Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in the wake of an unprecedented cultural wave, as Warner Bros. and Nintendo pushed the franchise from television phenomenon into a theatrical event for American audiences. Released in the summer of 2000, it followed the original film's runaway success and cemented Pokémon as a fixture of Saturday morning fandom translated to the big screen. For a generation of young viewers, it was often a first theatrical experience, making surviving 35mm material from this release a tangible link to that early multimedia boom.
This cell centers on Ash and Pikachu, the inseparable pairing at the heart of the entire franchise. Ash represents the trainer's journey, while Pikachu stands as the mascot recognized well beyond the world of Pokémon itself. A cell bearing both names together speaks to their central bond, the throughline that anchors the film's larger adventure. Collectors prize this duo above all other pairings from the property, since no other combination carries the same symbolic weight or franchise recognition across decades of media.
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 both edges; spacing appears even; edges of the perforations appear cleanly punched with no visible tearing
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cool-blue tint; dye image shows strong saturated colour consistent with an intact colour print
Projection history
A horizontal splice line is visible across the strip between the frame and the lower perforation strip; light surface lines are present consistent with a projected print
Picture
Positive colour image; the single main frame shows animated cel-style artwork consistent with the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 animated feature on record
Era check
The variable-area optical track, saturated colour dye image, and 35mm four-perforation layout are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the year 2000
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
