Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai arrived in 2008 as the tenth entry in the long-running animated franchise, produced by OLM under Shogakukan and The Pokémon Company, with Warner Bros. handling North American distribution. It marked a turning point for the film series, introducing Darkrai and Dialga as central figures drawn from the Diamond and Pearl games, tying the movie directly to the era's flagship titles. For a franchise built on television spin-offs, this release stood out for treating its Legendary Pokémon with genuine narrative weight rather than as background spectacle, reflecting the growing scale of the games' mythology.
This cell centers on Dialga, one of the franchise's most sought-after Legendary Pokémon, tied to the concept of time itself and a favorite among collectors who focus on the Sinnoh generation. A battling moment places the character in direct conflict, the kind of scene fans associate with the film's larger stakes and its role in expanding Pokémon lore beyond casual encounters. As a single frame from 35mm stock, it preserves one instant from theatrical history, a physical fragment of a movie built around the tension and consequence that Dialga's presence always signals.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched corners look clean and rounded.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible as a cyan-tinted band running the full length of one edge, with a modulated waveform pattern consistent with a two-track stereo or mono optical print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The clear base shows a slight cool-grey tint; the dye image reads as neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the character and colour palette are consistent with the animated feature on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, polyester-base appearance, and saturated colour dye image are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the late-2000s period 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 CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
