Pokémon: The First Movie arrived in 1999 as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's bid to translate a merchandising phenomenon into theatrical event cinema. The teaser campaign that preceded it was engineered to stoke anticipation among a fanbase still new to the franchise, using Mewtwo as its central figure of mystery and menace. For many Western audiences, this marketing push was their first glimpse of the film's darker, more philosophical tone, a departure from the cheerful tenor of the television series. The trailer's circulation on 35mm makes it a tangible artifact of late nineties theatrical promotion, predating digital distribution entirely.
This cell preserves a close-up of Mewtwo, the genetically engineered Pokémon whose creation and existential struggle anchor the film's narrative. As the movie's central antagonist turned tragic figure, Mewtwo remains one of the franchise's most collected characters, prized for its singular design and thematic weight. A trailer cell like this one represents the promotional apparatus built to introduce audiences to that character ahead of release, a fragment of film stock manufactured solely to generate anticipation rather than tell the story itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release-print trailer strip for Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, with four consecutive frames on the strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, with rounded-rectangle holes that look cleanly punched at this size.
Soundtrack
A two-track variable-area optical soundtrack beside the picture, plus Dolby Digital data blocks in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Reads, mirrored, "2383 187 341 1 30 KODAK 28 1999 L", a Kodak 2383 print stock code with a 1999 date.
Base & colour
Pale blue-tinted base with a neutral, unfaded dye image; blues and purples in the frames look saturated.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this capture.
Picture
Positive image; the four frames run consecutively as one shot and are consistent with an animated trailer for the film on record.
Era check
Consistent: Kodak 2383 print stock dated 1999 with optical and Dolby Digital tracks fits a 1999 35mm release 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 000070166
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
