Crown Grading

OFFICIAL MOTION PICTURE FILM AUTHENTICATION

AUTHENTIC

CROWN CERTIFIED

Tap to enlarge

MOVIEPokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

SCENEMew, Meowth and Pikachu

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2006

CERTIFICATE ID000064796

Film Record Public record

Directed by: Kunihiko Yuyama
Studio: OLM, Inc. · 100 min

Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew arrived in 2005 as the eighth theatrical entry from OLM and Studio 4°C animators working under the Pokémon Company banner, released domestically by Toho and later brought stateside by Miramax and Buena Vista. It marked a turning point for the franchise's film branch, pairing the series' established cast with a guest character, Lucario, and pushing the animation studio toward more ambitious visual set pieces than earlier entries had attempted. For longtime fans it sits as a transitional film, bridging the earlier Mewtwo era with the later movies built around new legendary Pokémon.

This cell brings together three of the franchise's most collected figures: Mew, the elusive mythical Pokémon whose scarcity across games and media makes any appearance desirable, Meowth, the talking Team Rocket regular beloved for his comic role, and Pikachu, the mascot whose presence anchors nearly every piece of Pokémon film merchandise. A frame uniting all three carries weight for collectors who prize crossover moments between the series' mascot and its rarer legendary characters, since such pairings are uncommon on film.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

Gauge: 35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds two frames side by side across its width, indicating an anamorphic or flat widescreen double-frame layout, with one row of frames visible.
Perforations: Four perforations per frame on each edge, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with rounded rectangular profiles, no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack: A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible along the lower edge area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area track on a cyan/blue stripe, consistent with a stereo optical print; Dolby Digital pixel blocks between perforations are not clearly distinguishable at this size.
Edge print: Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour: Base appears with a slight warm-cream tint typical of safety acetate or polyester stock; dye image reads as neutral with strong, saturated colour rendition and no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history: No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture: Positive colour image; two consecutive frames are shown side by side, appearing to be from the same continuous shot, and the animated style and character design are consistent with the film on record.
Era check: The variable-area optical soundtrack, saturated dye image, and safety base tint are all consistent with a mid-2000s theatrical release print, matching the 2005-2006 release window 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, 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.

Original Film Capture As received

The film strip as photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation

Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size