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's licensing machine at the height of Pokémania, a theatrical follow up rushed out to capitalize on the franchise's explosive American debut the year prior. Known in Japan as Revelation Lugia, it paired the anime's television cast with a big screen mythology involving legendary birds and a new legendary, Lugia, expanding the Pokémon universe beyond Pikachu and into rarer, stranger creatures that fans had only glimpsed in trading cards and games.
This piece pairs Ash Ketchum, the series' constant protagonist, with Slowking, one of the more unusual evolutions in the Pokémon roster and a favorite among collectors precisely because it appears so rarely in animated form. A frame showing these two together marks a point of direct interaction between the human lead and a creature whose scarcity on screen makes any documented encounter notable. For collectors, such a cell represents a tangible link to a specific narrative beat, a physical remnant of animation labor tied to a character enthusiasts rarely get to see rendered at all.
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 four frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, appearing as two bilateral variable-area tracks, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip between the perforations and the picture area on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; frames run consecutively as a single continuous shot and the animated character and creature imagery is consistent with the Pokémon franchise film on record.
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical track combined with Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations 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
