Pokémon: The Movie Trailer (1999) arrived during the height of Pokémania, as Nintendo's franchise expanded from handheld games and television into theatrical territory. Distributed in the United States by Warner Bros. in advance of the first feature film, the trailer introduced moviegoers to the big-screen pairing of Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu, translating the television series' charm into a format meant to build anticipation across a mainstream audience. For early collectors, these promotional reels mark a transitional moment when Pokémon moved from a niche import to a cultural fixture, making any surviving trailer material a touchpoint for that crossover.
This cell, "Ash and Pikachu Falling," centers on the franchise's core duo during a moment framed by motion and vulnerability. As a trailer segment, its purpose was to stir emotional investment ahead of release, using glimpses of jeopardy to hint at stakes without revealing plot. Ash, the series' persistent young trainer, and Pikachu, its signature creature, remain the most sought-after pairing in Pokémon memorabilia, and a falling moment suggests tension meant to pull early audiences toward the theater. For collectors, it represents the promotional machinery behind the franchise's theatrical debut.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip for Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangular and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing holes seen.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture; Dolby Digital blocks appear in the gaps between the lower perforations, so an analogue-plus-digital layout.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral to slightly warm, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size beyond faint dust specks; no splices, cue marks or obvious scratches in these three frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one continuous shot, and the animated style is plausible for the Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a 1999 release print, since an optical track combined with Dolby Digital data between the perforations fits late-1990s theatrical 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 000070062
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
