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 4Kids Entertainment at the height of Pokémania, when the franchise's leap from Game Boy screens to Saturday morning television had already conquered a generation. Following the surprise success of the first Pokémon film, this sequel pushed the animation and mythology further, introducing the legendary bird trio and centering its story on Lugia, the guardian of the seas. The picture cemented the series as a genuine theatrical event rather than a passing fad, drawing families into cinemas on the strength of characters born from a handheld game.
This cell preserves a frame of Lugia itself, the film's central legendary and one of the most sought-after Pokémon designs among collectors, prized for its rarity in the games and its elevated role here as protector rather than mere spectacle. A cell bearing this name places the viewer directly with the creature at the heart of the story, the figure whose presence anchors the entire plot's balance of nature. As a piece of 35mm film history, it stands as a tangible artifact from the print reels that carried Lugia into theaters worldwide.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital colour release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds one frame fully visible in this capture.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even; perforation edges appear cleanly punched with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
Variable-area optical track visible on one edge; Dolby Digital data blocks visible in perforation gaps on the lower section; no DTS timecode line or SDDS outer-edge tracks are visible in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-teal tint along the rebate strips; the dye image within the frame shows a predominantly blue-purple and deep red palette consistent with a colour print.
Projection history
Light surface abrasion lines are visible running along the length of the strip, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; one frame is visible and the image content is consistent with an animated theatrical release matching the film on record.
Era check
Dolby Digital data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track on 35mm colour positive stock is fully consistent with a year-2000 theatrical release print.
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
