Pokémon: The Movie Trailer (1999) arrives at the height of Pokémania, when Nintendo's creatures had already conquered handheld gaming and television before Warner Bros. brought them to American theaters. The film itself, Mewtwo Strikes Back, was a cultural event, and its promotional reels circulated in advance to build anticipation among a fanbase still new to the franchise's reach. These early trailer materials captured a moment when Pokémon's leap to the big screen was still a novelty, making surviving 35mm promotional cells scarce artifacts of that transitional year between card game craze and full cinematic franchise.
This cell preserves a moment tied to Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose storyline anchors the film's central conflict and gives it emotional weight beyond typical creature-collecting adventure. The reference to a stadium situates this within the arena built for Mewtwo's own designs, a setting central to the narrative's tension. As trailer material, the cell belongs to the promotional apparatus meant to tease audiences before the feature itself, a distinct category from release prints. Collectors prize Mewtwo material for his singular status as the franchise's most dramatically weighted character, and trailer cells for their rarity against final-cut survivors.
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 full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, cleanly punched with no visible tears or damage.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with a Dolby Digital data block pattern visible in the gaps between the lower perforations and a dashed line above the optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue tint along the edges and clear areas, with a neutral picture dye that looks saturated and not faded.
Projection history
None seen at this size; the frames and soundtrack look clean, with no scratches, splices or cue marks visible.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames repeat the same shot, consistent with a held title or graphic card, and nothing contradicts a Pokémon trailer.
Era check
The optical track plus Dolby Digital data between the perforations matches a late-1990s 35mm release print, which fits 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 000069976
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
