Pokémon: The Movie Trailer (1999) arrived as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's promotional vanguard for the first Pokémon feature film, Mewtwo Strikes Back, riding the crest of Pokémania as it swept American theaters and playgrounds alike. Trailers of this kind were cut to theatrical 35mm and spliced into reels ahead of family features, making surviving frames scarce artifacts of a marketing campaign rather than the film itself. For collectors, these early promotional strips mark the moment Pokémon crossed from television phenomenon to full theatrical event, a transition that shaped years of merchandising and fandom to follow.
This cell centers on Ash Ketchum, the franchise's enduring protagonist and the character through whom most viewers experienced the Pokémon world. The described moment, Ash rescuing his Pokémon, points to the kind of emotional beat trailers are built to telegraph: loyalty, urgency, the hero acting on behalf of his companions. As a trailer cell, its purpose was persuasion, offering audiences a glimpse of stakes and heart before the feature arrived. For collectors, it represents an early visual promise of the bond central to the series, tied to Ash himself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm optical-sound release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
Four perforations per frame on both edges, which reads as 35mm; the strip holds a single frame with its soundtrack area.
Perforations
Four rounded-rectangle perforations per frame on the upper edge and about six on the lower edge, evenly spaced and cleanly punched, with no torn or missing holes.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge as wavy black-and-white bands, with a dashed band beside it; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS line or SDDS tracks are seen.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
The base shows a pale blue-green tint along the edges, with a neutral, undimmed dye image and no obvious red or warm fading.
Projection history
No scratches, splices or cue marks are seen at this size; there is some light speckling on the edge margins.
Picture
Positive colour image; only one frame is shown, so consecutive-frame continuity cannot be judged, and the animated style fits the film on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical track and 35mm base fit a 1999 theatrical trailer print, though the lack of edge print limits how far that can be confirmed.
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 000070157
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
