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 original Pokémon feature, riding the height of the franchise's late-nineties global surge. Distributed theatrically in the West with new footage and reworked pacing for American audiences, it cemented Pokémon as a Saturday morning phenomenon capable of drawing crowds to cinemas. The film introduced Lugia and the Legendary birds to a mass audience beyond the games and television series, expanding the mythology into feature length and giving the franchise its first true cinematic legendary.
This cell preserves a frame of Lugia, the guardian Pokémon whose role in the film's plot made it one of the most sought-after Legendary designs from the era. As a piece of 35mm film history rather than merchandise, it represents a physical artifact from the actual theatrical print, the kind of object collectors prize for connecting directly to the movie's original release run. Lugia's presence alone marks this as tied to the film's central mythic figure, the character around whom the story's ecological balance and legendary lore were built.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital 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 with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; a separate band of fine digital data dots consistent with a Dolby Digital inter-perforation data block is also visible between the optical track and the lower perforation row.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears rich and not visibly faded or red-shifted.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has been projected.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the vivid purple and blue palette is consistent with the animated theatrical release on record.
Era check
The combination of a dual bilateral variable-area optical track alongside a Dolby Digital inter-perforation data block is consistent with a 35mm 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
