Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in the United States in November 1999, distributed by Warner Bros. after Nintendo's creature-collecting franchise had already conquered handhelds, trading cards, and Saturday morning television. The feature built its story around Mewtwo, a laboratory-born clone of the mythical Mew, and the philosophical clash between the two set the emotional stakes for the whole Pokémon film series. Promotional trailers circulated widely that year, stitched from footage meant to introduce American audiences to a mythology many had only glimpsed in games. These trailer cells preserve that marketing moment, a bridge between Japanese source material and a new overseas audience primed for spectacle.
This cell, Mew Attacks!, centers on the pairing of Mew and Mewtwo, the franchise's two rarest and most sought-after Pokémon among collectors. Mew's scarcity and legendary status make any appearance desirable, while Mewtwo's origin as Mew's engineered counterpart gives their shared presence real narrative weight. A trailer cell like this one functioned as advertising, a single frame pulled to entice ticket buyers rather than to carry the finished film's continuity. Owning a piece of that promotional reel offers a direct physical link to the moment Pokémon's cinematic ambitions were first sold to the public.
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; the strip holds three full frames side by side.
Perforations
Four per frame on both the top and bottom edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape and cleanly punched with no visible tears.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs between the picture and the lower perforations, with a dashed timecode-style line above it; Dolby Digital blocks sit between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a faint blue-green edge tint; the dye image is vivid purple and magenta with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Not visible in this capture, apart from a few tiny specks and a faint vertical line in the picture area.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one continuous shot, and the animated look is consistent with the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print, since the strip combines an analogue optical track with Dolby Digital data blocks on a clear base.
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 000070043
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
