Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to translate a television and trading card phenomenon into a theatrical event. Promotional material circulated widely ahead of release, including trailer reels distributed to theaters to build anticipation among a fanbase that had rapidly become a cultural force in North America. This era of Pokémon marketing was aggressive and far reaching, and surviving trailer strips from that campaign are scarce artifacts of a franchise launch that reshaped how toy and media properties were marketed to children and collectors alike.
This cell comes from that early trailer material and centers on Mew, the rare and nearly mythical Pokémon whose scarcity within the games made it a prized figure for collectors long before the film existed. Mew Attacks! points to a moment of action built around this singular creature, a beat clearly designed to tease conflict and stakes for audiences anticipating the feature. A trailer cell like this preserves not the finished film but the advertising campaign itself, a piece of the promotional machine that introduced Mew to a wider audience.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer for Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations span each frame along 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 tears or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical soundtrack runs beside the picture; Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations show as a speckled grey pattern on the soundtrack side.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear, slightly cool base with a pale blue tint along the edges; the dye image reads neutral, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the frames look clean apart from a faint reflection ring on the middle frame.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot, and a small white creature in a purple energy glow fits a Pokémon trailer.
Era check
Consistent with a 1999 release print: optical track with Dolby Digital data between the perforations suits late-1990s 35mm release prints.
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 000070049
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
