Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of the marketing push that carried the franchise from television into theaters, released in the wake of the show's breakout success in Japan and its rapid ascendance in American pop culture. Warner Bros. handled the domestic rollout, and promotional reels like this one were struck to build anticipation in cinemas before the feature itself premiered. For a generation of young viewers, this was often a first glimpse of the Pokémon world on the big screen, making these trailer cells a notable marker of the franchise's theatrical debut.
This cell, cataloged as Ash and Friends, brings together the core cast that anchored the series at its height: Ash Ketchum, the young trainer at the center of the story, alongside Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur, three of the most recognizable Pokémon from the original generation. As a trailer cell, its purpose was to introduce these figures together, establishing the camaraderie between trainer and companions that defined the show's appeal. Collectors prize this grouping for its completeness, capturing the familiar ensemble as it was presented to a waiting audience in 1999.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations span each frame on both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical soundtrack runs beside the picture; Dolby Digital blocks are not visible in the perforation gaps, and no DTS or SDDS tracks are seen.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Pale blue-tinted base along both edges, with a neutral dye image showing saturated blues, yellows and oranges and no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the cartoon-style artwork is plausible for the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
A variable-area optical track on a colour positive 35mm strip is consistent with a late-1990s release print, though the absence of visible digital data is not conclusive.
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 000070024
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
