Released in 1999 by Warner Bros. in North America, following Nintendo's and Pokémon Co.'s original Japanese production, this trailer introduced Pokémon: The First Movie to audiences riding the franchise's first great wave of popularity. The film's marketing push was enormous for its time, bridging the television series and the big screen with a story built around Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon whose existence raised questions of identity and purpose that set the feature apart from the lighter television episodes. The trailer campaign helped establish the film as a cultural milestone of the late nineties animation boom.
This cell preserves a card from that trailer announcing Mewtwo by name, a format used to spotlight a key figure before a film's release and build anticipation. Mewtwo remains one of the most sought after Pokémon among collectors, prized for its central role in the franchise's first cinematic venture and its lasting identity as the series' most complex creation. A trailer card like this stands apart from in-film cells, marking a promotional moment rather than a narrative one, and offering a direct link to the earliest public introduction of the character on film.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame along both edges, with three full frames visible on the strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle shapes; no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks sit beside the picture, 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 light blue-cyan tint along the edges; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the on-screen MEWTWO title text matches the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: the optical track plus Dolby Digital blocks suits a 1999 theatrical trailer, and the MEWTWO title fits the Pokémon movie campaign.
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 000070006
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
