Task: Question Generation
Input (English): Pokémon: The First Movie (Pocket Monsters the Movie: Mewtwo's Counterattack) is the first Pokémon anime film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, the chief director of the Pokémon television series. It is the first theatrical release in the Pokémon franchise.It was released in Japan on July 18, 1998. The English-language adaptation, produced by 4Kids Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (under its Kids' WB banner), was released in North America on November 12, 1999.The film primarily consists of three segments: Pikachu's Vacation, a 21-minute feature focusing on the series mascot Pikachu; Origin of Mewtwo, a 10-minute featurette that functions as a prologue to the main feature; and Mewtwo Strikes Back, the main 75 minute film feature. The North American version omitted Origin of Mewtwo from the package before its U.S. theatrical run due to its dark nature, as the target MPAA rating was G; the first two minutes were restored in the film's release on VHS and DVD as The Story of Mewtwo's Origin. The featurette was eventually dubbed and restored as a special feature in the U.S. release of the direct-to-video follow-up film sequel Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns as The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin.As Pokémon was extremely popular when the film was released, it was a box office success worldwide. The First Movie topped the box office charts in its opening weekend, and eventually grossed US$163.6 million worldwide, despite negative reviews from film critics.
Output (English): Question: When was the film first released?, Answer: July 18, 1998