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 4Kids Entertainment in the summer of 2000, riding the peak of Pokémania in the West. Adapted from the Japanese feature Revelation Lugia, it followed the franchise's first theatrical hit into a second run, pairing the core Pikachu short with a story built around legendary Pokémon and the balance of nature. For a generation of young collectors, this release marked the moment Pokémon fully crossed into event-film status, with merchandising, promotional cards, and theatrical exclusives tying directly into the picture itself.
This 35mm cell preserves a frame of Lugia, the legendary Pokémon at the heart of the film's mythology and one of the most sought-after figures from the series' early era. As the guardian tied to the story's central prophecy, Lugia anchors the film's stakes and its visual identity, making any surviving frame a meaningful artifact rather than a background clip. A single-character cell like this, isolated from surrounding action, functions much like a title card or trailer excerpt: a distilled reference point collectors use to represent the film's signature figure on their shelf.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital 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 corners are rounded and cleanly cut.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical print; Dolby Digital data blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, suggesting a Dolby Digital SR print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint; the dye image reads as cool-to-neutral with strong blue and purple saturation, no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Several fine vertical scratch lines are visible running through both frames, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and the animated style and colour palette are consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a Dolby Digital optical track, cyan-tinted polyester base, and animated colour palette is consistent with a 1999-2000 theatrical release print 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
