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 Nickelodeon's first major theatrical release, spun off from the sketch that made Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell household names on All That. Paramount backed the picture as a bet that television-bred comedy could translate to the multiplex, and it did modest but durable box office before finding its real audience on home video and cable reruns. The film's shaggy charm, built on Ed and Dexter's mismatched fry-cook chemistry, made it a touchstone for a generation raised on late-nineties kids' programming, and it remains one of the more fondly remembered crossover comedies of the era.
This cell preserves the opening title card, the frame that announces the film before any character enters the story. Title cards mark a transition point on the strip, the handoff from studio branding into narrative, and collectors prize them as the cleanest visual shorthand for a film's identity. For Good Burger specifically, this is the moment the burger stand's name becomes inseparable from the movie itself, a piece of film history announcing the beginning of Ed and Dexter's story before either character has spoken a line.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour optical release print of Good Burger (1997).
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds three frames, each showing four perforations per frame on both edges.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
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 release print.
Edge print
Edge print reads reversed as 'KODAK VII 1997' indicating Kodak Vision stock with a 1997 date code.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight warm cast; the dye image shows rich, saturated colour with no visible fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same or near-identical shot, consistent with a release print of Good Burger (1997).
Era check
The Kodak VII stock date code of 1997, variable-area optical soundtrack, and clear polyester-type base are all consistent with a 1997 theatrical release print.
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 000062545
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
