Pokémon: The Movie Trailer arrived in 1999 as part of the promotional wave surrounding Pokémon's explosive North American debut, produced to build anticipation ahead of the franchise's first theatrical feature. Warner Bros. distributed the film stateside, and the surrounding marketing push, including teaser reels like this one, helped cement Pokémon as a cultural phenomenon rather than a passing fad. These early trailer prints are historically significant as physical artifacts from the franchise's crossover moment into mainstream American theaters.
This cell gathers four figures central to the anime's original run: Brock and Misty, the steadfast traveling companions of the early seasons, Nurse Joy, the recurring caretaker figure found in nearly every Pokémon Center, and Togepi, Misty's beloved hatchling. Their grouping suggests a pause along the journey, a moment of community and care rather than battle, which was a hallmark of the show's appeal. As a trailer cell, it represents a fragment chosen to entice audiences, offering collectors a tangible link to the franchise's first theatrical push and its earliest, most recognizable cast.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of the Pokémon: The Movie (1999) trailer.
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with rounded-rectangle holes and no visible tears or missing perforations.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track (two tracks) runs beside the picture, with Dolby Digital data blocks visible in the gaps between the lower-edge perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Clear to faintly neutral base with a blue-tinted border band; the dye image looks saturated and balanced, with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size; no scratches, cue marks or splices are visible, apart from a dark ring on one frame that is the camera's reflection.
Picture
Positive image, three frames that appear consecutive and show the same shot; the animated style is plausible for an anime trailer and nothing contradicts the film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital data blocks alongside an analogue optical track on a positive print fit a late-1990s 35mm release print such as this 1999 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 000071038
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
