Sources: Wikidata. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived in theaters as Warner Bros. and Nintendo pressed their advantage after the franchise's explosive 1999 debut, bringing the Legendary Birds and the guardian Lugia to the big screen. Directed with the anime's television crew and released at the height of Pokémania, it stands as a snapshot of the era's merchandising machine and cultural saturation, a sequel built to keep young audiences and their families returning to theaters. For collectors of animation history, it marks the peak of a phenomenon that briefly rivaled Star Wars in retail dominance.
This cell preserves Lugia, the psychic and flying-type guardian whose presence anchors the film's mythology and gives the story its central stakes. Lugia's design, a rare and imposing figure absent from the games' mainline roster at the time, made it an instant draw for collectors seeking material tied to the character's theatrical debut. As a piece of 35mm film, this cell represents a physical fragment of the animation process itself, a single frame pulled from thousands that composed Lugia's screen presence, valuable simply for having existed within that celluloid record.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; a separate narrow digital timecode or data line runs immediately beside 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 cyan-blue tint; the dye image reads with strong blue-violet saturation and appears stable with no visible fading.
Projection history
Several fine white vertical scratches are visible across all three frames, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated style is consistent with the Pokémon animated feature on record.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track combined with a DTS timecode stripe and cyan-tinted polyester base is consistent with a 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
