Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of Warner Bros.' theatrical push to launch Pokémon: The First Movie in American cinemas, riding the crest of a franchise that had exploded from handheld games into a full-blown media phenomenon. Nintendo, Game Freak, and 4Kids Entertainment had turned Pokémon into a cultural fixture, and this trailer served as an early promotional artifact, built to stoke anticipation among a generation of young fans and the parents who would bring them to theaters. As one of the first animated franchises to command this scale of American marketing, the film's release marked a notable moment in how studios courted a new kind of global audience.
This cell preserves a moment from that promotional reel centered on Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose creation and conflict drive the film's narrative. As a trailer frame, it belongs to the materials designed purely to entice, cut for impact rather than storytelling completeness. Mewtwo's presence alone carries weight for collectors, since the character anchors the film's central themes of identity and power. A moment framed as a descent suggests entrance or arrival, a beat built to establish presence rather than resolve plot, fitting naturally into a trailer's function of introducing stakes before the story begins.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of the Pokémon: The Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame on both edges, 35mm layout; the strip holds three full frames, with a partial perforation visible at the right end.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, and cleanly punched with no tears or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture; Dolby Digital data blocks sit between the lower-edge perforations, so a combined analogue and digital layout.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted base along both edges, with a dense black interframe area; the dye image looks saturated and not visibly faded or shifted.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the strip looks clean.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames from one shot; the blue animated imagery is consistent with an animated film such as the one on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: analogue optical tracks paired with Dolby Digital blocks between perforations suit 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 000070001
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
