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 as the follow-up to the franchise's first theatrical hit, riding the peak of Pokémania in the West. Adapted from the Japanese "Revelation Lugia," it introduced audiences to the Legendary birds and cemented the movie tie-in as a yearly summer event. For a generation of collectors, this release marks the moment Pokémon proved it could sustain a cinematic universe beyond the games and show, making surviving film artifacts from this era especially sought after.
This cell centers on Lugia, the Guardian of the Seas and one of the most iconic Legendary Pokémon ever designed, whose presence anchors the entire plot of the film. As the only figure named here, the frame belongs entirely to this singular, towering creature, without supporting cast to share the spotlight. Collectors prize Lugia material for its rarity and mythic weight within the Pokémon canon, and a 35mm cell dedicated solely to this character offers a direct physical link to the movie's defining figure, a tangible remnant of the reel that once projected this legendary presence onto theater screens.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds two frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no visible torn or deformed holes.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area format; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a hybrid optical/Dolby Digital soundtrack area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base appears neutral to very slightly warm; the dye image shows rich purple, violet and brown tones consistent with an intact colour dye set.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks or heavy scratching are apparent; faint longitudinal lines are present suggesting the print has been projected.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single animated shot, consistent with the animated feature on record.
Era check
The hybrid variable-area optical plus Dolby Digital inter-perforation data block soundtrack format is consistent with a 1999–2000 theatrical release print, matching the period of Pokémon: The Movie 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
