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 blockbuster debut, riding the peak of Pokémania in American theaters. Built around Lugia and the Legendary Birds, it expanded the animated universe beyond Pikachu's shadow, giving audiences a mythic, oceanic scale story while cementing the film series as a reliable theatrical event for a generation of young collectors who lined up with trading cards in hand.
This cell, Charizard & Friends, groups Ash Ketchum with two of the franchise's most sought after figures. Charizard remains a perennial favorite among collectors for its stature as one of the original starter evolutions, prized wherever it appears on film or card alike. Lugia, as the movie's central Legendary, carries the weight of the story's mythology. A cell pairing these three suggests a moment of alliance or gathering, the kind of composite grouping prized in vault pulls for bringing multiple iconic figures into a single frame of history.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds two frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both visible edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly formed.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; a separate digital timecode or data line appears adjacent to it, consistent with a DTS timecode stripe.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight cool-blue tint; the dye image reads as neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; both frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated character style is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track combined with what appears to be a DTS timecode stripe 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
