Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived as Warner Bros. and Nintendo's follow-up to the franchise's explosive theatrical debut, riding the peak of Pokémania in the West. Released by 4Kids Entertainment's dubbing pipeline and distributed widely to American theaters, it expanded the mythology beyond Mewtwo, introducing a trio of legendary birds and the guardian Lugia as the center of a new elemental crisis. For a franchise still cementing its footprint in film, this sequel mattered as proof the property could sustain an ongoing cinematic universe, not just a single event.
This 35mm cell preserves a frame of Lugia itself, the legendary Pokémon whose role as the story's guiding, protective force made it one of the era's most sought-after animated figures. Collectors prize Lugia material because the character anchors the film's central conflict, embodying balance and calm amid catastrophe. A single-subject cell like this one, isolating the legendary without surrounding cast, offers a clean, focused artifact of the character's design and screen presence from this defining early Pokémon feature.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower portion of the strip beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area track; a narrow Dolby Digital data-block strip is also visible between the perforations on the lower edge.
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-coupler print; the clear rebate areas appear neutral to slightly blue.
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 continuous shot, and the animated character and background style are consistent with the Pokémon animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of a dual bilateral variable-area optical track with a Dolby Digital data strip is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s to early 2000s, matching the 2000 release date of the film 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
