Nickelodeon Movies · Tollin/Robbins Productions · 103 min
Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Good Burger arrived in 1997 as Paramount's big-screen expansion of the Nickelodeon sketch bit from All That, pairing Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell in their first starring feature. Directed by Brian Robbins, it rode the wave of mid-90s teen comedy while cementing Nickelodeon's push into theatrical releases, an early sign of the network's ambition beyond Saturday morning television. The film's fast food setting and easy chemistry between its leads made it a defining artifact of the era's kid-and-teen comedy boom, and it remains a touchstone for anyone tracking Nickelodeon's transition from cable programming into film production.
This cell preserves the Nickelodeon opening credit, the studio branding that greets audiences before the story begins. For collectors, these credit sequences mark the moment a network stakes its name to a theatrical release, a small but telling piece of media history showing how Nickelodeon positioned itself as a film producer rather than just a broadcaster. As an opening element, it carries none of the plot or characters that follow, standing instead as a piece of corporate identity frozen on film, valuable to those assembling a record of the studio's early cinematic ventures.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Good Burger (1997).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a standard mono or stereo optical print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read key numbers or stock codes clearly.
Base & colour
The base appears with a blue-violet tint under the backlight; the dye image reads as a warm red-dominant colour frame, with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
Fine longitudinal lines consistent with projection are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same held or near-identical frame rather than consecutive action frames, and the Nickelodeon logo is legible, consistent with a Nickelodeon-distributed release print.
Era check
The variable-area optical track, colour dye image on a safety base, and Nickelodeon branding are all consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1997 record date.
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 000062536
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
