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 in the summer of 2000, riding the crest of Pokémania's first great wave in the West. Following the surprise success of the original Pokémon: The First Movie, this sequel, known in Japan as Mewtwo Strikes Back's follow-up era production The Power of One, cemented the franchise's theatrical ambitions and brought its television cast to the big screen with expanded stakes and legendary creatures. For a generation of collectors, it represents the peak of Pokémon's early cinematic run, a marker of the property's crossover from Saturday morning cartoons to mainstream event releases.
This cell brings together the core traveling ensemble of the series: Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, the show's central pair, alongside Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth, the recurring antagonists whose schemes and banter provided the franchise's comic backbone. A grouping like this, spanning both hero and rival camps, suggests a shared scene rather than a single character study, the kind of assembly collectors prize for capturing the show's ensemble dynamic in one frame. Cells featuring this five-character combination are sought after for representing the full cast chemistry that defined the series' early theatrical outings.
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, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical print; a narrow blue-tinted stripe is also visible adjacent to it, consistent with a Dolby SR or similar optical encoding stripe.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same or near-identical consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated characters visible are consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical track with apparent SR stripe, saturated dye image, and neutral safety base are all consistent with a theatrical release print from around 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
