SCENEMewtwo Preparing To Attack!/Ash and Friends - Transition Cell
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003021
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie Trailer (1999) arrived as the promotional herald for Pokémon: The First Movie, the franchise's leap from television to the big screen during the height of Pokémania in the United States. Produced to stoke anticipation among a fan base still new to the idea of Pikachu and company on theatrical film, these trailer cells captured Nintendo and Warner Bros.' efforts to bridge the animated series with a larger cinematic ambition, one built around Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon whose story gave the franchise its first taste of darker, more dramatic stakes.
This cell marks a transition moment, pairing Mewtwo's looming threat with Ash and his companions, Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur, as the trailer shifts its focus from danger to the familiar heroes meeting it. Trailer cells like this one hold particular interest for collectors because they come from promotional material rather than the feature film itself, making them scarcer artifacts of the franchise's earliest theatrical push. The pairing of Mewtwo's attack with Ash's core team reflects the trailer's narrative shorthand, establishing conflict and allegiance in a single handoff between frames.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear, slightly cool blue-tinted base with saturated blue and purple dye in the picture; no fading or red shift seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices on the three frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the animated Pikachu artwork fits a Pokémon trailer.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print, since analogue optical tracks paired with Dolby Digital data blocks on 35mm positive stock match a 1999 theatrical 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 000070022
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
