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 at the height of Pokémania, the franchise's second theatrical outing following the original's blockbuster success. Built around the legendary bird trio and Lugia, it pushed the anime's mythology into grander, more elemental territory while still centering on Ash and Pikachu's bond. For American audiences it was event cinema, backed by toy lines, soundtracks, and heavy promotion, cementing Pokémon as a dominant force in children's entertainment at the turn of the millennium.
This cell isolates the pairing at the heart of the entire franchise: Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, trainer and partner, riding upon Lugia itself, the guardian legendary who anchors the film's climax and mythology. Sequences involving Lugia carriage moments are prized among collectors because they mark the story's turning point, where the ordinary hero is elevated into direct contact with something ancient and powerful. A 35mm cell from this passage preserves a piece of that pivotal screen time, the physical film stock through which the moment once projected.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds two frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-bilateral (two-track) pattern; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are not clearly distinguishable at this size, and no DTS timecode line or SDDS outer-edge tracks are visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image reads as neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from the same shot, and the animated characters are consistent with the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 theatrical release.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, cyan-tinted colour print stock, and four-perforation 35mm format are all consistent with a late-1990s to early-2000s 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
