Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Digimon: The Movie arrived in American theaters in 2000, courtesy of Fox Kids and Saban, stitching together three separate Japanese Digimon features into a single English-language release aimed at riding the wave of monster-collecting cartoon fever that Pokemon had ignited. It marked a rare theatrical outing for a franchise otherwise confined to Saturday morning television, and its patchwork construction has since made it a curious artifact of the dubbing and localization practices common to children's media of that era. For fans who grew up with the show, it represents a tangible piece of a brief but memorable theatrical moment.
This cell preserves the opening title card, the frame where the film formally announces itself before any story unfolds. Title card cells sit at a unique juncture in a print, separate from character action or dialogue, offering instead the typography and branding through which audiences first recognized the movie on the big screen. Collectors seek these out precisely because they mark a threshold moment, the transition from anticipation to the feature itself, tied to no single character but to the identity of the release as a whole.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital theatrical release print of Digimon: The Movie (2000).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with an analog stereo print; Dolby Digital data blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, suggesting a Dolby Digital SR print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters reliably.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint typical of modern safety stock; dye image reads as neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; all three frames appear to show the same title-card composition, consistent with a title sequence held on multiple frames; image content matches the Digimon: The Movie title logo as expected for the film on record.
Era check
The combination of analog variable-area optical track, apparent Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and blue-tinted polyester safety base is consistent with a theatrical release print from the year 2000.
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 000063093
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
