Released in 1999 by Warner Bros. in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, the first Pokémon feature arrived at the height of a cultural wave that had already swept through trading cards, handheld games, and Saturday morning television. The trailer campaign built anticipation for a franchise still proving it could carry the big screen, and footage from this period marks the moment Pokémon crossed from television phenomenon into theatrical event, introducing a generation of young audiences to cinema through characters they already knew by heart.
This cell draws its appeal from four of the franchise's most recognizable original creatures appearing together, a pairing that speaks to the broad roster Pokémon offered from its earliest days. Pikachu needs no introduction as the franchise mascot, while Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Vulpix represent the starter and early-generation designs that defined the original 151. A trailer cell like this one comes from promotional reels meant to circulate ahead of release, making it a document of how the film was first presented to the public rather than a scene from the finished feature itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer of Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three full frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no tears or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run between the perforation rows on one side, with a dashed line above them; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode or SDDS tracks are visible.
Edge print
Reads, mirrored, "2383 187 341 1 30 KODAK 28 1999 L", the key-number and manufacturer line printed along the top edge.
Base & colour
Clear base with a faint blue-cyan tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral to slightly cool, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible on these three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and the cartoon characters are consistent with a Pokémon animated trailer.
Era check
Consistent: Kodak 2383 print stock with a 1999 date code and a variable-area optical track fit a 1999 release 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 000070027
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
