SCENEMewtwo Preparing To Attack!/Ash and Friends - Transition Cell
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003022
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of the promotional push surrounding Pokémon: The First Movie, the franchise's leap from television phenomenon to theatrical event. Distributed in the United States by Warner Bros. in tandem with Nintendo and the show's Japanese creators, the film capitalized on the character craze sweeping young audiences, pairing the series' breakout stars with a darker narrative built around Mewtwo's origins. Trailer reels from this period are scarce, often cut into short promotional segments rather than preserved as complete prints, making surviving 35mm fragments a notable piece of the franchise's early theatrical history.
This cell marks a transition moment, pairing Mewtwo's advance against Ash and his companions with the quieter grouping of Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur alongside their trainer. As a trailer cell, its purpose was to build anticipation, cutting between threat and familiarity to sell the stakes of the coming feature. Collectors prize these early appearances of Pikachu and the starter trio for their place at the very beginning of Pokémon's theatrical identity, when the characters were first being introduced to movie audiences beyond the television format.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release-print trailer strip of Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or damaged perforations seen.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a faint blue-cyan tint at the edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no fading or red shift seen.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices appear on the three frames.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames of one shot with almost no change between them, and the animated cartoon style is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: analogue optical tracks with Dolby Digital data between the perforations 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 000070023
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
