National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in North American theaters in July 2000, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures during the absolute peak of the global Pokémon phenomenon. Produced by OLM, Inc. and directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, the film expanded on the television series with a mythological scope centered on the Legendary birds and Lugia. It remains a cultural timestamp of millennial childhood and a significant chapter in theatrical anime history.

This cell, titled Pikachu, captures three consecutive frames of Pikachu, voiced by Ikue Ōtani, clinging to and pulling at a large white cable against a stone wall. The action reads across the strip with subtle animation variation between the first two frames, while the third carries a small circular lens artifact in the upper right corner, a natural characteristic of original 35mm theatrical film.