formats.
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 000069971
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
