Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's theatrical teaser for Pokémon: The First Movie, released ahead of the feature to stoke anticipation among audiences already swept up in Pokémania. It circulated in theaters on 35mm reels alongside other family programming of the era, a promotional artifact rather than a piece of the film proper. These trailer prints are scarcer than frames from the movie itself, since fewer copies were struck and most were discarded after their theatrical run ended, making surviving cells a niche but meaningful corner of Pokémon film history.
This cell preserves a moment from that trailer showing Mew in evasive action against an attack. Mew holds a singular place in the franchise as the rare, almost mythical Pokémon whose mystery helped drive the original film's plot and marketing, making any appearance of the character a draw for collectors. A dodge implies motion and stakes within the trailer's brief glimpse of conflict, reflecting the promotional reel's job of hinting at drama without revealing the full story, a single selected instant meant to pull audiences toward the theater.
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, with three full frames visible on this strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched; the outer perforations belong to a Dolby data side.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks in the gaps between the perforations on the sound edge; no DTS or SDDS visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear base with a faint blue-cyan tint at the edges; the dye image looks neutral to cool, with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the strip looks clean on the base.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames from one shot; the animated look is consistent with the 1999 Pokémon film on record.
Era check
Dual optical tracks plus Dolby Digital blocks on a clear-base positive are consistent with a late-1990s 35mm release trailer print of this film.
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 000070121
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
