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 4Kids Entertainment's follow-up to the franchise's blockbuster theatrical debut, riding the peak wave of Pokémania in American theaters. Built around the Legendary Birds and the Collector of the Elemental Orbs, it cemented the anime's pull as a merchandising and cultural juggernaut just as the trading card and video game crazes reached fever pitch. For a generation of young audiences, this was appointment viewing, the second proof that Pokémon belonged on the big screen.
This cell gathers three anchors of that world: Charizard, the evolved fire-type prized by collectors for its power and popularity across every era of the franchise, alongside Ash Ketchum, the series' constant protagonist, and Bulbasaur, one of the original starter Pokémon and an early fan favorite. A frame naming this trio together points to a moment of companionship central to the film's emotional core, the bond between trainer and Pokémon that the movie repeatedly returns to. As a piece of 35mm film, it preserves a physical fragment of that theatrical run, a tangible link to how audiences first saw these characters share the screen.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the picture, appearing as two bilateral variable-area lines; Dolby Digital data blocks are not clearly distinguishable at this size
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears with a cool-neutral tint; dye image shows strong blue and purple saturation consistent with a colour release print
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a projected print
Picture
Positive colour image; all three 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 bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, colour positive print format, and cool-neutral base are all consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the year 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
