Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived from Warner Bros. and Kids WB in the summer of 2000, riding the crest of the franchise's first theatrical wave following the 1999 original. Produced by OLM and 4Kids Entertainment for Western audiences, it introduced Lugia and the Legendary Birds to millions of children and collectors who had only just discovered Pokémon through television and trading cards. The film's box office success cemented the series as a cinematic property, not just a Saturday morning cartoon, and its promotional material became instant ephemera for a generation raised on the craze.
This cell centers on Pikachu, the character whose face launched the entire franchise into global consciousness, voiced throughout by Ikue Ōtani in the original Japanese performance that collectors prize as the authentic source. As Ash Ketchum's constant companion, Pikachu anchors nearly every frame of Pokémon media, making any surviving cell a piece of the character's animated history. Whether drawn from a trailer sequence or a credits pass, this piece preserves a single instant of Pikachu's presence within the film's larger narrative, a small fragment of the mascot's earliest theatrical outing.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by 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 or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track runs along one edge; a blue-illuminated stripe along the opposite edge is consistent with a DTS timecode track, indicating a multi-format release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-teal tint consistent with modern safety stock; dye image reads as neutral with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or significant scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with an animated theatrical release print matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, a DTS timecode stripe, and blue-tinted polyester safety base is consistent with a 1990s–2000s theatrical release print, matching the 2000 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 000063337
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
