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, following the franchise's explosive American debut a year earlier. Also known as The Power of One, it expanded the mythology beyond Pikachu and Ash's core cast into the realm of legendary beasts, introducing audiences to Lugia as guardian of the seas. The film's box office success cemented Pokémon as a theatrical draw, not just a television phenomenon, and its 35mm run prints remain sought after as artifacts of that peak cultural moment.
This cell centers on Lugia alone, the film's titular legendary and one of the franchise's most iconic non-starter Pokémon. As guardian of the ocean, Lugia carries mythic weight within the story, appearing as a figure of balance and restoration amid the elemental crisis driving the plot. A single-character cell built around Lugia holds particular value for collectors focused on legendary Pokémon iconography, since the creature's screen presence anchors the film's central conflict and its eventual resolution.
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 each edge; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual bilateral waveform; a thin line consistent with a DTS timecode stripe is also visible immediately above the optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-orange cast in the image area consistent with a colour dye print; the black inter-frame gap appears dense.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated style is consistent with the Pokémon feature film on record.
Era check
The combination of a dual bilateral variable-area optical track with a DTS timecode stripe alongside it 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
