Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and 4Kids brought the franchise's cinematic debut to American theaters, riding the crest of Pokémania at its commercial peak. Promotional trailers like this one circulated through cinemas and television spots ahead of release, building anticipation for a story that pushed beyond the games and television series into something darker and more ambitious. These early marketing reels are historical artifacts in their own right, capturing how the franchise chose to introduce itself to a mass audience hungry for the next chapter.
This cell centers on Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose existential struggle anchors the film's narrative and sets it apart from the lighter fare of the television series. As the movie's central antagonist turned tragic figure, Mewtwo remains one of the franchise's most collected characters, prized for the philosophical weight he brought to a children's property. A trailer cell carries particular value for collectors, preserving a moment meant to entice rather than narrate, offering a glimpse of how the character was first presented to the public before the film's full story unfolded.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip 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, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched and uniform.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical track runs beside the picture, and Dolby Digital data blocks sit in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations; no DTS or SDDS visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a faint pale-blue tint at the margins; the dye image shows saturated blues and cool lavenders, with no red shift or fading.
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-identical shot, and the anime-style artwork is consistent with an animated Pokémon trailer.
Era check
Consistent with a late-1990s release print: optical analogue tracks plus Dolby Digital data blocks fit a 1999 trailer on 35mm positive stock.
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 000070095
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
