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 Nintendo/4Kids in the summer of 2000, riding the first great wave of Pokémania into American theaters. As the second theatrical feature in the franchise, it pushed beyond Pikachu and Team Rocket into a wider mythology, introducing the legendary bird trio and the guardian of the seas, Lugia, as centerpieces of a story about balance among the elements. For a generation raised on the trading cards and Game Boy cartridges, this was a cultural event, and the film's box office success cemented Pokémon as a lasting cinematic property rather than a passing fad.
This cell bears the name Lugia alone, marking it as belonging to the film's most sought-after figure, a legendary Pokémon whose rarity in the games made it a prize long before this movie gave it a voice and a role as protector. Collectors prize Lugia material precisely because it anchors the picture's central myth, standing apart from the more common roster of trainers and companions. A single-subject cell like this, carrying just the character's name, functions as a clean identifier piece, the kind archivists and collectors use to mark a pivotal figure without any surrounding scene to contextualize it.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds one full frame with partial frames above and below
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even; edges of the perforation holes appear cleanly punched with no visible tearing
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a bilateral variable-area waveform; a dashed blue line consistent with a Dolby Digital data track is also visible between the picture and the optical track
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears with a cyan-blue tint; the dye image shows deep blue-purple and white tones consistent with a colour print stock
Projection history
Vertical white scratch lines are visible across the picture area, consistent with evidence of a projected print
Picture
Positive image; the single frame visible appears to be from an animated feature consistent with the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 record
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical track combined with the Dolby Digital data blocks is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s to early 2000s, matching the 2000 release date 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
