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 Kenan & Kel sketches that anchored Nickelodeon's late-night lineup, riding the momentum of All That and the duo's easy chemistry. It stands as one of the defining teen comedies of the network's film ventures, a low-budget, high-spirited vehicle that gave Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell their first starring roles in a full feature. For a generation raised on Saturday morning cable, it marked the moment their characters left the sketch format behind for a proper narrative arc.
This cell centers on Ed and Dexter Reed, the mismatched pair whose friendship drives the entire film, alongside Roxanne, a name tied to the story's romantic and comedic entanglements at the burger stand. A frame naming all three together points to a scene where the central trio's dynamic is on full display, the kind of moment collectors seek because it captures the film's core relationships rather than a single gag or cameo. It reads as a snapshot of the plot's connective tissue, not a title card or promotional insert.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Good Burger (1997).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible 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 track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a wavy white band consistent with a mono or stereo optical track; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are not clearly distinguishable at this size, and no DTS timecode line or SDDS outer-edge tracks are visible.
Edge print
Text reading backwards along the edge is visible but resolves as 'SAFETY' and what appears to be a key-number sequence; exact full string not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base appears with a warm-neutral tint; the dye image shows saturated colour with no obvious red shift or significant fading.
Projection history
Light vertical lines consistent with projection wear 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 moment or consecutive frames of a single shot, and the on-screen graphic visible matches branding associated with the film on record.
Era check
A variable-area optical track on 35mm safety-base colour stock with this dye saturation is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1997 release date of the film on record.
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 000062569
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
