Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of the promotional machinery behind Warner Bros.' theatrical release of Pokémon: The First Movie, itself adapted from the Japanese feature Mewtwo Strikes Back. The trailer circulated ahead of the film's American debut, introducing audiences outside Japan to Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon at the center of the story. The marketing push was enormous, riding the wave of the franchise's explosive popularity, and the trailer itself became a cultural touchstone for a generation encountering Pokémon's first major cinematic outing.
This cell preserves a moment tied to Mewtwo's Invitation, the summons that sets the film's plot into motion. Queen Rin appears here, a figure tied to the broader Pokémon trading card and promotional universe that collectors prize for its crossover appeal between film and merchandise lines. A trailer cell like this one captures the anticipation built before the feature itself, a fragment meant to entice rather than narrate, offering collectors a tangible piece of the promotional campaign that introduced Mewtwo's story to Western audiences.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm layout, four perforations per frame along both edges, with three full frames of picture visible on the strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, and the strip also shows small speckled blocks in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations, consistent with Dolby Digital data.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted base along both edges, neutral dye image with green, blue and purple tones intact, no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image, three consecutive near-identical frames from one shot, and the animated look is plausible for the film on record.
Era check
Dual optical tracks plus Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations are consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release print or trailer print.
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 000070035
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
