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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000003099 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEPokémon: The Movie Trailer
SCENEAsh Knocked Down
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1999
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000003099

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to carry the franchise's television and card-game momentum onto the big screen in America, following the property's original Japanese theatrical run. Promotional trailer material from this period circulated widely in theaters and on tie-in reels, building anticipation for the clash between Mewtwo and Mew that anchored the film's narrative. These trailer cells are prized by collectors as artifacts of the marketing campaign itself, distinct from the feature print.

This cell marks a pivotal story beat: Ash Ketchum, the franchise's central trainer, brought down in a confrontation with Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose conflict with his creators drives the film's themes of identity and purpose. Pairing these two figures signals one of the movie's most consequential moments, the kind trailers used to telegraph stakes without revealing resolution. For collectors, a cell naming both Ash and Mewtwo together holds particular value, capturing the promotional language used to sell the franchise's first cinematic outing to a new generation of American audiences.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm release print of Pokémon: The Movie Trailer (1999).

Gauge
35mm layout with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three frames, two similar and one differing, all in this capture.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle punches that look clean with no tears or torn holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track, two tracks, runs between the picture and the lower perforations; no Dolby Digital blocks between the perforations, no DTS line, no SDDS visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light cyan-blue tinted margins; the dye image looks saturated and neutral, with no obvious fading or red shift at this size.
Projection history
Small brownish specks on the third frame and slight surface marks; no cue marks, splices or heavy scratches seen.
Picture
Positive image; the first two frames are near-identical consecutive frames of one shot, the third a different shot; style is consistent with Pokémon: The Movie.
Era check
Consistent with a 1999 35mm release print, since the analog optical track and dye-image stock fit the period, though no edge print confirms it.
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 000070100
Original Film Capture As received
The film strip as photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size