Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of the promotional push surrounding the franchise's leap from television to the big screen, a moment that marked Pokémon's transformation from a Japanese import phenomenon into a full-blown American theatrical event. Warner Bros. handled distribution stateside, and the trailer reels circulated through theaters that year served as early signals of just how large the Pokémon wave was about to become, reaching audiences before Mewtwo Strikes Back ever hit a single screen.
This cell preserves a frame from that trailer, centered on Pikachu, the character most responsible for carrying the franchise into mainstream recognition. A moment described simply as Pikachu Crying speaks to an emotional beat within the preview, a glimpse meant to hint at stakes and feeling rather than spectacle alone. Trailer cells like this one hold a particular appeal for collectors, since they represent the franchise's first theatrical introduction to American audiences, a single strip of film standing in for the anticipation that surrounded Pokémon at the height of its earliest cultural surge.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print of the Pokémon: The Movie trailer (1999).
Gauge
35mm, with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three frames, each framed by a black interframe line.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shaped and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing perforations seen.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs as two parallel waveform lines, with a dashed edge line above them; the Dolby Digital blocks between the lower perforations are Not visible in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a pale cyan-blue edge tint; the dye image looks neutral and saturated, with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No lines, scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the surface looks clean on all three frames.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as one shot with near-identical content, and the animated character art is consistent with a Pokémon film.
Era check
The optical track, tinted base and saturated dye image are consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release print, which fits a 1999 Pokémon trailer.
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 000070113
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
