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 Pokémon USA at the height of the franchise's first great wave of popularity, following the original film's blockbuster debut the year before. Built around the legendary birds Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres, and centered on the mythical guardian Lugia, it pushed the anime's mythology into feature scale for audiences still deep in Pokémon fever. As a piece of that moment, it represents the franchise's transition from television phenomenon to recurring theatrical event.
This cell carries the name Lugia alone, and that single word is the draw. Lugia stands among the most sought-after Pokémon in the franchise, a guardian figure central to this film's plot and to the era's card and merchandise craze alike. A 35mm cell bearing just this name suggests a moment built entirely around the creature's presence, without added characters or incident to share the frame. For collectors, that isolation is the appeal: a clean, singular record of the film's title figure, preserved from the actual print used to bring Lugia to the screen.
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; corners are rounded and punches appear clean
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as two bilateral variable-area tracks; a blue DTS timecode stripe is also visible immediately below the picture gate
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cool-blue tint; dye image shows deep blue-violet and white tones consistent with a colour print stock in normal condition
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture
Picture
Positive image; the single frame visible appears to be from an animated sequence consistent with the animated feature film on record
Era check
The combination of bilateral variable-area optical tracks and a DTS timecode stripe 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
