SCENEPikachu, Bulbasaur, Vulpix and Brock/Blastoise Clone - Transition Cell
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003085
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie Trailer (1999) arrived as part of the promotional rollout surrounding Pokémon: The First Movie, released in Japan in 1998 and brought to American theaters by Warner Bros. in November 1999. The trailer served as an early advertisement for Pokémon's leap from television and trading cards into feature film, capitalizing on the franchise's explosive popularity in the late 1990s. Nintendo, Game Freak and 4Kids Entertainment worked together to position the film as a theatrical event, and trailer reels like this one circulated in theaters to build anticipation. These promotional strips are relatively scarce compared to film frames, making them notable artifacts of the franchise's earliest cinematic push.
This cell is identified as a transition piece, a frame meant to carry the trailer from one scene or beat to the next, featuring Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Vulpix and Brock alongside a reference to a Blastoise clone, tying it to the film's cloned Pokémon plot. Pikachu remains the franchise's enduring mascot and the figure most sought by collectors, while Bulbasaur and Vulpix round out the roster of original starter and fan favorite creatures. Brock's presence anchors the human cast. Transition cells like this one mark connective moments within promotional material, valued for representing the trailer's structure itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release trailer print of 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, rounded-rectangle holes, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no tears or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track (two tracks) runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the perforations on the sound edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a light blue-cyan tint at the edges; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible across the three frames.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as one near-static shot of animated characters, consistent with an animated Pokémon trailer.
Era check
Consistent: a 35mm print carrying both analogue optical and Dolby Digital data suits a late-1990s theatrical trailer such as this one.
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 000070086
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
