Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokemon: The Movie 2000 arrived from Warner Bros. and Nintendo's screen partnership at the height of Pokemon's American breakthrough, following the franchise's explosive 1999 debut. Also known as The Power of One, it brought the Legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres to theaters alongside Lugia, expanding the mythology beyond the games and television series into a wider, more ambitious cinematic frame. For collectors, it stands as a marker of the peak Pokemon craze, when the property's presence in American pop culture reached its broadest saturation, making surviving 35mm material from this release a tangible piece of that cultural moment.
This cell carries Pikachu, the character most responsible for the franchise's identity and its most recognized ambassador worldwide. Voiced by Ikue Ōtani, the same performer behind the role since its inception, Pikachu anchors nearly every Pokemon film and series entry, making any authentic frame of the character a foundational piece for collectors building a franchise archive. As a film cell rather than a promotional still, this piece comes directly from the theatrical print itself, a fragment of the physical film stock that once passed through projectors, connecting the holder to the actual theatrical run of the movie during its original release window.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track analog stripe; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, indicating a combined analog/Dolby Digital soundtrack.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a safety polyester base; dye image reads as warm and saturated with no visible fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive color image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Era check
The combined analog variable-area optical track and Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks are consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the year 2000, when this dual-format soundtrack configuration was standard.
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 000063335
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
