Pokemon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to carry the franchise's television and trading card momentum onto the big screen. Promotional trailers circulated through theaters and television spots ahead of release, building anticipation for Mewtwo's origin story and the broader cast of creatures that had already captured a global audience. These early marketing reels are a distinct category of film history, separate from the feature itself, and surviving 35mm fragments from them are scarce compared to prints of the movie proper.
This cell captures Blastoise alongside its cloned counterpart, a pairing drawn straight from the film's central premise of genetic duplication. Blastoise ranks among the most recognizable starter evolutions in the Pokemon line, and the presence of its clone ties directly to Mewtwo's experiments, the engine of the plot. As a trailer cell, this piece represents the marketing apparatus built to sell audiences on that premise before the film ever opened, making it a point of interest for collectors tracing how the Mewtwo narrative was first teased to the public.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of the Pokémon: The Movie (1999) trailer.
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, rounded-rectangle holes evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no tears or torn edges visible.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations; the outer edges show no SDDS tracks.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a faint blue-cyan edge tint; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot, and they are consistent with the animated Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Dual optical tracks plus Dolby Digital data blocks on a colour positive print match a late-1990s 35mm release print of the film on record.
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 000070078
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
